Oliver Laurence North

Oliver Laurence North 1943-, American military officer, b. San Antonio, Tex. Raised in Philmont, N.Y., he entered the U.S. Marines, graduated from Annapolis (1968), served in the Vietnam War, and attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1981 he was assigned to the National Security Council, and in 1983 he became the liaison to the Nicaraguan contras. In Nov., 1986, North emerged as the central figure in the Iran-contra affair . He was fired by President Reagan later that month. Under a grant of immunity he testified before Congress in July, 1987. He was convicted (1989) on criminal charges arising from the affair, but his conviction was later reversed on the grounds that immunized testimony had been used at his trial. In 1994, North was the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from Virginia, but he lost the election. Since 1995 he has hosted radio and television programs. North has written Mission Compromised (2002), a semiautobiographical novel of Washington intrigue.

Bibliography: See his autobiography, Under Fire (1991).

North, Oliver Laurence (1943– ) US marine lieutenant colonel. Recruited as an aide to the National Security Council, North managed several covert operations. The Congressional committee that investigated the notorious Iran-Contra affair in 1987 revealed him as the central figure in the diversion of funds to the Contra, and he was subsequently convicted of three criminal charges. He was pardoned in 1992.

North, Oliver Laurence (1943–) Marine lieutenant colonel, born in San Antonio, Texas. North received notoriety for his role in the Iran-Contra Affair. North, a National Security Council aide (1981–86), directed a network of former military and intelligence officials and business people in the resupply operation, which had its own pilots, planes, secure communications, and secret Swiss bank accounts. His conviction (1989) on criminal charges for his role in the affair was reversed on the grounds that immunized testimony before Congress had been used at the trial. North has since had a career as a talk-show host and conservative columnist. In 1994 he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate from Virginia.