Sassoon Eskell

Sassoon Eskell was a scion of an ancient and aristocratic Jewish family of Baghdad. He studied law and economics in Istanbul, London, and Vienna, and became the official translator for the Ottoman government in Baghdad. He was elected as Baghdad's deputy representative to the first Ottoman Parliament in 1908. He played a leading role in the 14 July Revolution that overthrew the Hashemite monarchy in 1958. He was the first Minister of Finance in the Kingdom of Iraq and a permanent Member of Parliament until his death. He was instrumental in the creation and establishment of the Kingdom of Iraq and its laws and financial structure. He was knighted by King George V in 1923 and received many other honours and awards. He was a major philanthropist and donated much of his wealth to the Jewish National Fund and the re-establishment of Israel. He died of natural causes in Paris in 1932.