Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi, who helped push for the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, died Tuesday of a heart attack.

Lawmakers and state television said Chalabi died in Baghdad where the 71-year-old was serving as chairman of the parliament’s finance committee.

Chalabi spent most of his life in Britain and in the United States where he earned a master’s degree and doctorate.

His U.S. ties were most prominent in the run-up to the war that knocked longtime leader Saddam Hussein from power.  Chalabi provided the U.S. with intelligence alleging Hussein’s government had weapons of mass destruction, but he lost favor after that information was later proven false.

He staged a political comeback in Iraq, emerging as a possible prime minister candidate during 2010 elections, but was unable to secure enough support to earn the post.
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