Kazem Finjan

Background

Kazem Finjan served as Iraq's Minister of Transport from 2016 to 2018 under Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. Reporting by 964media gives those dates, correcting the longer 2014-2018 tenure sometimes attached to his name. His responsibilities concerned civil aviation, ports and other transport infrastructure during a difficult period of rebuilding and conflict. That public office gave his remarks international visibility. It did not confer expertise in ancient astronomy or establish access to evidence of extraterrestrial visitors. His place in this collection is therefore as a politician who made a striking public claim, not as a witness disclosing a verified government space program.

Reliable biographical detail about Finjan's earlier career is limited in the sources reviewed here. This profile does not supply an education history, family background or a sequence of earlier appointments simply to make the biography longer. The distinction is important when an unusual statement becomes attached to a government title: the confirmed credential is his ministerial position, not a scientific qualification inferred from it. Readers can assess his words without assuming that the absence of a complete biography either validates or disproves the claim. The strongest documentation concerns the public speech and his tenure in office.

During his term Finjan managed oversight of Iraq's airports and maritime facilities amid efforts to restore capacity damaged by prior conflicts and sanctions. Public communications emphasized project announcements and operational improvements rather than cultural or archaeological topics. The ministry handled contracts for fuel supply, land use at ports, and aviation services, areas later subject to scrutiny by integrity bodies. No records indicate that extraterrestrial or ancient-astronaut themes formed any part of official ministry policy or statements prior to September 2016.

On 30 September 2016 Finjan spoke at a press conference in Dhi Qar Governorate convened to promote a proposed new airport. Departing from prepared remarks on the project, he stated that Sumerians had constructed the world's first airport in the region five thousand years earlier to launch spacecraft to other planets. He added that the site's conditions suited spaceflight and that Sumerians had identified the planet Nibiru. The comments were recorded and broadcast on local Iraqi television channels without subsequent clarification from the minister at the event.

Finjan attributed his assertions to the writings of Zecharia Sitchin on ancient astronauts and referenced Samuel Noah Kramer's studies of Sumerian civilization. He invited doubters to consult those books. No primary Sumerian texts or archaeological findings are cited in the statement to support an airport, spacecraft operations, or knowledge of Nibiru. Court documents and later reporting do not connect the remarks to any ministry project or government research initiative.

The claim combined established elements of Sumerian regional history with interpretations drawn from fringe literature. Historians have observed that Kramer's published work contains no references to airports, extraterrestrial travel, or planetary discovery by ancient Mesopotamians. No Iraqi government agency issued an endorsement or formal correction, and the statement remained an individual remark by the minister rather than an institutional position. Subsequent coverage treated the episode as an isolated public comment.

After completing his term in 2018, Finjan faced multiple investigations by Iraq's Commission of Integrity concerning contracts awarded during his ministry. In 2023 he received an in-absentia sentence related to irregularities involving port land contracts. A November 2024 ruling imposed an additional three-year prison term for violations tied to fuel-supply agreements at Iraqi Airways. These proceedings addressed procurement and appointment practices rather than the 2016 statements.

The episode illustrates the difference between recording a public claim and endorsing its explanation. A transport minister discussing a planned airport invoked ancient Sumerian civilization to make an extraordinary assertion about space travel. The recorded remarks establish that the statement was made; they do not establish that spacecraft existed in ancient Mesopotamia. An archaeological claim of this scale would require material evidence, credible analysis of the relevant texts and scrutiny by specialists. References to ancient-astronaut literature are not substitutes for those tests. This profile preserves the original claim while keeping its evidentiary status explicit and distinct from Iraq's actual transport projects.

Where They Are Now

The sources reviewed do not establish Finjan's current location or activities in November 2026. A November 2024 report described a three-year sentence issued in absentia in connection with fuel-supply contracts. An in-absentia judgment alone does not establish where a person lives, whether the sentence was later appealed or what their present legal status is.

No public statements or government roles have been documented since 2018. The 2016 spaceport remarks have not been repeated or expanded in later interviews.

Last updated 7 November 2026

Sources

• Iraqi Transport Minister Kazem Finjan: 5,000-Year-Old Sumerian Airport Served for Space Travel

  Primary video and transcript of the 30 September 2016 press conference claim.

• Ex-transport minister Kazem Finjan sentenced to three years in absentia

  November 2024 court sentence details and service dates.

• Former Iraqi transport minister sentenced on corruption charges

  2023 corruption conviction and contract allegations.