Nemir Kirdar, the founder of alternative asset manager Investcorp and one of the most prominent private equity investors in the Middle East, has passed away.

Kirdar, 83, grew up in Kirkuk, Iraq until his emigration to the US after the military overthrow of his home country’s monarchy in 1958. He started his career in finance in New York, joining Chase Manhattan Bank. After 1973, he moved back to the Middle East to set up a merchant bank in the region, backed by Chase’s chair David Rockefeller.