Omar Hassan


 * "My husband wasn't perfect... but he carried a perfect idea in his heart: that peace is possible."
 * &mdash; Dalia Hassan, "Day 8: 11:00am-12:00pm"

Omar Hassan was the President of the Islamic Republic of Kamistan (IRK) during the events of Day 8. He was married to Dalia Hassan, and had a daughter Kayla with her. He was finalizing peace negotiations with the United States during the day which would have concluded a process that took more than a year. With Russian sponsorship, his brother and close advisor Farhad Hassan was involved in his assassination attempt during Day 8, as was his Head of Security Tarin Faroush who was in a relationship with Kayla. The first attempt on the President's life by Red Square hitman Davros failed but later in the day Hassan surrendered himself to terrorists in an attempt to stop a radiological attack on Manhattan. He was killed by IRK Covert Operative Samir Mehran, his death was recorded and broadcast through the internet.

Before Day 8
Before entering Kamistani politics, Hassan was a household appliance salesman. At some point Hassan was also a member of the Kamistani Military and served as a general in the Kamistani Revolutionary Guard, where he led a successful 4 day siege on Abul Province despite skepticism from fellow generals. As President of Kamistan, Hassan managed to unite the fractious Kamistani National Assembly to back his agenda of peace talks with the United Nations. Hassan privately advocated a two state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and withdrew Kamistani support to terrorist groups before beginning peace negotiations with United States President Allison Taylor. After one year of working with President Taylor, Hassan led the Kamistani delegation to New York to sign a peace agreement with the United Nations and subsequently bringing the Islamic Republic back to the international community.

Despite these pro-Western stances, Hassan allowed his nation to come close to developing nuclear weapons, something United States intelligence was aware of, as his brother Farhad Hassan advised him that the Islamic Republic would always be at the mercy of the Western world if it does not become a nuclear power. Because of the 20 years of cold American-Kamistani relations, Hassan kept a detailed file on the weaknesses in American nuclear defenses. These stances did not stop elements within the Russian government, namely Foreign Minister Mikhail Novakovich from sponsoring the IRK splinter cell who wanted to replace Hassan as Kamistani leader. As a President who sought peace with the United States, Hassan threatened Russian interests in the Middle East which prompted this sponsorship.

Three months before Day 8, Hassan began a relationship with New York Courier journalist Meredith Reed, after meeting her at a hotel during a conference of oil ministers. Farhad and Tarin Faroush knew about the relationship and Farhad took advantage of it to eventually frame Reed for use as a scapegoat. The President's wife Dalia Hassan also knew about this, which estranged her from President Hassan and made Dalia take a lesser role in advising him.

Hassan was knowledgeable of the poet Rumi, and had a pen box inscribed with a phrase he felt well represented his relationship with Allison Taylor with regards to the peace treaty. He planned to give the box to the President just before the signing of the treaty.

Final negotiations
President Hassan was on hand in the United Nations during Day 8 to finalize the peace agreement with the United Nations and bring the Islamic Republic of Kamistan back on the world stage. During the final negotiations, President Hassan restated that his nation would abandon their nuclear weapons program and allow their nuclear facilities to be inspected by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to which United States President Allison Taylor demanded that the inspectors for the Kamistani nuclear program be American. President Hassan's brother Farhad Hassan strongly opposed Taylor's suggestion that American inspectors were already agreed upon. Ethan Kanin, the United States Secretary of State rebuffed Farhad for this, causing Farhad to rant about the United States' arrogance on the world stage until President Hassan stopped him. President Hassan calmly told Taylor that the Kamistani National Assembly will never accept those demands, comparing Taylor's demands to the Kamistani Revolutionary Guard being stationed on American soil. Taylor was impressed with Hassan's civility and instructed Kanin to find a way to give Hassan what he wants.



Some time later Farhad entered President Hassan's office at the UN and informed him that Kanin had agreed to IAEA inspectors under the condition that the head of the team be an American. President Hassan remarked that it was good news to which Farhad cautioned that they may have already given up too much in the name of peace. President Hassan told Farhad that he felt that the Islamic Republic would gain most from this peace, since sanctions against the country would be lifted, followed by international developmental aid. At this point journalist Meredith Reed contacted Hassan on his private cell phone to inform him that her security clearance was revoked. President Hassan instructed Farhad to reinstate the security clearance, which Farhad reluctantly complied to after encouraging the President to end his relationship with Reed so that he would not lose his credibility and the faith from the Kamistani people. President Hassan asserted to Farhad that he had not been reckless with Reed, asserting that their relationship was purely professional.

President Hassan met his wife and daughter before the beginning of his press conference, where he complimented Dalia's beauty and in turn she complimented his appearance as well. Hassan reached for his wife's hand, but she quickly withdrew telling him that she did not wish that they pretend more than they had to and walked out of the room. Hassan told Kayla that he was sorry she had to see that and Kayla replied that it was not his fault and the two then made their way out of the room. The Hassans met with President Taylor and White House Chief of Staff Rob Weiss, where President Hassan thanked Taylor for compromising on the issue of nuclear inspectors. Weiss then briefed the Presidents regarding the format of the press conference.

After the press conference, Hassan sent his family back to their suite and waited for Reed's arrival. As Reed came to sight, UN Security acting on directions from CTU New York arrested Reed and pushed Hassan into the closest elevator, believing her to be the individual who was to assassinate him. After being told of the threat that CTU believed was posed by Reed, Hassan went to see his family in his suite where Dalia scolded him for endangering them all with his relationship with Reed. Farhad interrupted and asked the President to tell him the extent of his affair with Reed and President Hassan told his brother about their encounter after he had an argument with Dalia. Farhad advised the President to deny any suggestion of a relationship between Reed and himself to protect his credibility back home and the peace treaty. Farhad advised him to disregard his tendencies to do the honorable thing in the name of everything he worked for. President Hassan simply remarked that he wanted to be with his family and returned to the suite.

President Hassan and Farhad then returned to the Security Council Chamber to resume negotiations with President Taylor, who apologized to them regarding the apparent threat. President Hassan remarked that he was willing to continue the peace, even if the price of it would be his life. With Farhad at his side he continued the negotiations until Weiss informed President Taylor that CTU Director Brian Hastings wanted to speak with Hassan. The brothers exited the chambers and made their way to a private room for the President to take the call. Before he took the call Farhad reminded him to not jeopardize the peace agreement by admitting to the affair. As expected Hastings told President Hassan about Reed's allegations of a relationship and asked the President to validate the claim. President Hassan made sure that he was speaking to Hastings on a secure line and confirmed Reed's suggestion of an affair, alarming Farhad. President Hassan also told Hastings that he did not believe Reed was involved in any attempt on his life and ended the call asking for Hastings to keep the revelation a secret to protect the peace agreement. Farhad angrily asked his brother what he had done to which President Hassan told Farhad that he did the honorable thing.



First assassination attempt
The Hassan brothers continued the discussions with President Taylor and Kanin until UN Security Agent Manners interrupted the council and informed them of the possible bomb threat to the building that was uncovered by CTU and informed the delegates that they would be evacuating the building immediately. Before the Secret Service escorted Taylor out, President Hassan and Taylor exchanged well wishes and the Hassan brothers along with their security detail were escorted out of the building by CTU Director of Field Operations Cole Ortiz. When they arrived at the basement of the United Nations building President Hassan requested to wait for his entire family before exiting the building, but Cole insisted that he should go. Farhad encouraged President Hassan to leave in the car, promising that he would stay behind and wait for Dalia and Kayla. President Hassan entered the vehicle with his Head of Security Tarin Faroush and the vehicle joined the motorcade. As Hassan's vehicle exited the United Nations, Cole's vehicle suddenly veered in front of Hassan's vehicle. At that point Hassan's car was pushed to the side and Davros activated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), flipping Cole's vehicle just before 7:00pm.

Cole escaped his burning vehicle and went to check Hassan's. Cole found that the President survived the force of the IED. Hassan together with Tarin were put in an SUV and Cole told the driver to escort Hassan to CTU. Hastings met Hassan at CTU, where Hassan thanked him for CTU's actions in saving his life. Hassan then inquired whether his family was alright and Hastings informed him that Farhad escaped after learning the President survived the assassination attempt. President Hassan refused to believe it, but Hastings revealed that Dalia and Kayla witnessed Farhad's escape and murder of a CTU agent. President Taylor contacted CTU to speak to Hassan and apologized for the fact that the assassination attempt took place on American soil. Hassan declared his intention to return to the UN and resume the peace process as soon as possible, after he had personally thanked Cole for saving his life. Hassan requested to meet with Reed privately after she was cleared of any wrongdoing, and he ended their personal relationship. When Cole arrived back at CTU, Hassan personally thanked him for saving his life, where Cole remarked that former CTU Agent Jack Bauer had to be given credit for the act as well. Immediately after, Davros' corpse revealed that he was exposed to highly enriched weapons grade uranium. When Hassan heard about it, he informed Hastings about Farhad's plans to obtain nuclear weapons from a decommissioned Soviet stockpile and suggested that since Davros was exposed to the uranium, the weapons were on American soil.

Cracking down on dissenters


Upon his return to the United Nations Hassan gave orders to security forces in the Islamic Republic loyal to him to initiate a crackdown of opposition within the IRK which resulted in sixty-five top politicians and military officers arrested on suspicion of treason. Taylor implored him to observe the rule of law, but he rejected the advice. Hassan then met with his wife and daughter. After embracing Kayla, he asked her to leave the suite so he could speak with Dalia in private. Dalia was already packing and declared that she wanted to leave him. Hassan pleaded that Dalia stayed, and asked her to give him council on the United States' warning about human rights abuses within the Islamic Republic. Dalia held her husband's head and looked into his eyes but remarked that it was too late for that and left, not before assuring Hassan that she would not make a big fuss out of it. As time passed, Hassan's paranoia grew as he reeled from Farhad's betrayal. After realizing that Minister Jamot within his delegation had a cousin among the arrested opposition, Hassan ordered Tarin to arrest Jamot and transport him to the Kamistani Embassy for interrogation, which Tarin reluctantly complied to.

Tarin went to see Hassan some time later and informed him that Jamot had denied involvement in the assassination attempt, which prompted Hassan to order the arrest of Jamot's family in order to extract a confession. Tarin refused to do so, reminding Hassan of his values and the reason why he joined Hassan's team. Hassan remarked to Tarin that he was right and withdrew his order to arrest Jamot's family. However, after Tarin left the room, Hassan ordered another member of his security detail to arrest Jamot's family. Hassan also became suspicious of Tarin's refusal to arrest the family, interpreting it as a sign of involvement, and ordered Nabeel to arrest him for interrogation as well. Hassan was then visited by Kayla, who demanded him to release Tarin, saying that Tarin was one of the President's most trusted men. Hassan argued that so was his brother, Farhad. After Kayla revealed that she was in a relationship with Tarin, Hassan grew more suspicious of Tarin, thinking that the relationship with Kayla would have been an effective way to get close to him and dismissed his daughter.



About an hour later, Hassan was called to a meeting with President Taylor, who informed him that Farhad had contacted CTU and they were closing in on Farhad's location. Taylor requested Hassan to hand over information on all the intelligence agents he had within the United States so Farhad could identify the ones that were working against him upon his capture. Hassan suggested that Taylor surrender Farhad to Kamistani custody so his agents could interrogate him. Taylor refused, stating that she had already given Hassan a great deal of latitude to deal with his domestic affairs. Taylor also advised Hassan of the impending nuclear threat against the United States, initiated by his brother's betrayal. She then threatened military action against Kamistan if the nuclear attack materialized. Hassan then reluctantly complied and told her he would order his acting head of security to hand the files to CTU.

Kayla's kidnapping
Hassan tried to contact Nabeel, who was transferring Tarin to the IRK embassy. However, when Nabeel didn't answer, Hassan grew increasingly worried and ordered one of his aides to find Nabeel. He also instructed the aide to order Colonel Al-Jhanis to hand over the file on covert IRK agents to CTU. After some time, Rahim called Hassan after finding Nabeel, who was locked up in the back of his vehicle. Nabeel was given the phone and he informed Hassan that Tarin had escaped. Nabeel also told Hassan that he had overheard Tarin talking to Kayla on the phone after locking him and the driver in the trunk. Hassan tried to call Kayla to inform her of the nuclear threat, but she didn't answer. When the other delegates started evacuating the United Nations building, Hassan informed Taylor that he could not leave the UN building until Kayla was found, which Taylor understood. Hassan also arranged for Farhad's body to be repatriated to the Islamic Republic for a proper burial, as per Hassan's mother's wishes. Hassan then called Dalia, who was about to leave the United States. Dalia told him to not ask her to stay again but Hassan told her about the situation, urging her to contact Kayla.

Dalia aborted her flight and returned to the UN building, where Hassan received her. Hassan told Dalia what had happened to Tarin and Dalia confronted him on his paranoia, blaming him for Kayla's disappearance. She stressed that Tarin was among his most trusted men, and revealed that she knew about the relationship. Hassan admitted that he had lost his way and the two embraced, reconciling. Some time later Jack Bauer called Hassan to inform him that Marcos Al-Zacar had given information implicating Tarin in the conspiracy against the IRK government. Jack requested that Hassan ask UN Security to detain Tarin until Jack can get there. Hassan briefed Jack on the situation and Dalia attempted to call Kayla again, this time getting an answer. Dalia managed to convince Kayla about the threat Tarin posed and Kayla revealed that they were located in Suite 514 at the Teodore Hotel.



When Jack and Cole arrived at the UN, they talked to Hassan and then set up a command center in his suite. Dalia then received a call from Samir Mehran, who asked to talk to the President. Samir, after calling him a traitor to his own nation, gave him an IP address for CTU to view a live stream of Kayla about to be tortured by Samir, who was wearing a ski mask. Samir demanded that Hassan hand over File 33 in exchange for his daughter's life. After Samir cut communication, Hassan ordered Nabeel to show Jack and CTU the contents of File 33. As they looked, Hassan revealed that File 33 was a collection of confidential documents registering the weaknesses in US nuclear defenses. When Hastings asked him where he had obtained such highly classified information, Hassan revealed that his nation merely did what any nation under threat would do. Jack remarked that he was not ready to hand over such sensitive information to Samir, as that would jeopardize the entire nation and asked Hassan to hand over a decoy file instead to buy time. Hassan was convinced that Samir would not buy the bluff file, but Dalia reminded him that he had the power of persuasion on his side. After the 15 minute deadline expired, Hassan and Dalia speculated that the Americans might have killed Kayla to protect File 33, but in the next hour Kayla was returned safely to the United Nations.

Departing the United Nations
After Kayla was saved, Jack together with Renee Walker, Nabeel and Secret Service Agent Molly O'Connor's team prepared to escort the Hassan family to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey some time before 6:00am so they may be safe from the radiological attack. A subterranean evacuation route was planned during which Jack received a call from Ethan Kanin's cell phone, with no answer on Kanin's side of the line. This made Jack suspicious and he ordered the security detail to turn back to the UN just as they were in the middle of a tunnel and on their way to the vehicle. Adrion Bishop's team, under directions from General Brucker and Weiss, assaulted the security detail. As Jack and Renee led President Hassan and his family away, Agent O'Connor stayed behind to hold off Bishop's team along with her team of Secret Service Agents. Hassan was disturbed by this, and told Jack that he must help his people who were being slaughtered to protect him, but Jack insisted that he had specific orders to follow. Kayla sprained her foot along the way, causing them to slow down and forcing Jack to engage the hostiles. Jack gave Hassan a weapon to protect his family and attempted to take out the hostiles with Renee. Hassan saved Jack by killing a hostile that was about to fire a weapon at Jack, saving his life. Jack shot Bishop in the foot and realized that the hostiles were Americans. Bishop revealed that the radiological attack was about to take place and the terrorists had demanded Hassan to be handed over in order to stop the attack that would devastate Manhattan.



Execution
Hassan was disturbed about the impending attack, which Renee realized. While she was speaking to Jack about Hassan's concerns, Hassan used a crowbar to knock out Jack. He then ordered Renee to drop her weapon and ordered Bishop to bring him to the terrorists. Dalia and Kayla urged Hassan to not surrender himself, but Hassan remarked that he could never live with the deaths of thousands over his head, knowing that he could have prevented it. Dalia implored Hassan to realize the possibility that the terrorists would detonate the bomb anyway even if he surrendered himself, but Hassan told her that he would find consolation in the fact that he tried to stop the attack. Dalia demanded that she be allowed to join him in his decision, but he snapped at her and ruled out the possibility. He locked Jack, Renee and his family in a room and headed up to the surface with Bishop, as Jack yelled at him that the terrorists cannot be trusted. As they made their way to Bishop's vehicle on 7th Avenue, Hassan saw the people of New York going about their daily lives and Bishop told him that these people owed their lives to him.



Bishop took President Hassan to 93rd Street, where he was handed down to Tarin, in exchange for the keys to the car with the bomb. While this finally brought the matter of the nuclear rods to a close, it still left President Hassan in a precarious situation. As they were driving to the terrorist hideout, Hassan begged Tarin to turn himself in, promising to vouch for him. However, he refused the offer instead accusing him of betraying his country in favor of the United States. At one point, Tarin received a call from CTU analyst Dana Walsh alerting him of an ambush, and he managed to take Hassan into a parking garage. There, he transfered Hassan to another vehicle driven by a blonde woman. Hassan was sedated and brought to Samir's location, an apartment located in a predominantly Muslim area.

When President Hassan arrived, Navid and the woman took him up to the apartment where Samir was hiding. Samir sat him down and asked if Hassan remembered him. Samir reminded Hassan that he had served under him during Kamistani operations in Abul province, and that Hassan was a great leader back then. He then accused Hassan for losing his way and betraying Kamistan by making peace with the Americans. Samir then chemically tortured Hassan for several minutes with the help of Ahman, trying to get to agree to read out and apologize for his sins against the Islamic Republic, namely selling out to the Americans. President Hassan held his own however, refusing to denounce the peace process leaving Samir with no alternative. Samir decided to stream the video on the Internet, where he would personally read President Hassan's 'crimes' before executing him. As Samir read the list of sins on video and ranted about Hassan's betrayal, Hassan sat silently expressionless by him.



Minutes after Samir began streaming the video, Jack and Renee stormed the apartment killing Ahman and Navid while wounding Samir right as the video seemed to be concluding. After the terrorists were taken care of Jack realized that the video was still streaming, and soon found out that the video was pre-recorded. He turned around and saw President Hassan in front of the Kamistani flag, dead, his throat slit. Collapsing to the floor, Jack informed CTU, telling them that Hassan was already dead when they entered the apartment. Jack held the President's head and gently closed the President's eyes while whispering an apology for their failure to save his life.

Background information and notes

 * Omar Hassan was originally scripted to be named Arman Hashemi. In a continuity error, this is the name used in the report on Meredith Reed seen in "Day 8: 5:00pm-6:00pm."
 * According to Anil Kapoor in an interview with Indian television channel NDTV, Hassan was educated in Britain, but this has not been confirmed in the show.
 * Hassan's death was honored with a silent clock. He is the only non-American character to receive a silent clock for his death.
 * Hassan was the seventh character to die while a member of the main cast, along with Teri Bauer, George Mason, Edgar Stiles, Milo Pressman, Bill Buchanan, Larry Moss, Renee Walker and Dana Walsh.
 * Hassan is the only sitting head of state to be killed on 24. An attempt was made on David Palmer's life at the end of "Day 2: 7:00am-8:00am," which he survived. Later, Air Force One was attacked during "Day 4: 10:00pm-11:00pm" while carrying John Keeler, but he survived and was found in a coma, his ultimate fate unknown. (This was done presumably due to a Fox mandate not to kill a sitting president.)