List of Iraqis
This list of Iraqis includes people who were born in Iraq and people who are of Iraqi ancestry, who are significantly notable for their life and/or work.
This list should be carefully maintained, and adding or deleting a name without first discussing the change on the article's talk page is likely to be reverted. This list should contain the names of persons who meet Wikipedia's Notability criteria, even if the person does not have an article yet. Additions to the list must be listed in alphabetical order by first name, where applicable and must provide a reliable verifiable source which cites the person's notability, otherwise it will be removed.
Academics
- Amal Al Khedairy, academic, lecturer and founder and director of the cultural centre "Al Beit Al Iraqi" ("The Iraqi House")
- Nada Shabout, Prof. of Art History, Lecturer.
- Azad Bonni, MD, PhD Professor at Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School.He has a lab for conducting neurological researches called Bonni lab
- Karim Yassen, a Kurdish Professor who discovered the enzyme that has been named Karilysin in his honor after six months research in a university in Poland.
- Hanna Petros was an Iraqi Assyrian composer and a scholar. He wrote numerous books and treatises over oriental music, Iraqi Maqams and Syriac hymnody. Hanna Petros was born to a Chaldean Catholic family in Mosul in 1896 and died after a heart attack on 1958, and was buried at the Chaldean cemetery in Baghdad.
Archaeologists
- Donny George Youkhanna
- Taha Baqir
- Zainab Bahrani, (born 1962) is an Iraqi professor of Ancient Near Eastern Art and Archaeology at Columbia University
- Jim Al-Khalili, is an Iraqi-born British theoretical physicist, author and science communicator. He is Professor of Theoretical Physics and Chair in the Public Engagement in Science at the University of Surrey. He has hosted several BBC productions about science and is a frequent commentator about science in other British media venues.
- Hormuzd Rassam (1826 – 16 September 1910), was a native Assyrian Assyriologist, British diplomat and traveller who made a number of important discoveries, including the clay tablets that contained the Epic of Gilgamesh, the world's oldest literature.
Artists
- Faik Al-Aboudi, painter
- Jananne Al-Ani, artist
- Layla Al-Attar, painter
- Betool Al-Fekaiki, painter
- Mahmoud Alibadi, Iraqi-Danish artist[1]
- Rassim al-Jumaili
- Omran Al-Kaysi, artist and historian
- Sama Raena Alshaibi, artist
- Jaber Alwan, artist
- Hanaa Al-Wardi, Iraqi American artist[2]
- Khalil al-Zahawi, calligrapher
- Apo Avedissian, Director - Photographer (Iraqi-Armenian)[3]
- Halla Ayla, Iraqi-American artist[4]
- Dr Princess Nisreen El-Hashemite, painter
- Raad Ghantous, interior designer
- Tamara Abdul Hadi, photojournalist[5]
- Hayv Kahraman, Iraqi-American artist
- Farouk Kaspaules, Iraqi-born Canadian artist
- Toba Khedoori, artist
- Leila Kubba, artist
- Nedim Kufi, artist
- Hassan Massoudy, calligrapher
- Talal Refit, visual artist, architect, film director and multimedia designer
- Faisel Laibi Sahi, artist
- Rashad Salim, Iraqi-German artist
- Tamara Salman, design director
- Yitzhak Yamin - Israeli painter and sculptor. (Born in Iraq of Iraqi Jewish heritage).
Architects
Fashion designers
Business people and entrepreneurs
- Nadhmi Auchi, Iraqi-born businessman. He is the founder and chairman of General Mediterranean Holding (GMH), a conglomerate of 120 companies worldwide. In the Sunday Times Rich List 2008 ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK he was placed 27th with an estimated fortune of £2,150 million.[10]
- Nemir Kirdar, Iraqi-born businessman (President and CEO of Investcorp)[11]
- Khalid Muhmood, director of Apollo Education and Training
- Sharif Hikmat Nashashibi co-founder and chairman of Arab Media Watch
- Samuel Nalo, businessman, hijacker, and burglar
- Ezra Zilkha, Iraqi born businessman (president of Zilkha & Sons)[12]
- Selim Zilkha is an entrepreneur who founded Mothercare, one of the United Kingdom's largest retail chains.
- Awn Al Khashlok, Iraqi businessman, founder and president of Al Baghdadia TV station
- Calouste Gulbenkian, (23 March 1869–20 July 1955) was an Armenian businessman and philanthropist. He played a major role in making the petroleum reserves of the Middle East available to Western development. By the end of his life he had become one of the world's wealthiest individuals and his art acquisitions considered one of the greatest private collections.
Business people and entrepreneurs of Iraqi descent
- Shai Agassi, Founder and Chairman of Better Place
- Zadik Bino - Israeli businessman of Iraqi Jewish descent.[13] He was ranked Israel's 24th richest man in 2006 by Forbes.[14]
- Bahaa Hariri - businessman. Son of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and an Iraqi mother (Nidal Al-Bustani).
- Samuel Hayek - Israeli millionaire real-estate tycoon of Iraqi Jewish descent.
- Bashar Issa - British businessman/property developer[15][16]
- Badr Jafar, business executive and entrepreneur based in the United Arab Emirates
- Victor Nacif - businessman and current Vice President of Design Business Aspects for Nissan Design America. He is of Mexican, Lebanese and Iraqi ancestry.
- Ghadir Razuki - British multi-millionaire of Iraqi parents. Founder of TNT Magazine Group, the largest publishers of free magazines in the world, with magazine and media interests in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
- Pnina Rosenblum - Israeli businesswoman, model and media personality, who has also been involved in politics.
- Joseph Aslan Seroussi, Canadian businessman (Born in Sudan to an Iraqi mother and Spanish father - moved to Canada in 1964)[17]
- Karen El Zein, consultant and programme specialist at the eGovernment Authority in Bahrain.
- Kevork Hovnanian, (1923 - September 24, 2009) was an Iraqi-born Armenian-American businessman and home builder, who founder of Hovnanian Enterprises in 1959. He remained the president and chief executive officer of Hovnanian Enterprises until his retirement in 1997
- Charles Saatchi, (born 9 June 1943 in Baghdad) is the co-founder of the new agency called M&C Saatchi.Charles is also known worldwide as an art collector and owner of the Saatchi Gallery. His wife is Nigella Lawson
- Michael Kadoorie, The Hon. Sir Michael David Kadoorie, GBS (born 1941, Hong Kong) is a business executive and philanthropist. As of March 2011, he is the 6th wealthiest person in Hong Kong, with the wealth of his family estimated to be 6.1 billion US dollars according to Forbes' annual list of billionaires
- Sir Albert Abdullah David Sassoon, 1st Baronet, (25 July 1818 - 24 October 1896), a British Indian philanthropist and merchant. He was born in Baghdad
- David and Simon Reuben, They are joint Chief Executives of Reuben Brothers. are well known British businessmen and philanthropists. In the Forbes magazine List of billionaires 2011, ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK, the brothers were placed second with an estimated fortune of £5.5 billion
- Patricia Kluge, the 1980s society queen and ex-wife of billionaire media mogul John Kluge. She was born in Baghdad 1948 to a British father and a Scottish-Iraqi mother
- Kevin Azzouz, Orlando-area developer. He is a former software magnate who is active in west Orlando and west Orange County, with a number of high-profile real estate projects. Azzouz is the son of an Iraqi father and an American mother, He started a computer-game company in college and sold for profit, studied computer engineering for a couple of years. He struck up a friendship with former IBM senior executive Lennart Mengwall, who became his mentor and partner. They co-founded Quest Development Corp., which created and sold backup-storage systems for personal computers to clients, including Microsoft.
- David Sassoon, Indian merchant and banker; born at Bagdad Oct., 1792; died at Bombay Nov. 7, 1864. His father, who was a wealthy Mesopotamian merchant, and who was for many years state treasurer to the Turkish governor of Baghdad
- Mark Suleiman, a teenage business tycoon[18]
- Jirair S. Hovnanian, (June 9, 1927 – August 14, 2007) was an Armenian Iraqi-American home builder based in New Jersey. Hovnanian's business developed and built over 6,000 houses throughout South Jersey
Caliphs
Comedians
Educators
Engineers and scientists
- 'Abd al-Hamīd ibn Turk
- Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi
- Abu'l-Hasan al-Uqlidisi
- Lihadh Al Ghazali, scientist[21]
- Al-Abbās ibn Said al-Jawharī
- Al-Jazari
- Al-Kindi (Alkindus)
- Ahmed ibn Yusuf, mathematician
- Berossus was a Hellenistic-era Babylonian writer, a priest of Bel Marduk and astronomer writing in Greek, who was active at the beginning of the 3rd century BC.
- Brethren of Purity (Ikhwan al-Safa')
- Hunayn ibn Ishaq, scientist and physician
- Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen/Alhazen)
- Ibn Sahl
- Ibn Tahir al-Baghdadi
- Kidinnu
- Naburimannu
- Sudines Babylonian sage. He is mentioned as one of the famous Chaldean mathematicians and astronomer-astrologers by later Roman writers like Strabo (Geografia 16:1–6).
- Grigor Gurzadyan, is an Armenian astronomer, and pioneer of space astronomy. Gurzadyan was born on October 15, 1922 in Baghdad, to parents who fled in 1915 Western Armenia.
- Thābit ibn Qurra (Thebit)
- Dlawer Ala'Aldeen
- Abdul-Jabbar Abdallah* عبد الجبار عبد الله , a Sabean scholar and second president of Baghdad University[22]
- Farouk Al-Kasim, Born in 1938, an Iraqi geologist by training, not only helped increase oil production in Norway, he also regulated the industry and prevented Norway from the so-called “Dutch Disease”. The country then becomes largely dependent on oil revenues.
Film actors and directors
- Ban Abdul, actress and dancer
- Kasim Abid, London-based cameraman and director of Iraqi origin[23]
- Mohamed Al-Daradji
- Yossi Alfi, Iraqi Jewish actor (Born in Basra).[24]
- Nazem Al-Ghazali, actor/singer
- Koutaiba Al Janabi
- Bashir Al Majid, Iraqi actor in Ahlaam.[25]
- Nahida Al Rammah, actress
- Awatif al Salman, actress[26]
- Jawad Al Shakarchi, actor
- Namaa Alward, actress
- Naguib el-Rihani, actor
- Abbas Fahdel, director of Dawn of the World
- Tariq Hashim
- Sophia Jawad, actress and model based in the United Arab Emirates
- Hind Kamel, famous actress
- Fakhriya Abdel Karim, actress/activist/communist
- Saaed Khalifa, actor
- Farid Majari, film maker
- Dina Mousawi - actress
- Lauren Nadada, actress
- Awatif Naim, actress[27]
- Maysoon Pachachi, director of Return to the Land of Wonders
- Maysalun Qamar, actress
- Basam Ridha, actor
- Shath Salem, actress
- Hiner Saleem, film director
- Saad Salman, film director known for his documentary Baghdad On/Off
- Baz Shamoun, film director and maker of short documentary Where is Iraq?
- Majid Shokor, actor
- Amal Yassin, actress
Film actors and directors of Iraqi descent
- Layth Abdulamir
- Antonio Albadran, Iraqi-American actor born in Basra.
- Hana Al Bayaty, filmmaker and journalist
- Anja Al-Erhayem, filmmaker (Iraqi father/Danish mother)
- Dina Al-Erhayem, actress (sister of Anja Al-Erhayem)[28]
- Ja'far 'Abd Al-Hamid, Iraqi-British filmmaker of "Mesocafe".[29]
- Fajer Al-Kaisi, Iraqi-Canadian actor, now resides in the States.
- Sarmed al-Samarrai, actor starred in the Universal Pictures film United 93
- Usama Alshaibi, director of Muhammad and Jane and Nice Bombs
- Amer Alwan, film director known for winning an award for Zaman, The Man From The Reeds
- Joe Balass, film maker
- Claudia Basrawi, German actress and writer (German mother and Iraqi father)[30]
- Carole Basri, filmmaker
- Zana Briski, director of Born into Brothels
- Selma Chalabi, film maker
- Tamara Dhia, Iraqi-American actress
- Brian George - British-Israeli actor, most famous role is as Pakistani restaurateur Babu Bhatt on Seinfeld. (Born to Baghdadi Jewish parents).
- Shosha Goren, actress and comedian
- Ishtar Yasin Gutierrez, film director (Iraqi father and Chilean mother)
- Yasmine Hanani - American actress featured in documentary films Voices of Iraq and My Country, My Country
- Don Hany, actor (Won Best Actor for Winning the Peace (2005)
- Parine Jaddo, Iraqi-American filmmaker of Rasta's Paradise
- Nicholas Kadi, actor
- Nadia Kamil, actor, comedian and writer (Iraqi father/Welsh mother, born in Swansea, South Wales)[31]
- Chris Kattan - American comedian and actor, best known for his work on the sketch show Saturday Night Live. (Born to an Iraqi Jewish father and Hungarian Buddhist mother).
- Charlotte Lewis, actress most notable for her lead female role in The Golden Child alongside Eddie Murphy
- Anisa Mehdi - Emmy Award winning film director, journalist and director of Inside Mecca
- Safia Monney, actress
- Yigal Naor, actor
- Lorca Peress, director and producer of Off Off Broadway plays (Born to a Puerto Rican mother and an Iraqi and Polish Jewish father)[32]
- Rashed Radwan, Spanish film director[33]
- Heather Raffo, Award winning playwright/actress most known for her role in 9 Parts of Desire
- Haider Rashid, director, producer and writer (Iraqi father and Italian mother)
- Shero Rauf, actor and a stuntman in the film Troy (film) alongside Brad Pitt
- Liat Ron, actress and dancer
- Mohamed Said (actor), Swedish actor
- Osamah Sami, actor
- Ashley Sawdaye, actor (Iraqi Jewish father and French/Israeli mother)
- Alia Shawkat - American actress known as Maeby Funke on Arrested Development
- Zina Zaflow, actress
- Nadira, (Farhat Ezekiel Nadira (5 December 1932 – 9 February 2006), commonly known as Nadira was an actress in Indian Bollywood cinema
- Amy Fadhli, (born January 30, 1966 in Galveston, Texas, U.S.) is an American fitness model, actress and winner of the Fitness America National Champion 1996. Her father is Iraqi who was born in Baghdad, a cardiovascular surgeon, and her mother is Czech, a sculptor and breeder of Arabian horses[34]
- Ashley Sawdaye, (born June 2, 1974) is an American actor. He is most notable for his role as Sgt. Bridges in the 2007 film, The Ungodly.
- Ayman Reda, (Iraqi father / Syrian mother) Is one of the most famous Actor and Comedian in the Arab World
Journalists
- Fadhil Al Azzawi, writer, journalist and translator
- Zuhair Al-Jezairy, journalist
- Atwar Bahjat, journalist and reporter murdered in Iraq
- Omar Fekeiki, journalist and former Washington Post Iraq correspondent. Currently, Assignment Editor and Cultural Advisor for Iraq news website.
- Rauf Hassan, journalist and writer
- Bilal Hussein, photojournalist
- Salam Pax blogger, translator and journalist
- Taher Thabet, journalist
- Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, is an unembedded Iraqi journalist who began working after the U.S. invasion and has written for The Guardian and Washington Post and published photographs in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Times (London), and other media outlets, Besides reporting from his native Iraq, Abdul-Ahad has also reported from Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan and Libya.
Journalists of Iraqi descent
- Ghaith Abdul-Ahad - British-Iraqi journalist (born in Baghdad), has written for The Guardian and Washington Post, as well as other media outlets.
- Firas Al-Atraqchi, Canadian journalist/writer[35]
- Hana Al Bayaty film maker and journalist
- Leila Barclay, American journalist and storyteller
- Dunja Hayali - German journalist and TV presenter[36][37]
- Salam Karam - Swedish journalist, has reported for the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet and in the radio program Godmorgon, världen!.
- Farah Nosh, photojournalist
- Michelle Nouri - journalist and writer, her publications include "La ragazza di Baghdad" ("The girl in Baghdad").
- Daniel Pearl - (1963–2002), was an American journalist who was kidnapped and murdered in Karachi, Pakistan. (Born to an Iraqi Jewish mother).
- Anias Mehdi, Emmy Award winning film director, journalist and director of Iraqi Arab father and Anglo-Canadian mother
- Lorraine Ali, a reporter, editor and culture writer for many publications, including Newsweek where she is a Contributing Editor. She covers culture at large as well as pop culture, and writes frequently about the Middle East and Iraq. Lorraine was born to an Iraqi American father who immigrated from Baghdad to Los Angeles in the 1950s. Her mother is of French Canadian descent and was born and raised in Los Angeles. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son[38]
Military figures
Modern military figures
- Salah al-Din al-Sabbagh, (1889–1945) Iraqi Army officer
- Mustafa Al Hankawi, he is first foreign graduate to be presented the Sword of Honour by the Queen of England at Sandhurst Military Academy
- Hagop Hagopian, was one of the founders and the main leader of the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA).Born in Mosul, Iraq as Bedros Ohanessian in 1955, in later years he took the pseudonym Hagop Hagopian. He was assassinated outside his home in Athens' Palaio Faliro suburb on April 28, 1988, while he was waiting for a taxi to take him to the airport for a flight to Belgrade.
- Toma Tomas, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Joseph, was an Assyrian politician and the leader of anti-government millitias (al-Ansar) in northern Iraq during the 1960s and 70s. Toma Tomas was born in Alqosh to a Chaldean Catholic in 1924. He witnessed the Simele Massacre first-hand when Assyrians escaped the massacres to Alqosh. This event was crucial in shaping his political ideas in the future.
Misc
- Dan Halutz, Israeli air force general
- Moshe Levi, (1936 – January 8, 2008), was the 12th Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. He was the first Chief of Staff of Mizrahi (Iraqi) origin.
- Zee M Kane, (born 8 October 1982) to Iraqi father and English mother. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the blog The Next Web, which is a Technorati Top 50 blog worldwide.
- Amira Mor, bellydancer[39]
- Yitzhak Mordechai, was as an Israeli general, and later Minister of Defense and Minister of Transport.
- Muayyed Nureddin, geologist
- Ibn Rajab, scholar
- Kaysar Ridha, (born August 10, 1980) was a contestant on Big Brother 6 and Big Brother 7, a reality TV series in the United States shown on the channel CBS. He was extremely popular as a contestant on Big Brother 6, but came in 10th place. Kaysar was born in Baghdad, Iraq. His family immigrated to the USA when he was an infant.
- Fairuz Yamulky
- Duha Asker, actor and photographer[40][41]
- Zahra Alkabi, director and founder of Save Refugees[42]
- Sitti Maani Gioerida, Pietro Della Valle's wife,an Italian Renaissance traveler. She was born in Baghdad, Iraq of mixed Syrian and Armenian descent (1586–1652)[43]
- Maria Theresa Asmar, was known as Babylon's Princess in Europe. She was born in 1804 in Tel Keppe, Iraq and died in France before the Franco-Prussian War . She was the author of Memoirs of a Babylonian Princess, which consists of two volumes and 720 pages. This book was written in the early 19th century, describing her travels through Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel and the harem system used in Turkey.[44]
Models
- Anais Catala
- Klodia Hanna, model and singer
- Pavla Drabkova[45]
- Amy Fadhli, fitness model, actress and winner of the "Fitness America National Champion 1996" (Iraqi father and Czech mother)
- Somy Ali, former Bollywood actress and now model and journalist (Iraqi mother and Pakistani father)
- Viola Haqi, Dutch-Iraqi model
- Alexander Farsi, an Iraqi model and actor
- Silva Shahakian, an Iraqi Armenian who was crowned as Miss Iraq in 2006. She received the crown because the initial winner, Tamar Goregian feared retribution from militants.
- Tamar Goregian, Miss Iraq in 2006. She decided to step down just four days after her election, making this the shortest reign in the pageant's 60-year history. She announced her resignation after receiving threats by a group of religious extremists who referred to her as "the queen of infidels" for participating in the contest. She is Iraqi Armenian.
Monarchs
Musicians
Main article:
Music of Iraq
- Rida Al Abdullah
- Acrassicauda, is an Iraqi thrash metal band formed in 2001. Members are Faisal Talal, Tony Aziz, Firas Al-Lateef, Marwan Riyadh and James Al Ansari
- Nazem Al-Ghazali
- Rahim AlHaj
- Hatim Al-Iraqi, Iraqi singer[46]
- Karim Al-Iraqi, poet and musician[47]
- Basim al-karbalaie
- Hussam Al-Rassam
- Kathem Al Saher, one of the most successful Arab singers in the Arab world
- Ashur Bet Sargis, Assyrian singer
- Acrassicauda, Iraq's only heavy metal band
- Jamil Bachir
- Munir Bashir
- Ahmed El Faleh
- Filfel Gourgy, singer[48]
- Seta Hagopian, famous Iraqi Armenian singer
- Jamal Al Atawi, Musicologist, Emeritus PHD in Iraqi Maqam, Iraqi Babylonian Jewish relevant Makam theorist and performer.
- Klodia Hanna - singer and model
- Shatha Hassoun winner of Star Academy 4
- Bashar Lulua, orchestra conductor
- Rahma Mezher came 2nd in Najm Al Khaleej
- Majid Al Muhandis
- Ahmed Mukhtar
- Niz-r, rapper
- Beatrice Ohanessian - (1927–2008) was an Iraqi pianist, notable for being Iraq's first concert pianist and first female composer.[49] (Born in Baghdad, of Armenian origin).
- Salima Pasha - (?-1974), was a well known Iraqi Jewish singer and was dubbed as the most famous female singer, since the early 1930s. She married fellow Iraqi singer and actor Nazem Al-Ghazali.
- Ehab Salem, Iraqi pop singer[50]
- Janan Sawa
- Naseer Shamma
- Nawfal Shamoun
- Salman Shukur
- Sahar Taha, singer and artist[51]
- Unknown to No One, boyband
- Haitham Yousif, popular Iraqi singer
- Mansour Zalzal
- Ziryab
Musicians of Iraqi descent
- Hanan Alattar - American Soprano opera singer
- Laith Alattar, Iraqi American musician
- Laith Al-Deen, German pop musician
- Farida Mohammad Ali, singer
- Nora Foss al-Jabri, Norwegian child singer
- Saleh and Daoud Al-Kuwaity
- Oren Ambarchi - Australian electronic guitarist and drummer. Is of Iraqi (Sephardi Jewish) heritage.
- Naufalle Al Wahab - Iraqi rapper and composer of Aïwa
- Wamid Al Wahab - Iraqi musician and composer of Aïwa
- Inbar Bakal - Israeli singer/songwriter of mixed Iraqi and Yemeni descent.
- Bruno Coulais, composer
- Dganit Daddo, Israeli singer born to an Iraqi Jewish family[52]
- Yair Dalal
- Amir ElSaffar
- Dena El Saffar sister of Amir El Saffar
- Rami Fortis - Israeli rock singer (Iraqi/Italian ancestry)
- Linda George - singer
- Munir Bashir - musician
- Natalya Ginaty, Natalya "Nazima" Ginaty, Israeli singer/songwriter/actress (Iraqi father)[53]
- Juliana Jendo - singer
- Klodia Hanna - singer
- Ashur Bet Sargis - singer
- Chemda Khalili, singer/songwriter and co-host of the Keith and The Girl podcast
- Lowkey, British-Iraqi rapper
- Sara Manasseh, singer, doctor, performer (Iraqi Jew born in Bombay, India).[54]
- The Narcicyst, Iraqi-Canadian rapper
- Aida Nadeem, Iraqi-Danish musician
- Karim Othman-Hassan, oudist[55]
- Esma Redžepova, Romani Macedonian vocalist, songwriter, and humanitarian. Her grandfather was an Iraqi Jew.
- Denise Roxenhamn, Swedish bassist for band, The Laundry Shop (half Swedish and half Iraqi)[56]
- Shlomo, human beatbox and member of UK-hip hop act, Foreign Beggars
- TIMZ Iraqi-American rapper
- Elliott Yamin
- Daron Malakian, (born July 18, 1975) is an Armenian-American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist, songwriter, and occasional vocalist of the heavy metal band System of a Down and as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and songwriter of the alternative rock band Scars on Broadway.
- Roni Dalumi (born September 15, 1991) is an Israeli singer. She won the final of Kochav Nolad 7 contest in August 2009
- Darin or Darin Zanyar (born June 2, 1987 in Stockholm, Sweden) more commonly known as Darin is a Swedish, Kurdish pop singer and songwriter of Kurdish descent and one of Sweden's best-selling artists, with numerous chart topping songs and music albums.
- Loris Ohannes Chobanian (born April 17, 1933 to Armenian parents in Mosul, Iraq) is an accomplished Armenian-American composer of classical music, expert conductor, and guitar and lute teacher and performer. He served as Professor of Composition as well as Composer-in-Residence at Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory.
Patriarchs
Physicians & surgeons
Politicians
- Khudayer Abbas
- Izzat Ibrahim ad-Douri
- Haidar al-Abbadi
- Ali Jawdat al-Aiyubi
- Mohammed A. Aldouri
- Iyad Allawi
- Alaudin Abdul-Saheb al-Alwan
- Jafar al-Askari
- Nori al-Badran
- Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
- Ahmed al-Barak
- Abd ar-Rahman al-Bazzaz
- Naseer al-Chaderchi
- Hani al-Fekaiki
- Kamil Mubdir al-Gailani
- Ali Faik al-Ghadban
- Mohammed Shakir al-Ghanam
- Mahdi al-Hafidh
- Ali Al-Haidri
- Abdul Aziz al-Hakim
- Abdul Razak al-Hashimi
- Aqila al-Hashimi
- Yasin al-Hashimi
- Taha al-Hashimi
- Hajim al-Hassani
- Ibrahim al-Jaafari
- Mofeed Mohammed Jawad al-Jazaeri
- Rashid Ali al-Kaylani
- Abd ar-Rahman al-Haydari al-Kaylani
- Salama al-Khufaji
- Raja Habib al-Khuzaai
- Pascal Esho Warda was the Minister of Immigration and Refugees in the Iraqi Interim Government. A Chaldean Catholic and an ethnic Assyrian, she was born in 1961 in the Northern Iraqi city of Dahuk, but later exiled to France. There, she attended the University of Lyon and received her Masters in human rights studies. A member of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, she co-founded the Iraqi Society for Human Rights and was the President of the Assyrian Womens Union in Baghdad.
- Ali Abdul-Amir Allawi
- Ali Hassan al-Majid
- Sami Izara al-Majoun
- Nouri al-Maliki
- Naziha al-Dulaimi[57]
- Jamil al-Midfai
- Abdel-Karim Mahoud al-Mohammedawi
- Rashid al-Rifai
- Mowaffak al-Rubaie
- Muqtada al-Sadr
- Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf
- Ayham al-Samaraie
- Hussain al-Shahristani
- Hashim Abdul-Rahman al-Shibli
- Tawfiq al-Suwaidi
- Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai
- Rafi' Dahham Al-Tikriti, Chief Iraqi Intelligence Service
- Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti
- Sabawi Ibrahim al-Tikriti
- Watban Ibrahim al-Tikriti
- Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum
- Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer
- Dara Noor Alzin
- Abdul Rahman Arif
- Abdul Salam Arif
- Muhammad Najib ar-Ruba'i
- Abd al-Muhsin as-Sa'dun
- Nuri as-Said
- Zeyad Abdul-Razzaq Mohammed Aswad
- Tariq Aziz
- Salaheddine Bahaaeddin
- Massoud Barzani
- Nesreen Mustafa Sidiq Berwari
- Ahmed Chalabi
- Sondul Chapouk
- Ali Fadel
- Aras Habib
- Mohsen Abdel Hamid
- Saddam Hussein
- Faisal I of Iraq
- Faisal II of Iraq
- Ghazi of Iraq
- Hussein Kamel al-Majid
- Hatem Kamil
- Yunadam Kanna
- Abdul-Rahman Sidiq Kareem
- Lamiya Abed Khadawi
- Mohammed Jassem Khudair
- Wael Abdul Latif
- Samir Shakir Mahmoud
- Abdul-Wahab Mirjan
- Hamid Majid Mousa
- Rashad Mandan Omar
- Mahmoud Othman
- Adnan Pachachi
- Behnam Zayya Polis
- Abdul Karim Qassim
- Mohammed Raad, one of the founders of Hezbollah and an important political leader[58][59]
- Mohammed Tawfik Raheem
- Abdul-Ameer Abboud Rahima
- Taha Yassin Ramadan
- Abdul-Latif Rashid
- Naji Sabri
- Barham Salih
- Ezzedine Salim
- Talib Shabib
- Naji Shawkat
- Bakr Sidqi
- Bayan Baqir Solagh
- Hikmat Sulayman
- Jalal Talabani
- Abdul-Basit Turki
- Hoshyar Zebari
- Mohammed Amza Zubeidi
- Jalal Dabagh
- Sassoon Eskell, (17 March 1860 – 31 August 1932) was an Iraqi statesman and financier, Regarded in Iraq as the Father of Parliament. Sir Sassoon was the first Minister of Finance in the Kingdom and a permanent Member of Parliament until his death.[60]
- Christian Anthony Rassam, ((died 1872), Nestorian Christian and explorer; British vice-consul at Mosul
Politicians of Iraqi descent
- Anood Al-Samerai - British Southwark councillor for the Liberal Democrats. (Born to an Iraqi father and British mother).[61]
- Binyamin Ben-Eliezer - is an Israeli politician and former soldier. He was the first Iraqi Jew to lead the Israeli Labour party.
- José Murat Casab - (born to Iraqi immigrants) Mexican politician and a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party also former Governor of Oaxaca.
- Ra'anan Cohen - former Israeli politician who served as a government minister during the early 2000s.
- Ran Cohen - Israeli politician and Knesset member for Meretz-Yachad. (Born in Baghdad to Iraqi parents)
- Saad Hariri - Lebanese Legislator (2005-), son of Rafik Hariri and an Iraqi mother.
- Dalia Itzik - is an Israeli politician affiliated with the Kadima party.[62] She took office as the first female speaker of the Knesset on 4 May 2006.
- David Saul Marshall - was the leader of the Singapore Labour Front and became the first Chief Minister of Singapore in 1955. He was born into an Orthodox Jewish family of Iraqi ancestry in Singapore.
- Eliyahu Navi - Mayor of Beersheba, Israel. (Born in Basra).
- Ebrahim Daoud Nonoo - former member of the National Assembly of Bahrain and currently the CEO of the Basma.
- Houda Nonoo - politician and current Bahraini Ambassador to the United States. She is of Iraqi Jewish origin.
- Professor Sir Ara Darzi is one of the world's leading surgeons at Imperial College London where he holds Hamlyn Chair of Surgery, specialising in the field of minimally invasive and robot-assisted surgery, having pioneered many new techniques and technologies. On 29 June 2007 Darzi was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lords) at the Department of Health by the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown[63]
- Anna Eshoo - is the U.S. Representative for California's 14th congressional district, serving since 1993. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, which includes part of Silicon Valley, includes the cities of Redwood City, Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Palo Alto. She is the only Member of Congress of Assyrian descent.[64]
- Esabelle Dingizian - (born in Baghdad in 1962) is a Swedish Green Party politician. She has been a member of the Riksdag since 2006.
- Murad Artin - born the 6th January 1960 in Iraq, is a Swedish politician and Left Party member who worked in the Riksdag from 1998 to 2002
- Les Gara - is a Democratic member of the Alaska House of Representatives, representing the 23rd District since 2003.
- Franso Hariri - (1937 - February 18, 2001) an Assyrian politician, was a high ranking and long-standing Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq member and head of the KDP block of Iraqi Kurdistan National Assembly.
- Fawzi Hariri - (1958 Arbil, Iraq) is Iraq's Minister of Industry and Minerals. He was sworn in on May 20, 2006. Despite inaccurately being labeled as Kurdish throughout different media reports, Hariri is of Assyrian origin and son of the politician Franso Hariri (1937–2001).[1] Fawzi Hariri lived for 16 years in London where he worked for British Airways. Like his father, he is a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq.
Religious figures
- Abo of Tiflis - Patron Saint of Tbilisi, Georgia
- Muhsin al-Hakim
- Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr
- Basile Georges Casmoussa
- Mordechai Eliyahu - former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel
- Yitzchak Kaduri - was a renowned Mizrahi Orthodox Haredi rabbi and kabbalist
- Yitzhak Nissim - (1896–1981), former Sephardic Chief rabbi of Israel
- Ovadia Yosef - He is the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, and the current spiritual leader of the Shas political party in the Knesset (Israel's parliament).
- Mar Dinkha IV - The current Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East.
- Andraos Abouna, (March 23, 1943 – July 27, 2010) was the Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop of Hirta and the auxiliary bishop of the Chaldean Catholic Patriarchate of Babylon. He is an ethnic Assyrian.Ordained to the priesthood on June 5, 1960, he was named bishop on November 6, 2002 and was ordained on January 6, 2003
- Emmanuel III Delly, is the Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans and Primate of the Chaldean Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic sui juris Particular church of the Catholic Church and a Cardinal. He was born on October 6, 1927 in Tel Keppe and was ordained a priest on December 21, 1952. He was ordained a bishop ten years later in December 1962 at the age of 35. He was elected Patriarch of the Chaldean Church on December 3, 2003, succeeding the late Patriarch Raphael I Bidawid. He was created a Cardinal Bishop on November 24, 2007.[65]
- Mar Paul II Cheikho, was the patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church from 1958-1989. He was born on November 19, 1906 in Alqosh[66]
- Raphael I Bidawid, was the patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church from 1989-2003. He was also a Syriac scholar.[67]
- Asenath Barzani, (1590–1670) was a renowned Kurdish Jewish woman who lived in Mosul, Iraq. She was the daughter of the illustrious Rabbi Samuel Barzani. She studied Kabbalah.[68]
- Anastas Al-Karmali, Anastas the Carmelite (b. 5 Aug 1866-d. 1947 Jan 7) was a Christian priest, most famed for his contributions to the field of Arabic linguistics.[69]
- Louis Cheikhô, (b. 1859 d. 1927) was an ethnic Assyrian Orientalist and Theologian. He is considered as a major contributor and pioneer of the rediscovery of the Eastern Rite Christian heritage.
- Torkom Manoogian, is the current Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem serving the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem as Archbishop under the authority of the Catholicos of Armenia and of all Armenians of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Archbishop Torkom Manoogian was born on February 16, 1919, in a refugee camp near the desert town of Baquba, north of Baghdad, Iraq.
Sports personalities
- Bassim Abbas, footballer
- Fareed Lafta - (Arabic: , فريد لفتة) is an Iraqi pilot and athlete. He was the first qualified cosmonaut from Iraq, and has appeared in Guinness World Records for participating in the first skydive above Mount Everest.
- Haidar Abdul-Razzaq, footballer
- Haidar Aboodi, footballer
- Nashat Akram, footballer
- Najah Ali, Iraqi boxer who qualified for the 2004 Olympics in Athens
- Adnan Al-Kaissie, professional wrestler
- Abdul Wahid Aziz, Iraqi weightlifter, who won a bronze medal in the lightweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics.
- Ammo Baba, former Iraqi international football player and coach of the Iraq national football team.
- Youra Eshaya, footballer
- Faisal Faisal, footballer
- Ghanim Ghudayer, footballer
- Basil Gorgis, footballer
- Jassim Muhammad Haji, footballer
- Falah Hassan, footballer
- Louay Salah Hassan, footballer
- Khaldoun Ibrahim, footballer
- Salih Jaber, footballer
- Abbas Obeid Jassim, footballer
- Ihab Kareem, footballer
- Mahdi Karim, footballer
- Younis Mahmoud, Iraqi football striker and captain of the Iraq national football team. In 2007 he captained the Iraq football team to the Asian Cup glory. He currently plays for Al-Gharafa Sports Club in Qatar.
- Ahmad Mnajed, Iraqi national soccer team player, who plays for Al-Ansar in Lebanon.
- Emad Mohammed, footballer
- Karrar Jassim Mohammed, footballer
- Hawar Mulla Mohammed, Iraqi footballer who is known to be one of the best players in Iraqi national team. He currently plays for Anorthosis FC in Cyprus.
- Sarhang Muhsin, footballer
- Samal Saeed Mujbel, footballer
- Qusay Munir, Iraqi national soccer team player, who is a midfielder for Qatar SC in Qatar.
- Mohammad Nasser, Iraqi national soccer team player. Plays for Esteghlal Ahvaz in Iran.
- Yassir Raad, footballer
- Ahmed Radhi, footballer
- Ali Rehema, footballer
- Noor Sabri, footballer
- Saleh Sader, footballer
- Hussein Saeed, footballer
- Edison David, (born in Iraq) was an Iraqi Assyrian football player, who played for Iraq and Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya in the 50's and 60's
- Kadhem Sharif, Iraqi world-class wrestler and weightlifter
- Abdul-Razzaq Ahmed Taha, was an Iraqi chess player and former president of Iraqi Chess Federation.
- Thamer Yousif, footballer
- Saadi Toma, (born 25 April 1955 in Baghdad, Iraq) is an Iraqi Assyrian former football player and coach.
- Youra Eshaya Pera, first Iraqi football player abroad[70]
- Peter Murad, is a former football player of Al-Minaa , Manchester United and Iraq national team.[71]
Sports personalities of Iraqi descent
Television and radio personalities
- Rosil Al Azawi, television presenter
- Jasim Al-Azzawi, Iraqi host, who presents the show Inside Iraq on Al Jazeera English.
- Suhair al-Qaisi, television presenter
- Laila Al Shaikhli, television presenter on Al Jazeera English
- Rola Bahnam, television presenter and former member of the Lebanese girl band The 4 Cats
- Ali Jaafar, (? - May 31, 2006), was a sports anchorman for Iraqi state television Al Iraqiya.
- Shaima Zubeir, television presenter
Television and radio personalities of Iraqi descent
- Kenza Braiga, French TV reality show star of Iraqi origin.
- Péri Cochin, television host (French of Lebanese/Iraqi ancestry)
- Eli Yatzpan, Israeli television host and comedian
- Wafaa' Al-Natheema, poet, writer, translator and independent researcher[76]
- Thura Al Windawi, author
- Jamil Sidqi al-Zahawi, poet and philosopher
- Maria Theresa Asmar, author
- Al-Hariri of Basra, Iraqi poet, scholar of the Arabic language and high government official of the Seljuk Empire.[77]
- Hafsa Bikri, poet
- Judith Fathallah, author[78]
- Naeim Giladi - is an Anti-Zionist, and author of an autobiographical article and historical analysis entitled The Jews of Iraq.[79] The article later formed the basis for his originally self-published book Ben Gurion's Scandals: How the Haganah and the Mossad Eliminated Jews.
- Jamal Jumá, poet and researcher
- Loolwa Khazzoom, editor and writer[80]
- Betool Khedairi, author
- Moshe Levy, author
- Alia Mamdouh, author
- Dunya Mikhail, poet
- Abu Nuwas - (750–810) Born in Ahvaz, of Arab and Persian descent. He was one of the greatest of classical Arabic and Persian poets.
- David Rabeeya - (born 1938), author and professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies.
- Mahmoud Saeed, novelist
- Rena Kirdar Sindi, author and party hostess (born in Baghdad).[81]
- Reuven Snir, writer
- Haifa Zangana, novelist, author and artist
Writers & poets of Iraqi descent
- Adeeb Kamal Ad-Deen - Iraqi Australian poet
- Suzanne Alaywan, poet and painting artist (Born in Beirut to a Lebanese father and Iraqi mother)[82]
- Lorraine Ali - American reporter, editor, culture writer and music critic for Newsweek.
- Khalid al-Maaly - German-Iraqi writer, poet and publisher
- Alise Alousi, Iraqi-American poet[83]
- Eli Amir, Israeli writer and activist
- Alon Ben-Meir, professor, writer and is the Middle East Project director at the World Policy Institute
- Ari Ben-Menashe - Israeli author of Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network
- Saul Fathi - Iraqi-born American Jewish author of stories on the plight of Sephardic Jews in Iraq.
- Amira Hess - Israeli poet and artist
- Julie Iny, author and activist
- Armand Nassery, author and filmmaker.
- Raed Jarrar, writer, architect and human rights activist
- Naïm Kattan - Canadian novelist, essayist and critic.
- Achmed Khammas - German writer (Iraqi/German heritage)
- Sam Kubba, author, businessman
- Jack Marshall (author), poet and author
- M.T. Mehdi - (1928–1999) Iraqi-American writer and pro-Palestinian activist.
- Sami Michael - Israeli author and the president of The Association for Civil Rights in Israel.
- Abdul Rahman Munif - (1933–2004) He was one of the most important Arabic novelists of the 20th century. Born in Amman to an Iraqi mother and Saudi father.
- Leilah Nadir, novelist and writer
- Michelle Nouri - writer, her publications include "La ragazza di Baghdad" ("The girl in Baghdad").
- Greg Patent, author (Born in Hong Kong to a Russian father and Iraqi mother)[84]
- Zainab Salbi, writer, activist, co-founder and president of Women for Women International.
- Rachel Shabi, author and contributing writer to The Guardian.
- Ella Shohat, writer and activist
- Ronny Someck - Israeli poet
- Rachel Wahba, writer
- Abraham Yahuda - (1877–1951) Jewish writer, teacher and linguist. (Born in Jerusalem to a Jewish family originally from Baghdad).
- Samuel Shimon, writer and co-founder of Banipal magazine. His autobiographical novel (An Iraqi in Paris), was published in Arabic in 2005, and a limited first edition in English translation was published the same year.
- Naji Jawad Al Saati, writer (1922-2009)[85]
- Shant Kenderian, is notable as an Iraqi-born United States citizen who became an American prisoner-of-war after being forced to fight against the United States in the Persian Gulf War.
See also
References
- ^ Alibadi.dk
- ^ Hanaa Al-Wardi, an Iraqi American, multi-media studio artist in Pasadena.
- ^ Apo Avedissian's Official Website
- ^ Halla Ayla
- ^ al-liquindoi: Dubai gallery - Tamara Abdul Hadi
- ^ Miliana Al-Talibi
- ^ Boaz David
- ^ Iraqi-Dutch fashion designer
- ^ Future TV
- ^ Sunday Times Rich List 2008 online edition
- ^ Nemir Kirdar, President and CEO of Investcorp Addresses the Future of Iraq
- ^ Dynamic Duo: Ezra Zilkha and Ace Greenberg
- ^ Aliyah from Iraq
- ^ Israel's Richest: #24 Zadik Bino at Forbes.com
- ^ Basharalissa.com
- ^ Allthingsbuffalo.wnymedia.net
- ^ Joseph Aslan Seroussi, Head of the Association of Foreign Investors
- ^ [1]
- ^ Alphonse Mingana
- ^ Hind Rassam Culhane
- ^ Arab's Power 100, 45# Professor Lihadh Al Ghazali
- ^ http://www.ankawa.com/forum/index.php/topic,326438.0.html
- ^ Arab Film Festival: Filmmakers: KASIM ABID
- ^ Yossi Alfi (born in Basra, Iraq in 1945)
- ^ Basheer Al Majid, actor in "Dreams".
- ^ Love among the suicide bombs: Iraq's opera
- ^ Baghdad Bulletin - Independent Iraq news
- ^ Dina Official Site
- ^ Iraqi film maker Ja'far 'Abd al-Hamid
- ^ Literaturport.de
- ^ Nadia Kamil's biography
- ^ Lorca Peress - Director and Producer: Off Off Broadway
- ^ The Next Level :: View topic - 'The Hidden Iraq' - A Jaw-Dropping Video
- ^ Amy Fadhli
- ^ IslamonLine.net
- ^ Babelmed.net
- ^ Google Translate Wikipedia page in German
- ^ Lorraine Ali
- ^ Gotham Gazette - The Citizen
- ^ Duha Asker profile
- ^ Duha-asker.com
- ^ The Impact of War on Women Portland, Oregon USA
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ Pageant News Ticker VIII
- ^ Melody4arab.com
- ^ Karimaliraqi.net
- ^ Filfel Gourgy - The World is Happy / Le Monde est Heureux / cdRoots
- ^ Combs, Marianne. Music in Baghdad: An Iraqi pioneer looks back. Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
- ^ Ehabsalem.com
- ^ Indymedia beirut | Memorial for Victims in Iraq and Palestine | 29.04.2003 15:03
- ^ Singer, Dganit Daddo
- ^ Natalya Ginaty
- ^ Dr Sara Manasseh
- ^ Ensemble FizFuz, MP3 Music Download at eMusic
- ^ State Magazine's Notes
- ^ "Error: no
|title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naziha_al-Dulaimi.
- ^ MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base
- ^ Fayrouz In Beaumont: Story of a Released Hostage
- ^ Sassoon Eskell
- ^ Libdems.org.uk
- ^ Dalia Itzik becomes acting president Jerusalem Post, 25 January 2007
- ^
- ^ Anna Eshoo
- ^ Emmanuel III Delly
- ^ Paul II Cheikho
- ^ Raphael I Bidawid
- ^ [4]
- ^ Anastas Al-Karmali
- ^ [5]
- ^ Peter Murad
- ^ Tripod.com
- ^ Iraqi Football Players in Europe: Malik Hassan Karim
- ^ Torontowingedbull.com
- ^ Zindamagazine.com
- ^ Radius of Arab American Writers: Wafaa' Al-Natheema
- ^ Assemblies of Al-Hariri Shah, Amina. Octagon Press, 78 York Street London
- ^ Survival by hope - WalesOnline
- ^ Giladi, Naeim (April–May 1998). "The Jews of Iraq" (PDF). The Link 31 (2): 1–13. http://www.ameu.org/uploads/vol31_issue2_1998.pdf. Retrieved 2006-10-31.
- ^ Amazon.com: Yentl's Revenge: The Next Wave of Jewish Feminism: Books: Susannah Heschel,Danya Ruttenberg
- ^ Biography for Rena Sindi
- ^ Haven Books: Suzan Alaiwan
- ^ Women in Black quietly denounces Bush and bombs
- ^ Author Greg Patent brings us scrumptious chocolate treats.
- ^ [6]