Simon Abi Ramia (; born 3 June 1965) is a Lebanese politician and member of the

Lebanese parliament The Lebanese Parliament ( ar, مجلس النواب, translit=Majlis an-Nuwwab; french: Chambre des députés) is the national parliament of the Republic of Lebanon. There are 128 members elected to a four-year term in multi-member constit ...

. He is close to president

Michel Aoun Michel Naim Aoun ( ar, ميشال نعيم عون ; born 30 September 1933) is a Lebanese politician and former military general who served as the President of Lebanon from 31 October 2016 until 30 October 2022. Born in Haret Hreik to a Mar ...

and is affiliated with the Free Patriotic Movement. He was also the chairman of the parliamentary commission of youth and sports.

Early life and family

Simon Abi Ramia was born on 3 June 1964 in the village of

Ehmej Ehmej ( ar, إهمج; also spelled ''Ihmij'') is a municipality in the Byblos District of Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, Lebanon. It is located 57 kilometers northeast of Beirut. Ehmej's inhabitants are predominantly Maronite Catholics. There are tw ...

, Byblos District to Farid Abi Ramia, who died in 2003, and Nour Hardan. He continued his primary and complementary studies at the schools of the Christian Brothers" and his secondary studies at the

Collège Mont La Salle Collège Mont La Salle (MLS) is a French international school in Ain Saadeh, Lebanon. It serves from ''toute petite section'' through ''terminale'' (final year of ''lycée'' or senior high school/sixth form college).University of Paris 1 A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ro ...

and a diploma of Optometry in L'École Supérieure d'Optométrie in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

In politics

Abi Ramia became active after Michel Aoun's disputed tenure as prime minister in 1998. He co-founded a group of militants believing in the liberating action of General Michel Aoun, the Rassemblement pour le Liban (Rally for Lebanon) which followed the agenda of general Aoun. The Lebanese effort in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

was brought together by this gathering to bring together Lebanese organisations which are active in the different cities of France. He was elected president of this gathering in 1989. In 2005, Abi Ramia joined General Michel Aoun's return to

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 ...

. He was elected president of this gathering in 1989. In 2005, Simon Abi Ramia joined General Michel Aoun's return to Lebanon after his exile. In September 2006, he returned to Lebanon with his family after the end of the

July War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

the same year. In 2009, he presented himself for the legislative elections of the district of Jbeil and was elected as part of the Free Patriotic Movement Bloc. He was once again elected during the legislative elections of 2018 and 2022 and took leadership of the Youth and Sports Committee in parliament. Three months after his election, he was appointed president of the parliamentary friendship group between Lebanon and France.

Personal life

Abi Ramia married French politician Fabienne Blineau in 1997 but are divorced since 2017. They had 3 children together; Paul, Mathieu, and Lucas.{{Cite web , last=Battah , first=Habib , date=2014-01-13 , title=Husband and wife MPs , url=https://www.beirutreport.com/2014/01/husband-and-wife-mps.html , access-date=2022-09-02 , website=Beirut Report , language=en-US

References

21st-century Lebanese politicians Lebanese Maronites Free Patriotic Movement politicians 1946 births Living people