February 9: The Demands of the Iranian People ft. Amb. Samir Sumaida'ie & Roya Hakakian
On February 9, 2023, former senior Iraqi official Samir Sumaida'ie joined American Purpose to share his perspective on the demands from the Iranian people for political change in their country. American Purpose senior fellow Roya Hakakian served as event moderator.
Amb. Samir Sumaida'ie was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1944. After having graduated from Durham University, UK, he founded and ran a design business in London. Sumaida'ie was a leader in the opposition to Saddam Hussain. After returning from exile, he became a member of the governing council in 2003, then the minister of interior in 2004 and permanent representative to the UN in 2004 until 2006, and Iraq's ambassador to the United States between 2006-2012.
Roya Hakakian is a member of the editorial board and senior fellow of American Purpose. Her opinion columns, essays, and book reviews appear in English-language publications like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, and she has been a guest on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” among many other publications and programs. Hakakian is author of two collections of poetry in Persian and is listed among the leading new voices in Persian poetry in the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World.