Event

Bellingham City Club Program April 2013

On April 24th, Mark Lijek will join the Bellingham City Club to share his perspective on the events portrayed in the movie Argo. Mark has unique insight into this topic since he escaped from the U. S. Embassy and was later rescued from Iran after hiding at the Canadian Embassy during Tehran Hostage Crisis.

Mark Lijek is a retired Foreign Service officer who grew up in Seattle and went to Seattle Preparatory School before attending the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He also holds an MBA from American University. He is the author of The Houseguests: A Memoir of Canadian Courage and CIA Sorcery, as well as a minor consultant to the Hollywood hit film Argo. He wrote his memoir in large part because, after reading an early script of Argo, he realized the movie was unlikely to give adequate credit to the Canadian embassy team he believes saved him and his wife Cora from becoming hostages. Following his abbreviated tour in Tehran, Lijek served in Hong Kong, Kathmandu, Warsaw and Frankfurt as well as in several Departmental assignments prior to his retirement. He and Cora now live in Anacortes.