Donny George Youkhanna

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Youkhanna at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City

Donny George Youkhanna (born October 23, 1950 in al-Anbar Governorate , † March 11, 2011 in Toronto ) was an Iraqi prehistoric archaeologist , anthropologist , museum director and science organizer.

Donny George Youkhanna comes from Al-Anbar , the largest of the 18 Iraqi governorates . He came from an Assyrian family of Christian faith, which would hinder his later career again and again. He studied in Baghdad , where he obtained all of his degrees, Bachelor (1974), Master (1986) and Doctoral degrees (1995). After completing his studies, he joined the Iraqi National Museum in 1976 , where he has held various positions over the years. In 1980 he became head of the documentation center, was the local head of the restoration program in Babylon in 1986/87 , examined the east wall of Nineveh in 1988 , and in 1995 became assistant to the director for technical matters. After the end of the Iraq war , he became director of the museum in 2003, which had suffered massive losses as a result of looting during the regime change. In 2005 he switched to the National Antiquities Authority as chairman. At the same time he began to teach at Baghdad University. Due to the security situation, Youkhanna had to leave the country in 2006 and went to the USA, where he became a visiting professor at Stony Brook University .

Youkhanna has been a guest lecturer and researcher in Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, Jordan, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, the USA and in Germany at the Free University of Berlin , the University of Heidelberg , the Roman-Germanic Central Museum in Mainz and the Pergamon Museum . After the Iraq war, one of his main concerns was to prevent the trade in Iraqi art goods. Several hundred artefacts have been saved thanks to his efforts. Youkhanna died suddenly of a heart attack while visiting Canada.

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personal data
SURNAME Youkhanna, Donny George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Iraqi prehistoric archaeologist, anthropologist, museum director and science organizer
DATE OF BIRTH October 23, 1950
PLACE OF BIRTH Al Anbar
DATE OF DEATH March 11, 2011
Place of death Toronto