Simon Karam (born 2 February 1950) is a Lebanese lawyer who served as the ambassador of Lebanon to the United States of America between 1992 and 1993.

Early life and education

Karam was born in

Jezzine Jezzine ( ''Jizzīn'') is a town in Lebanon, located from Sidon and south of Beirut. It is the capital of Jezzine District. Surrounded by mountain peaks, pine forests (like the Bkassine Pine Forest), and at an average altitude of 950 m (3 ...

on 2 February 1950. He hails from a

Maronite The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the larges ...

family. His parents are Massoud Karam who was a merchant and Victoria Aziz. He received a degree in law from

Saint Joseph University 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 ...

in Beirut.

Career

Following his graduation Karam worked as a lawyer. He was appointed mohafez (governor) of Bekaa in 1990 and mohafez of Beirut city in 1991. He was named as the ambassador of Lebanon to the United States of America in 1992 and presented his credentials to President

George Bush George Bush most commonly refers to: * George H. W. Bush (1924–2018), 41st president of the United States and father of the 43rd president * George W. Bush (born 1946), 43rd president of the United States and son of the 41st president Georg ...

on 8 September. Karam resigned from office in August 1993. Then he continued to work as a lawyer in Lebanon.

Alliances and views

Karam was part of the Qornet Shehwan movement and was one of the political figures, including

Samir Frangieh Samir Frangieh (4 December 1945 – 11 April 2017) was a Lebanese politician and a leftist intellectual. He was a member of the Lebanese Parliament. He was from the Frangieh family, one of the well-known political families of Lebanon. Early li ...

and

Walid Jumblatt Walid Kamal Jumblatt ( ar, وليد جنبلاط; born 7 August 1949) is a Lebanese Druze politician and former militia commander who has been leading the Progressive Socialist Party since 1977. While leading the Lebanese National Resistance Fr ...

, who supported the implementation of the

Taif accords The Taif Agreement ( ar, اتفاق الطائف), officially known as the ( ar, وثيقة الوفاق الوطني, label=none'')'', was reached to provide "the basis for the ending of the civil war and the return to political normalcy in Le ...

and the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. Karam left the Qornet Shehwan movement in May 2005 before the elections. He was close to the Lebanese journalist and politician

Gebran Tueni Gebran Ghassan Tueni ( ar, جبران تويني; 15 September 1957 – 12 December 2005) was a Lebanese politician and the former editor and publisher of daily paper ''An Nahar'', established by his grandfather, also named Gebran Tueni, i ...

who was assassinated in December 2005. Following the assassination Karam argued that the incident was a catastrophe and was carried out by the Syrian forces led by the Syrian President

Bashar 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 S ...

. Both Tueni and Karam stated in 2000 that Syria did not consider Lebanon as a sovereign country, but as a satellite country under its domination due to the fact that Lebanon could not take part in the negotiations with Israel. Karam was among the signatories of the Statement of Solidarity which was issued at the beginning of the Syrian civil war in April 2011. The statement expressed the solidarity of the Lebanese intellectuals with Syrians in their struggle against Bashar Assad.

Personal life

Karam married Alice Mogabgab in 1997, and they had three children, two daughters and a son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karam, Simon 20th-century Lebanese diplomats 1950 births Living people Ambassadors of Lebanon to the United States 20th-century Lebanese lawyers Saint Joseph University alumni 21st-century Lebanese lawyers People from Jezzine Lebanese Maronites