A diplomat who made the transition to Iraq after her country's illegal occupation by the American and British forces. Aqila al-Hashmi was one of members of Iraq's 25 interim governing council (GC) formed, in 2003, by the US administrator and before that she had worked for two decades for the Saddam Hussein regime where she had gained diplomatic expertise. Her knowledge of French politics and culture since she did a PhD in French literature at the Sorbonne was a great advantage. Aqila al-Hashmi, who was born in Najaf, was gunned down close to her home in western Baghdad.