Thabit AbdulNour

Thabit Abdulaziz AbdulNour (, 1890 - 1957) was an Iraqi politician, a government administrator, and a diplomat. He was elected twice to the Council of Representatives of Iraq to represent the Christians of Mosul during the monarchy's rule. He served as the first director of oil in the Iraqi government, and as a diplomat in London, Great Britain, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Sanaa, Yemen.

Early life and education Thabit AbdulNour was born in 1890 in Mosul, the son of Abdulaziz AbdulNour and Ameena Kassab. He studied in the Dominican missionary school and the Royal High School in Mosul. In 1913, he traveled to Istanbul, Turkey to study law.

Activism AbdulNour returned to Mosul in 1914 and formed the Al-Alam (the Flag) organization to promote Arab nationalism. In 1915, when the Ottoman authorities discovered his activities, they captured him and his cousin, Bashir AbdulNour and put them on trial. At the trial Thabit was found guilty and was ordered to prison but his cousin was released. In 1921, he joined King Faisal again in Iraq, when Faisal was installed as King of Iraq.

Politician AbdulNour twice won elections for a parliamentary seat to become a member of Council of Representatives of Iraq (lower chamber of Iraqi parliament) representing Christians of Mosul, first in the parliamentary elections of 1925 and second time in the elections of 1930. AbdulNour was a member of finance and defense committees, and he contributed to many debates in the Iraqi parliament regarding the establishment of laws needed in the newly established Iraqi Kingdom. He was appointed Chargé d'affaires in Jeddah in 1938. In January 1939, he went to Yemen as a representative of the Iraqi government and became a close advisor to Imam Yehia, King of Yemen.

Later years When World War II began in 1939, AbdulNour was on a visit to Germany and refused to return to Iraq, so his government service was terminated. He retired in Lausanne, Switzerland, and from 1950–1953 he lived in Alexandria, Egypt. AbdulNour returned to Iraq in 1953 and he died in 1957.