Meir Basri

Meir Basri (Mir Baṣri) was born in Baghdad, heir to the prominent Baṣri and Dangoor families. He was a gifted poet, writer, and historian, publishing extensively in Arabic but also in Hebrew, English, and French. He held many diplomatic posts during and after the British Mandate, published in newspapers throughout the Middle East, and is remembered for introducing Iraqis to the English sonnet. He was last president of the Iraqi Jewish Community, leaving Baghdad only in 1974 when exiled by the Ba’ath regime.