Adnan Pachachi book collection
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Abstract
Consists of selected books and other publications from the personal library of Adnan al-Pachachi (1923-2019), an Iraqi politician and diplomat who also served as an adviser to the government of the United Arab Emirates. Collection includes titles inscribed to Pachachi from their authors, usually pertaining to the history and current affairs of Iraq or the United Arab Emirates, or titles otherwise related to the life and career of Pachachi and his family.
Biographical note
Adnan al-Pachachi was born in 14 May 1923 in Baghdad, into a politically active Sunni family. His father, Muzahim Amin al-Pachachi, served as Prime Minister of Iraq in 1948-1949, his uncle Hamdi al-Pachachi served as both Prime Minister (1944-1946) and Foreign Minister (1948) of Iraq; and his cousin Nadim al-Pachachi served as Secretary-General of OPEC (1971-1972).
Pachachi was educated at Victoria College, Alexandria, where he was initially drawn to Arab nationalist political movements; and received a degree in political science from American University in Beirut in 1943. From 1950-1958 he served in the Political Department of the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but was removed due to his support of Egyptian nationalist leader Gamel Abdel Nasser. Following the 1958 revolution in Iraq, he was appointed by the Qassim regime to serve as the Permanent Representative of Iraq to the United Nations in 1959, a post in which he served for much of the next decade. During this period, he also served from 1965-1967 as Foreign Minister of Iraq, during which time he was vocal in his support of Palestinian rights and his opposition to Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967.
Following the coup that brought Saddam Hussein to power in Iraq, Pachachi went into exile in 1969, moving to the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and began serving as a counselor to the Emirate's leader, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, who appointed him a Minister of State in July 1971. Following the formation of the United Arab Emirates in December 1971, Pachachi played a key role in paving the way for the new country's admittance to the United Nations.
After the U.S. invasion of Iraq and overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Pachachi returned to Iraq, initially to serve in the Iraq Governing Council, where he was a vocal critic of the U.S. actions and policies within the country. In 2005 he participated in the first legislative elections, heading the Assembly of Independent Democrats, and subsequently served in the National Assembly. In 2010, he stood as a candidate again with Ayad Allawi's Iraqi List, but by 2011 had grown increasingly pessimistic about the chances for a secular democracy in Iraq, and returned to Abu Dhabi.
Adnan Pachachi died in Abu Dhabi at the age of 96 on 17 November 2019.
[source: Wikipedia article, "Adnan Pachachi," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adnan_Pachachi, accessed 13 May 2021].
Arrangement
Titles are arranged in three categories: Iraq, United Arab Emirates, and General. Within those categories, they are alphabetized by author. Pending full bibliographic cataloging of each title, volume numbers have been assigning in this finding aid, in order to locate them.
Content Description
The Adnan Pachachi collection consists of selected books and other publications from the personal library of Adnan al-Pachachi (1923-2019), former Iraqi foreign minister and adviser to the government of the United Arab Emirates. The collection includes titles inscribed to Pachachi from their authors, usually pertaining to the history and current affairs of Iraq or the United Arab Emirates, or titles otherwise related to the life and career of Pachachi and his family.
The books in this collection were selected from the library in his home in Abu Dhabi. Selections were made on the basis of subject matter of the titles, and in particular how these titles appeared to have related to Pachachi's own lived experience, both as a political figure from Iraq, as well as his role as a long-time resident of Abu Dhabi and adviser to the rulers of that Emirate, and of the United Arab Emirates.
A substantial portion of this collection consist of presentation copies inscribed to Pachachi from their authors. Many of these consist of memoirs, historical works, literary titles, and works on current affairs and politics, mostly from Iraqi authors and pertaining to Iraq. Additional works about the history and culture of the United Arab Emirates, and in particular, Abu Dhabi, are also included, with some of them being presentation copies, others consisting of works that included essays by Pachachi.
An additional group of titles not included in this collection were added to the Main Collection of the NYU Abu Dhabi Library. These consisted of works of general interest, typically about world history or the history of the Middle East, but not otherwise related to Pachachi.
Subjects
Conditions governing access
Collection is open for use in the Archives and Special Collections Reading Room, New York University Abu Dhabi Library.
Conditions governing use
This collection is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use materials in the collection in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Immediate source of acquisition
Collection donated by the Estate of Adnan Pachachi, October 2020.
About this Guide
Processing information
Processed by Brad Bauer, 2020-2021.