Talat M. Othman (born April 27, 1936, in

Beitunia Beitunia (), also Bitunya, is a Palestinian city located west of Ramallah and north of Jerusalem, in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate of Palestine, in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the ci ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

) is a

Palestinian-American Palestinian Americans () are Americans who are of full or partial Palestinian descent. There are around 160,000 Palestinian American refugees according to the 2023 American Community Survey, making up around 0.05% of the U.S. population. Th ...

businessman and investor. He is the president of Grove Financial, Inc. and the founding president of the Arab-American Business and Professional Association. In 1973, he founded the Midwest Chapter of the Forex Association of North America. He serves as senior advisor of McKinley Reserve. On July 31, 2000, he opened the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

session with a ''dua'a –'' or

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

benediction A benediction (, 'well' + , 'to speak') is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the exposition of the eucharisti ...

– marking the first time a Muslim had addressed a major US political gathering.

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

governor

Jim Edgar James Robert Edgar (born July 22, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 38th governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999. A Moderate Republican (modern United States), moderate Republican Party (United States), Republican, he previously s ...

proclaimed Nov 1, 1997 Haj Talat M. Othman day in Illinois. On April 4, 2002, Othman joined Islamic Institute head Khaled Saffuri in a meeting with Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill (arranged by

Grover Norquist Grover Glenn Norquist (born October 19, 1956) is an American political activist and anti-tax advocate who is founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform, an organization that opposes all tax increases. A Republican, he is the primary pro ...

) as representatives of the Muslim-American community, to voice complaints about the March 20 raid on the

International Institute of Islamic Thought The International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) is a privately held non-profit organization in the United States founded by Ismail al-Faruqi and Anwar Ibrahim. It was established as a non-profit 501(c)(3) non-denominational organization in ...

and 19 related entities. In 2006, Othman received an honorary doctorate degree in humane letters from

Catholic Theological Union Catholic Theological Union (CTU) is a Catholic graduate school of theology in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was formed in Hyde Park as a union of schools from three Catholic religious institutes and has since been sponsored by 23 institu ...

Career synopsis

In 1947, Othman emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with his family. From 1956 to 1977, Othman served as an executive in the International Banking Department at

Harris Trust and Savings Bank BMO Bank, N.A. (colloquially BMO; ) is a U.S. national bank headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It is a subsidiary of the Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company Bank of Montreal, which owns it through the holding ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois, as vice president and division administrator of the International Money Management Division, including the International Economic Research Unit. From 1978 to 1983, Othman was general manager and chief executive officer of the Saudi Arab Finance Corporation,

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, and general manager of the Saudi Investment Group,

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

, Saudi Arabia. From 1983 to 1995, he served as chairman and chief executive officer of Dearborn Financial Inc.,

Arlington Heights, Illinois Arlington Heights is a village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County Illinois, United States. A northwestern Chicago metropolitan area, suburb of Chicago, it lies about northwest of the city's downtown. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

. In 1987, he 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 George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

was a member. In 1990, he was among 15 Arab-Americans invited to

the White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 whe ...

after

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

's invasion of Kuwait. In 1995, Othman established Grove Financial, Inc. of Chicago and currently serves as its chairman and CEO. It is an international investment management firm located in

Long Grove, Illinois Long Grove is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States, approximately away from and a northwest suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 8,366. The village has strict building ordinances to preserve its "country atm ...

, specializing in managing investment funds and U.S.-Middle East business. He opened the July 31, 2000 session of the RNC with a Muslim benediction. Othman is president of Crescent Capital Management, LLC. Chicago, Illinois, and chairman of the board of trustees of Amana Mutual Funds,

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the county seat of Whatcom County, Washington, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It lies south of the Canada–United States border, U.S.–Canada border, between Vancouver, British Columbia, ...

Other affiliations

He is on the board of Bank One Wisconsin Corp, Dansk International Designs, Hartmarx Corp, Tejas Power Corp, PathoGenesis Corp, and

Amana Mutual Funds Trust Amana Mutual Funds Trust (Ticker symbols: AMANX, AMAGX, and AMDWX), headquartered in Bellingham, Washington, is a mutual fund company offering investment products consistent with Islamic banking principles.Kathman, David. “Heavenly Returns.” M ...

. He is advisory board member of

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a pediatric treatment and research hospital headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded by entertainer Danny Thomas in 1962, it is a 501(c)(3) designated nonprofit medical corporation which focuses on chi ...

. He is on the Dean's Council of Advisors of

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

. He is a member of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations Independent Task Force. He is a board member of the

Middle East Policy Council The Middle East Policy Council (MEPC) is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)3 non-profit organization that produces analysis and commentary on issues impacting U.S. national interests in the Middle East. It was founded in 1981 under the stated missi ...

. He is the founding chairman of the

American Muslim Council The American Muslim Council (AMC) is an Islamic organization and registered charity in the United States. Its headquarters is located in Chicago, Illinois. An earlier organization with the same name was founded in 1990 by Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi ...

. He is chairman of the Islamic Free Market Institute founded by Khaled Saffuri. Othman served on the board of trustees for the Illinois State Universities Retirement System and the Illinois State Finance Authority. Othman is a former board member of the Illinois Finance Authority.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Othman, Talat 1936 births Living people Emigrants from Mandatory Palestine to the United States American bankers People from Lake County, Illinois