Talat Othman
Talat M. Othman (born April 27, 1936, in Betuniaa, Palestine) is a Palestinian-American businessman, investor, and Republican fundraiser. On July 31, 2000, he opened the Republican National Convention session with a dua'a, or Muslim benediction, marking the first time a Muslim had addressed a major US political gathering. Governor Jim Edgar proclaimed Nov 1, 1997 Haj Talat M. Othman day in Illinois. In 2006, Talat received an honorary doctorate degree in humane letters from the Catholic Theological Union.
Career synopsis
- 1947 – emigrated to the United States with his family.
- 1956 to 1977, Othman served as an executive in the International Banking Department at Harris Trust and Savings Bank in Chicago, Illinois, as Vice President and Division Administrator of the International Money Management Division, including the International Economic Research Unit.
- 1978 to 1983, Othman was General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Arab Finance Corporation, Luxembourg, and General Manager of the Saudi Investment Group, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
- 1983 to 1995, he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dearborn Financial Inc., Arlington Heights, Illinois.
- 1987 – joined the board of Harken Energy to represent the interests of Abdullah Taha Bakhsh. Served as chair of the three member Audit Committee of which George W. Bush was a member.
- 1990 – among 15 Arab-Americans invited to the White House after Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait.[1]
- 1995 – formed Grove Financial, Inc. of Chicago and currently serves as its Chairman and CEO< an international investment management firm located in Long Grove, Illinois, specializing in managing investment funds and U.S.-Middle East business.
- 2000 – opened the July 31, 2000 session of the RNC with a Muslim benediction.[2]
- April 4, 2002 – Othman joins Islamic Institute head Khaled Saffuri in a meeting with Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill (arranged by Grover Norquist) as representatives of the Muslim-American community, to voice complaints about the March 20 raid on the International Institute of Islamic Thought and 19 related entities.
- President of Crescent Capital Management, LLC. Chicago, Illinois.
- Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Amana Mutual Funds, Bellingham, Washington
Other affiliations
References
External links
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Othman, Talat |
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April 27, 1936 |
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