Lowell native Mehmed Ali has been serving with the US State Department in Iraq for the past few years. Last Saturday, the Sun published a photograph with caption noting that Ali had recently received the Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Diplomacy at the US Embassy in Baghdad. According to the Sun, Minister-Counselor Thomas A. Lynch recognized Ali “for his efforts at coordinating responses to a series of eight suicide bombings” several months ago in which various municipal and national agency offices were heavily damaged. In addition to his assistance to local public officials after the attacks, Ali was recognized for “advancing the Embassy’s long-term bilateral relationship with Iraq.”

To learn about Benjamin Franklin’s contributions in the world of diplomacy, follow this Wikipedia link. He was US Ambassador to France, 1776-1785.