David Kimche | Israeli diplomat, 82

David Kimche, 82, the Israeli spy-turned-diplomat who played a key role in the Iran-contra scandal that rocked the Reagan administration, died at his home in Jerusalem on Monday after a yearlong battle with brain cancer.

An ex-journalist, the British-born Mr. Kimche was known for bringing an urbane tone to the rough-and-tumble business of Israeli intelligence. He specialized in Mideast and African missions as a spy, and later championed behind-the-scenes involvement in those areas as a senior government official.

He began his career with the Mossad in the 1950s after emigrating to Israel, and rose to become deputy director.

He was Israel's point man in the Iran-contra affair, in which Washington authorized Israel to sell U.S. arms to Iran in violation of an embargo. The sales were an attempt to induce Iranian-backed guerrillas in Lebanon to free U.S. hostages, but some of the proceeds went to fund anticommunist contra rebels in Nicaragua. - AP