Oliver North picked to lead the NRA

Oliver North, the disgraced former presidential aide to Ronald Reagan, has been chosen to lead the US National Rifle Association (NRA).

North was convicted in 1989 of three counts of unlawfully diverting US government funds, following his role in a scheme to sell weapons to Iran and use the proceeds to fund anti-communist groups in Nicaragua. The scandal became known as the Iran-Contra affair.

His convictions were overturned on appeal in 1990 after it was found that “witnesses may have been influenced by previous congressional testimony”, the BBC reports.

North, a retired US Marine Colonel turned Fox News contributor and conservative radio host, has announced he will be stepping down from his media commitments when he takes on his new job.

He is joining the NRA at an “increasingly contentious juncture for the group”, says CNN, as the US faces stronger calls for gun control in the wake of several mass shootings, including the February school shooting in Parkland, Florida, which claimed 17 lives.