(born 1943) United States army officer and central figure in the Iran-Contra affair. In nationally televised hearings before Congress in 1987, North admitted to selling arms to Iran in exchange for help in securing the release of US hostages in the Middle East. He also diverted arms sales’ profits to anti-communist rebels in Nicaragua. North defended his actions in the name of patriotism, both capitalizing on and fueling the country’s jingoistic mood at the time. North was convicted on federal charges for his activities, but the verdicts were later overturned. In 1994 he made a failed bid for the US Senate in Virginia.