Alexander Coker

Alexander Coker (born 1969) was formerly a Chief Inspector of the Chemical Weapons team in Iraq, while working for the United Nation’s Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC). Prior to that he held various other posts at UNMOVIC and had been seconded from the British Government to carry out work for UNMOVIC’s predecessor, the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM).[1][2]

He holds a Ph.D from King's College London,[3] where he published work on the stability of particular chemical systems.[4][5]

It is believed Dr. Coker was a leading contributor to the chemical section of UNMOVIC’s working document on Iraq’s Unresolved Disarmament Issues[6] and to the revision of the list of dual-use chemical items subject to notification by Iraq, under the Export/Import Mechanism approved by Security Council Resolution 1051.[7]

Under Dr. Coker’s leadership, what is now known to have been the last remnants of chemical weapons (artillery shells containing mustard gas) were destroyed at Al Muthanna State Establishment (Iraq's former chemical weapons facility) - the shells were apparently part of an old stock pile remaining from prior to the first Gulf War.[1][6][8]

Dr. Coker is mentioned in the evidence of the Hutton Inquiry investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr. David Kelly[9] and by the Verification Research, Training and Information Centre (VERTIC).[10]

References
  1. Graham S. Pearson, The Search for Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction: Inspection, Verification and Non-Proliferation, Palgrave Macmillan, New York 2005, pages 139-141, 146.
  2. BBC Radio 4, Weapons Inspectors Uncovered, Thursday 10 July 2003 (Radio 4 programme, 8pm).
  3. Alexander Coker, University of London (Senate House) Theses, University of London Research Theses: Coker, Alexander, 1995.
  4. Alex Coker and Frank Hibbert, Journal of the Chemical Society, Perkin Transactions 2, 1995, page 1.
  5. Alex Coker and Frank Hibbert, Journal of Chemical Research, 1994, Issue 7, page 264.
  6. UNMOVIC Working Document, Unresolved Disarmament Issues - Iraq’s Proscribed Weapons Programmes, 6 March 2003.
  7. UNMOVIC, “Revised Annex II”: “Dual-Use” Chemicals of the “1051 Lists” of dual-use equipment, UN document number S/2001/560, 1 June 2001.
  8. NY Times, Threats And Responses: Weapons Sleuths; Inspectors Begin Destroying 10 Iraqi Mustard Gas Shells, 13 February, 2003.
  9. The Hutton Enquiry Archives, Evidence - Files retrieved from Dr Kelly’s home computer: E-mail from Dr Kelly 9 July 03, Inquiry File reference COM/4/0084. Archived 2008-11-21 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Jessica McLaughlin, Confidentiality and verification: the IAEA and OPCW, Trust and Verify, May-June 2004 (Issue 114), page 11.
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