Farid Abboud ( ar, فريد عبود, born 1951) is a Lebanese diplomat who served as

Lebanese Ambassador to China The Lebanon, Lebanese ambassador in Beijing is the official representative of the Government in Beirut to the Government of the People's Republic of China. ' List of representatives , The diplomatic service of the People's Republic of China as ...

from June 2013 to December 2017. Before becoming ambassador to China, he was the ambassador of Tunisia from July 2007 to June 2013 and the

ambassador to the United States The following table lists ambassadors to the United States, sorted by the representative country or organization. See also *Ambassadors of the United States Notes {{reflist, 30em External linksCurrent and former Ambassadors to the United Sta ...

from March 1999 until July 2007.

Education

Abboud holds a Diploma of Higher Studies in Political Sciences from the

Université Saint-Joseph Saint Joseph University of Beirut ( French: ''Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth'', abbreviated to and commonly known as "USJ") is a private Catholic research university located in Beirut, Lebanon, which was founded in 1875 by French Jesuit mis ...

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Career

Abboud began his diplomatic career in the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

in 1974. From 1973 to 1977 he was

assistant professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and general ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at the

in Beirut. From 1990 to 1995, Farid was the Consul General in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Starting in 1995, he became the assistant director-general of the Department of Political Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He served also in the embassies of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Abboud has also served as a member of the Delegation of

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

to several international conferences. Among these are the Monitoring Group of the April 1996 Understanding in Southern Lebanon, the U.N. General Assembly Sessions of 1997, 1998 and 1999, and the

Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide. The movement originated in the aftermath o ...

Summit Meetings of 1996 and 1998. Abboud reappeared at the

Los Angeles World Affairs Council The Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall (LAWACTH), the Los Angeles office within the national network of World Affairs Councils of America The World Affairs Councils of America is a network of 93 autonomous and nonpartisan councils acr ...

to deliver speeches relating to Lebanon in his speech entitled: "Lebanon and the Peace Process: An Update“

Criticism

In 2007, Abboud was described by the

Washington Institute for Near East Policy The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP or TWI, also known simply as The Washington Institute) is a pro-Israel American think tank based in Washington, D.C., focused on the foreign policy of the United States in the Near East. WINE ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

's ''de facto'' second ambassador to the United States owing to Abboud's support for the

Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...

regime. According to former

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

official

David Schenker David Kenneth Schenker (born 1968) is an American diplomat who worked in the Department of Defense during the George W. Bush administration, and was nominated on April 9, 2018, to head the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs in the State Department. ...

, "Abboud has spent the last six years of the Bush administration largely isolated, having little or no contact with executive branch personnel."

Notes

External links

Farid Abboud: Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abboud, Farid 1951 births Living people Ambassadors of Lebanon to the United States Ambassadors of Lebanon to Tunisia Saint Joseph University alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni Saint Joseph University faculty