Albert A. Hakim (July 16, 1936 - April 25, 2003) was an Iranian-American businessman and a figure in the Iran-Contra affair. Born into a Jewish

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian family, Hakim attended California Polytechnic Institute for three years, beginning in 1955. Back in Iran, he established an export business specializing in advanced technologies, and in avoiding export restrictions related to them. He became ''

persona non grata In diplomacy, a ' (Latin: "person not welcome", plural: ') is a status applied by a host country to foreign diplomats to remove their protection of diplomatic immunity from arrest and other types of prosecution. Diplomacy Under Article 9 of the ...

'' in Iran after the Islamic Revolution. Hakim was credited with negotiating a nine-point plan known as the "Hakim Accords", in which he negotiated the release of David P. Jacobsen, an American hostage held by the Islamic Republic of Iran from the

Iran Hostage Crisis On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over ...

. Democratic Representative Ed Jenkins called the plan the "Hakim Accords". Later, during Hakim's trial for his role in the Iran-Contra affair, Jacobsen wrote a letter in Hakim's defense in which he stated: "I would be in my fifth year of captivity had it not been for his akim'sextraordinary efforts in negotiating with the Iranian representatives. Other American negotiators had given up, but Mr. Hakim continued." Hakim moved to California in the early 1980s, and in 1983 established Stanford Technology Trading Group International (STTGI) with retired Air Force Major General Richard Secord. STTGI subsequently became involved in illegal covert operations to supply the

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the coun ...

contras The Contras were the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing rebel groups that were active from 1979 to 1990 in opposition to the Marxist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction Government in Nicaragua, which came to power in 1979 foll ...

, as part of the Iran-Contra affair. For his part in the matter, Hakim was charged with five felonies, which were dismissed, and subsequently pleaded guilty in a

plea bargain A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or ''nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendant ...

to a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to probation and a fine of $5000. Hakim died of a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circ ...

in 2003, aged 66, Inchon, South Korea, where he had moved to be near his wife's family.

References

1936 births 2003 deaths 20th-century Iranian businesspeople Iran–Contra affair Naturalized citizens of the United States American businesspeople American people of Iranian-Jewish descent Iranian Jews {{US-business-bio-stub