Iraqi Islamic Party
Born in Kirkuk, Hassani attended Mosul University and relocated to the United States in 1979. He studied at the University of Nebraska and earned a Ph.D. degree from the University of Connecticut and then spent 12 years a CEO for an investment and trading company in Los Angeles. While in the U.S., he was involved in the opposition to the Saddam Hussein regime in exile, and was actively involved with the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP).