Ziyad Baroud ( ar, زياد بارود ; born 29 April 1970) is a French Lebanese civil servant and

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.Fuad Siniora and

Saad Hariri Saad El-Din Rafik Al-Hariri ( ar, سعد الدين رفيق الحريري, translit=Saʿd ad-Dīn Rafīq al-Ḥarīrī; born 18 April 1970) is a Lebanese-Saudi politician who served as the prime minister of Lebanon from 2009 to 2011 and 2016 t ...

's governments. Baroud is one of the few political personalities who is appreciated by both ends of the rivaled Lebanese political clan and thus, subsequently holds good esteem with many of the personas across the complex and contentious Lebanese political spectrum. An attorney by formation and practice, Baroud is an expert on issues of

decentralization Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. Conce ...

and

electoral law Election law is a branch of public law that relates to the democratic processes, election of representatives and office holders, and referendums, through the regulation of the electoral system, voting rights, ballot access, election management ...

reform. He is known to abstain from engaging in feudal politics, and to focus instead on building the Lebanese

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.civil institutions Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, which he orchestrated in one day instead of the conventional four weekends, a record in Lebanese history. This has earned him the First Prize of the prestigious United Nations Public Service Award where Lebanon was ranked first among 400 government administrations from all over the world by the

United Nations Public Administration Network The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) is part of the United Nations Secretariat and is responsible for the follow-up to major United Nations Summits and Conferences, as well as services to the United Nations Econ ...

(UNPAN). On 26 May 2011, Baroud resigned from office as minister of interior and municipalities in Saad Hariri's government after an inter-party conflict developed between the

Internal Security Forces The Internal Security Forces Directorate ( ar, المديرية العامة لقوى الأمن الداخلي, al-Mudiriyya al-'aamma li-Qiwa al-Amn al-Dakhili; french: Forces de Sécurité Intérieure; abbreviated ISF) is the national police ...

and the Ministry of

Telecommunications in Lebanon Posts and telecommunications have long played an essential role in Lebanon, a small country with an expansive diaspora, a vivid media landscape, and an economy geared toward trade and banking. The sector's history has nonetheless been chaotic, marke ...

. Ziyad Baroud has been granted several awards to date, in 2010 he was the recipient of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) Charles T. Manatt Democracy Award, which recognizes extraordinary efforts to advance electoral participation and democratic values. Baroud is also the recipient of the distinction of the French Legion of Honor or

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, the highest decoration in France, ranking him as Chevalier, and of the Grand Cross of the Spanish

Order of Civil Merit The Order of Civil Merit ( es, Orden del Mérito Civil) was established by King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1926. The order recognizes "the civic virtue of officers in the service of the Nation, as well as extraordinary service by Spanish and fore ...

(Sp: Orden del Mérito Civil) rewarded for "extraordinary service for the benefit of Spain".

Early life and education

Ziyad Baroud was born on 29 April 1970 in

Jeita The is a Japanese trade organization for the electronics and IT industries. It was formed in 2000 from two earlier organizations, the Electronic Industries Association of Japan and the Japan Electronic Industries Development Association. Histor ...

, Keserwan into

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 of Selim and Antoinette (née Salem). The first of two children, Baroud and his younger sister Maha were brought up in a middle-class civil household with no political ancestry, where both parents were high school teachers; their father a senior grade mathematics teacher and their mother an Arabic literature teacher. Baroud completed his high school education at Collège Saint Joseph – Antoura des Pères Lazaristes from which he graduated in 1988. He then attended the Faculty of Law at

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 ...

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 ...

from which he earned his Master's Degree in Law. He was admitted to the Beirut Bar Association in 1993. From 1993 to 1996, Baroud worked as a trainee lawyer in

in the cabinet of

Ibrahim Najjar Ibrahim Najjar is a lawyer, a professor of law, a Lebanese politician and a former Justice minister (2008–2011). Early life and education Najjar was born the 2nd September 1941 in Tripoli, North Lebanon, and is an adherent of the Greek Orthodo ...

, who later served as minister of justice in the same government as Baroud. While working in the office of Najjar, Baroud contributed along with a handful of judges and fellow lawyers to the drafting of a legal monthly supplement in

An-Nahar ''An-Nahar'' ( ar, النهار, lit=The Day or The Morning) is a leading Arabic-language daily newspaper published in Lebanon. In the 1980s, ''An-Nahar'' was described by the ''New York Times'' and ''Time Magazine'' as the newspaper of record f ...

"Houqouq Annas" (Ar: حقوق الناس) or "People's Rights", the first of its kind, designed to familiarize people with judiciary rights and jargon and promote the implementation and modernization of Lebanese laws with the aim of bringing more justice to society. At the same time, Baroud was pursuing doctoral studies at the

University of Paris X Paris Nanterre University (French: ''Université Paris Nanterre''), formerly Paris-X and commonly referred to as Nanterre, is a public research university based in Nanterre, Paris, France. It is one of the most prestigious French universities, ma ...

in Paris, France, a school that also graduated

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

and

Dominique de Villepin Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (; born 14 November 1953) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007 under President Jacques Chirac. In his career working at the Minist ...

among other influential personalities. Baroud is currently preparing his

doctoral thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

on the subject of "Decentralization in Lebanon after the Taif Agreement", a topic that is one of his main subjects of expertise as well as one of the major lobbying points of his political agenda.

Career and policymaking activities

Baroud held a number of academic posts as lecturer in two prestigious universities in Lebanon: His alma mater Université Saint Joseph (USJ) and

Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik The Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (french: Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik (USEK); ar, جامعة الرّوح القدس – الكسليك, ''Jāmiʿah al-Rūḥ al-Quddus – al-Kaslīk''), is a private, not-for-profit Catholic univer ...

(USEK). Furthermore, he sits today on the

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

Notre Dame University The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campus ...

. With time, Baroud became more and more involved in key public actions that took him to the forefront of national, high-profile

political activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

, largely due to his expertise on many impending national topics, notably electoral law, decentralization and the constitution. Electoral reform Ziyad Baroud is one of the staunchest and most active experts on electoral law reform in Lebanon. In March 1996, Baroud founded along with other activists th
Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections
(LADE), an independent, nonprofit organization specialized in the study of elections and electoral laws' impact on democracy. The subject of elections and electoral law reform will become another forte of Ziyad Baroud's life and political agenda. In 2004, Baroud was elected Secretary General of LADE to lead a group of more than 1,300 domestic electoral observers during the 2005 elections. In 2006, he was chosen to serve as a board member of the Lebanese chapter of Transparency International (LTA). In 2005–2006, he was commissioned by the Prime Minister of the Republic Fuad Siniora along with eleven others to serve on a blue-ribbon commission headed by Former Minister

Fouad Boutros Fouad Boutros ( ar, فؤاد بطرس; 5 November 1917 in Achrafieh – 4 January 2016) was a Lebanese politician and diplomat. He held several cabinet posts in the 1960s and 1970s. Political career He was first elected member of the Parliament ...

to propose a draft for electoral law reform, this commission came to be familiarly known as the "Boutros Commission". :''The Boutros Commission'' : :In 2005, the new cabinet headed by Prime Minister Fuad Siniora launched an independent commission on 8 August 2005 headed by Former

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

to study the dire issue of the 2000 electoral law and propose a change. The commission was named the "Lebanese National Commission on Electoral Law", more casually known as the "Boutros Commission." Twelve people, six Muslims and six Christians, were appointed, of which Baroud was chosen to be one of the key expert members. Other members included:

(President), Ghaleb Mahmassany, Michel Tabet,

Zouheir Chokr Zouheir Chokr ''(alternative spellings: Zouheir Shokr, Zouheir Chokor, Zouheir Shokor, Zouheir Choker, Zouheir Shoker, Zouhair Chokr, Zouhair Chokor, Zouhair Shokor)'' ( ar, زهير شكر) is the President of the Lebanese University. Early care ...

, Ghassan Abou Alwan,

Nawaf Salam Nawaf Salam ( ar, نواف سلام; born 15 December 1953) is a Lebanese diplomat, jurist, and academic. He was elected on 9 November 2017 as judge on the International Court of Justice for the 2018–2027 term, having received a concurrent ma ...

, Abdel Salam Sheaib, Fayez Al-Hajj Shahine, Paul Salem, Khaldoun Naja, and Arda Ekmekji. : :The commission met for nine months and delivered
129-article draft law
for comprehensive electoral reform to the cabinet on 31 May 2006. The 129 articles detailed a myriad of reforms including lowering the

voting age A voting age is a minimum age established by law that a person must attain before they become eligible to vote in a public election. The most common voting age is 18 years; however, voting ages as low as 16 and as high as 25 currently exist (s ...

to 18 years, implementing an electoral list quota of 30% female candidates, an assessment of

absentee balloting An absentee ballot is a vote cast by someone who is unable or unwilling to attend the official polling station to which the voter is normally allocated. Methods include voting at a different location, postal voting, proxy voting and online votin ...

for Lebanese abroad, and the implementation of comprehensive and tight regulations for

political campaigns A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referend ...

and their financial spendings, among other things. : :Unfortunately, the cabinet ran out of time before it had a chance to vote on the Boutros Commission's proposal. Five weeks later, 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 ...

broke out in July 2006 before the law could be sent to parliament. The subsequent deterioration of the political situation and closing of the legislature prevented any proposed reforms from being addressed, and remained pending. Decentralization Baroud worked as a research associate at th
"Lebanese Center for Policy Studies"
a Beirut-based think tank of which he is a board member today. LCPS aims to provide researched, politically neutral guidelines to serve policymaking. Baroud also consulted with the

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

on local governance and decentralization from 2001 to 2008. He is currently the chairman of the "Governmental Committee of Decentralization" (Ar: اللجنة الخاصة باللامركزية), knowing that the topic of decentralization happens to be his Doctorate Thesis subject.

Minister of the interior and municipalities

Following the deadly clashes of May 2008, on 21 May 2008, figures from both the opposition and majority signed the

Doha Agreement Doha Agreement may refer to: *Doha Agreement (2008), agreement between rival Lebanese factions *Fatah–Hamas Doha Agreement, 2012 *Doha Agreement (2020) Doha Agreement may refer to: *Doha Agreement (2008), agreement between rival Lebanese faction ...

under the auspices of Qatar's foreign minister and prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, finally diffusing an 18-month crisis. The Doha negotiations resulted in the long-awaited election of General

Michel Sleiman Michel Suleiman ( ar, ميشال سليمان ; born 21 November 1948) is a Lebanese Maronite Christian politician who served as President of Lebanon from 2008 to 2014. Before becoming president, he served as commander of the Lebanese Armed Force ...

as President of the Lebanese Republic and the formation of the 70th national unity government led by Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, composed of 30 ministers distributed among the majority (16 ministers), the opposition (11 ministers) and the president (3 ministers). Ziyad Baroud, who had been engaged in serious national struggles for democratization for over 15 years, stood out as a professional and committed civil society activist. Newly elected President

consequently named Ziyad Baroud as Minister of Interior and Municipalities. Baroud served as Minister of Interior and Municipalities under two consecutive cabinets. The first cabinet led by Prime Minister Fuad Siniora in the 70th national unity government which lasted from 11 July 2008, until November 2009. Baroud successively served for a second term under Prime Minister

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

which lasted from 9 Nov 2009 to 13 June 2011, though he had resigned on 26 May 2011. As Minister of Interior and Municipalities in Fuad Siniora's government, Baroud occupied one of the toughest and most high profile jobs in the country and was able to set a very high record of positive changes within many of the country's sectors.

Enforcing traffic laws

The first crackdown Baroud orchestrated was on traffic disobedience. Working closely with NGOs that promote road safety and injury prevention, notably the ''Youth Association for Social Awareness'' (YASA) and '' Kun Hadi'' (Arabic for "Be Calm", as well as a play on the word "Hadi" which is the name of a young man who died in a speeding car accident and namesake of the organization), one of Baroud's first undertakings as minister was to impose traffic laws, including seatbelt enforcement and speed limits compliance. Resultantly, under his mandate, in the first year alone, the Ministry of Interior raised the number of traffic officers from 593 to 1,800. 87% of motorists started complying with traffic lights. 32,323 illegal motorcycles were confiscated. A decline of 77% in car thefts was recorded. All of the above were records in the history of the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (MoIM). ''

Time magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

'' published an article citing the importance of Baroud's undertakings regarding traffic laws: "Unable to solve the big problems facing the country, Ziad Baroud, Suleiman's choice to lead the powerful Ministry of the Interior, began focusing on problems that might actually make a difference in the lives of average Lebanese. In particular, the police began cracking down on the single biggest cause of death in the country: not terrorism, or war, but traffic accidents."

Supporting freedom of association

Being an avid civil society activist and a human rights campaigner, Baroud has been known to support and actively encourage the work of Lebanon's Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Thus, a major undertaking tackled by Baroud was signing off on counts of registration applications from NGOs that had been stacking up for years and never accorded registration permits. Baroud released a circular facilitating the registration of NGOs. The number of NGOs approved under Baroud rates as one of the highest in the history of the Interior Ministry.

Privacy of religious identity

Baroud is the first government official to ever officially give freedom of choice to Lebanese citizens about revealing their religious affiliation on civil registry documents. Although Lebanese new identification cards issued post-civil war do not state citizens' religious affiliation, individual civil registry records still maintained the obligation for religious disclosure. Baroud thus issued a circular in February 2009 decreeing that every Lebanese citizen was now free to cross out his/her religious identity from all official documents, and replace it with a slash sign (/) if they desire. Baroud stated that such freedom allocation is simply consistent with the Lebanese Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Monitoring of the "best managed elections" to date

For several years, th
Civil Campaign for Electoral Reform
(CCER), a broad alliance for civil society associations founded in 2005 by Baroud among others, was demanding that the parliament hold parliamentary elections over the course of one day. Although the Administration and Justice parliamentarian commission wanted to try and hold the 2009 elections over two days for security reasons, Baroud made great efforts to resolve all logistical difficulties in order to hold the elections in one day. The 2009 Parliamentary Elections were consequently held over the course of one day, on 7 June 2009. The

March 14 Alliance The March 14 Alliance ( ar, تحالف 14 آذار, taḥāluf 14 adhār}), named after the date of the Cedar Revolution, is a coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon formed in 2005 that are united by their anti-Syrian stance ...

beat the opposition bloc of the

March 8 Alliance The March 8 Alliance ( ar, تحالف 8 آذار, taḥāluf 8 adhār}) is a coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon formed in 2005 that are united by their pro-Syrian stance and their opposition to the March 14 Alliance. It ...

winning 71 seats in the 128-member parliament to 57 seats going to the latter. This result is virtually the same as the result from the 2005 elections, yet the turnout is said to have been as high as 55%. Former US President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

with the

Carter Center The Carter Center is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. He and his wife Rosalynn Carter partnered with Emory University just after his defeat in the 1980 United States presidenti ...

Observation Mission issued a report " ommendingthe Lebanese people and the electoral authorities for the successful conduct of the 2009 parliamentary elections". The report stated that "Minister Baroud earned the confidence of Lebanese stakeholders through his commitment to a transparent process." While the process fell short of several of Lebanon's international commitments, most notably secrecy of the ballot, they stated that "it was conducted with enhanced transparency." The report also commended the high levels of voter participation as well as the "high level of professionalism being exhibited by polling staff in most of the stations visited." The Carter Center final report can be foun
here
The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, who also had established a mission to observe the 2009 Lebanese legislative elections, also issued a positive report stating that "the high level of trust in the electoral process was certainly assisted by the clear neutrality and professionalism of the Ministry of Interior in its administration of the elections, and especially by Minister Zyad icBaroud himself." They point out that this neutrality is however not institutional, since it is more likely linked to the persona of Ziyad Baroud, and therefore "cannot be guaranteed for the next elections". The European Union's final report on 7 June 2009 Parliamentary Elections can be foun
here
Furthermore, as head of the newly formed Elections Oversight Council (OSC) which had been charged with organizing all public elections in Lebanon, Baroud's performance rating in public office was second only to Lebanese President

according to public opinion polls.

Second term

The elections results, though acknowledged transparent and constitutional by both the

and the

, caused turmoil and resistance on behalf of the 8 March blockade who once again were not happy with the minority stake they would have in the cabinet. Lebanon stayed without a functioning government for the duration of four months, a time that was ridden with political wrangling over the formation of a

national unity government A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...

. Eventually, the two sides finally agreed on the assignment of portfolios after concessions were made. Fifteen ministers were selected by the

, ten by the opposition

, and five were allotted to President

. This formula denied 14 March from upholding a majority of cabinet posts while also preventing the opposition from exercising veto, a power which requires 11 cabinet posts ("a third plus one"). Thus, theoretically, the ministers selected by President Sleiman, considered impartial, hold the balance of power in cabinet with a swing vote on decision-making. Ziyad Baroud was once again assigned as

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

for a second term on 9 November 2009. Due to the highly politicized and contentious atmosphere, Baroud's freedom of action as a Minister was severely reduced because of political wranglings he refused to get involved in. The contention between the 8 March and March 14 alliances often left him with no authority over policies and many of the security-related areas that he is supposed to constitutionally oversee, and eventually led to his resignation.

Resignation from minister of interior post

There are several conflicting accounts explaining what exactly happened the day that Ziyad Baroud resigned from his ministerial duties. The basic storyline, however, draws on a series of skirmishes that occurred in a one-day public showdown between different loyalists of the country's two conflicting parties of

8 March Events Pre-1600 *1010 – Ferdowsi completes his epic poem ''Shahnameh''. * 1126 – Following the death of his mother, queen Urraca of León, Alfonso VII is proclaimed king of León. *1262 – Battle of Hausbergen between bourg ...

and

14 March Events Pre-1600 *1074 – Battle of Mogyoród: Dukes Géza and Ladislaus defeat their cousin Solomon, King of Hungary, forcing him to flee to Hungary's western borderland. *1590 – Battle of Ivry: Henry of Navarre and the Huguen ...

. The dispute involved two different branches of the

who had violated Minister Baroud's authority, and the Minister of Telecommunications

Charbel Nahas Charbel Nahas ( ar, شربل نحاس; born 16 August 1954) is a Lebanese politician, economist and engineer who is the General Secretary of Citizens in a State, a political party that was established in 2016 and that has as its goal to create " ...

. The dispute escalated into an 8 – 14 March diplomatic

proxy war A proxy war is an armed conflict between two states or non-state actors, one or both of which act at the instigation or on behalf of other parties that are not directly involved in the hostilities. In order for a conflict to be considered a pr ...

that was unlawfully fought on grounds belonging to Minister Baroud's jurisdiction. The event was highly publicized. Television stations had caught the entire showdown on cameras. Nahas then accused the ISF and 14 March of plotting a "coup d'Etat" against the state, and asked the Lebanese army to intervene. Head of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF)

Ashraf Rifi Ashraf Rifi ( ar, أشرف ريفي; also spelled Achraf Rifi) (born 1 April 1954) was the general director of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF; the national police) from 2005 to 2013. He served as minister of justice from 15 February 2 ...

and 14 March responded by accusing the Telecommunications Ministry of launching a coup against the executive branch of the Lebanese government, their pretext being that the equipment at hand had been installed in 2007 by a directive ordained by the Lebanese government, and thus only cabinet-level authority were allowed to give directives to dismantle it. As a result, that same day of 26 May 2011, Baroud announced that he would no longer continue his ministerial duties. He famously stated that he had just "witnessed, along with the Lebanese people, the breakdown of the Lebanese state"Ziyad Baroud Resigns from Ministerial Duties
(27 May 2011). In ''YouTube''. Retrieved 10 January 2013. Baroud also said that he tried for three years to serve the country, but that there was no longer a reason to do so since the Constitution was being trespassed. In his resignation speech, Baroud said: :''"I sought to be a servant of the Republic independent of any political affiliation despite the criticism and challenges, however, it was shown that the logic was missing elsewhere, and I realized, after attempting to prevent the explosion, that the problem is greater than its face value and I therefore refuse to be a false witness. :''Because I refuse to be a caretaker minister, whose role is limited to executing ministry tasks by signing off the ministry's ordinary mail, while the authority he constitutionally holds over certain directorates that report to him gets reduced to just a legal, broken text; :''Because disciplined behavior does not seem to reap any benefit anymore;'' :''Because I refuse that the Constitution be violated through the creation of such antecedents that give permission to anybody to collapse the powers of the Minister, be it any Minister;'' :''Because I will not take, nor have I ever taken, sides in a conflict that will carry the country to inevitable perils. I say all this independently of any lined political position, for the political team to which Minister

belongs has not spared me, just like there is no rivalry between me and their opponent team but only cordiality and mutual respect with both teams.'' :''In light of all of the above, and in order for my presence at the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities not to be limited to processing mail or so, and since the Minister of Interior and Municipalities by proxy can carry out the management, or facilitation, of these tasks while safeguarding the interests of the people, I, therefore, declare my loyalty to the Constitution, with the law as my reference, and I say to the Lebanese people that taking them, or taking all of us, hostage is no longer acceptable. I have, thus, freed myself from being captive of this position, or whatever it has been transformed to, hoping that the language of wisdom shall govern all and save whatever remains of the power of the state, its institutions, and the civil peace that I so fear for."'' : Baroud's resignation speech can be foun
here
(with English subtitles). It is said that Baroud had come close to resigning on multiple occasions prior to this event, but was prevented from doing so by President Sleiman, who needed a trustworthy ally in this all-important ministry. The 26 May events, however, had proven to be too outrageous for Baroud to ignore, inducing him to resign on the spot. The country was left feeling very uncomfortable with the idea of a military officer ignoring the directives of "perhaps the most popular civilian leader in the country." In the history of Lebanon, Ziyad Baroud is the second Minister of the Interior to ever resign from ministerial duties (the other was minister Al Sabeh in 2006 following the Austrian embassy in Ashrafiyeh event) .

Image and social life

Ziyad Baroud's close relation with the Lebanese public made him widely respected and admired by the people. He was accessible to all, and is known to have been one of the very few government officials who personally responded to emails sent by citizens. Baroud was often seen in public civilian settings going about his job, taking his own car at night to directly interact with traffic offenders. He would often stand at security check points in the late hours of the night and personally discuss the importance of speed limits and traffic laws with young speeders, and resultantly, send them to spend three days at the "Kun Hadi" association in order for them to understand the dangers they face and pose to others when they speed and violate traffic rules. One famous anecdote, which was popularized by a blog, relates a December 2009 traffic incident describing Baroud's hands-on approach. It was the month of holidays, and Baroud was caught in one of the traffic jams as police tried to get a handle on the situation marking off roads that were to be closed for the following day's Beirut marathon. "Instead of sitting in his blacked out Mercedes – as you can bet dozens of other big cheeses and probably a handful of the political class were – Baroud took matters to hand. The Interior Minister, much to the obvious chagrin of his bodyguards, got out of his car, rolled up his shirtsleeves and started directing traffic himself." As for his reputation within the ranks of officials, Baroud holds high esteem in the eyes of many decision makers in the country.

Maronite Patriarch This is a list of the Maronite patriarchs of Antioch and all the East, the primate of the Maronite Church, one of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Starting with Paul Peter Massad in 1854, after becoming patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Patriarchat ...

Bechara Boutros Al-Rai once described Baroud as "a national minister and the hope for every Lebanese person. ..Nobody can relinquish him." Baroud is also very popular with political bloggers, both local and international. Upon his resignation, a hoard of encouraging blog articles flooded the Internet in support of Baroud's service and resignation decision. http://www.yasa.org/ As minister of interior, He supported the efforts that led to the new Lebanese traffic law #243 that was enacted by the Lebanese parliament in 2012. In 2013, he was the lawyer of yasa (youth association for social awareness) and Roads for Life in a case against the Lebanese government to cancel a decision by the Lebanese Council of ministers to stop the implementation of new Lebanese traffic law #243 that was enacted by the Lebanese parliament in 2012. the conseil d'état of Lebanon approved yasa-roads for life case and cancelled the decision by the Lebanese council of ministers.

Personal life

Ziyad Baroud is married to Linda Karam, a fellow lawyer. They have three children together: one son, Teo-Raphael, and two daughters, Elsa-Karol and Ayla-Maria.

Memberships

*Beirut Bar Association since 1993 *Member of the Board of Trustees of

Legal Consultant on local governance *Secretary General of the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections
LADE
(2004–2005) *Member of the National Commission on Electoral Reform, known as Boutros Commission *Member of the Board of the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies
LCPS
*Lecturer in Law at Université Saint Joseph (USJ) *Lecturer in the Master degree of Road safety Management at Université Saint Joseph (USJ) *Board member of the Faculty of Law at Saint Joseph University *Chairman of the Lebanese Governmental Commission on Decentralization

Awards

*In July 2011, he was conferred the Silver Order Star insignia of the Spanish

in the rank of Commander by Number (''Encomienda de Número'') by the King of Spain

Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...

, in courteous appreciation of Baroud's civic virtues in service for Spain. *Under Ziyad Baroud's leadership, the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (MoIM) was awarded the prestigious 2010 First Prize of the United Nations Public Service Award. The award, considered one of the most prestigious honors for public service, was awarded to Lebanon out of 400 international public administrations. The

(UNPAN) ranked Lebanon first mainly for the Interior Ministry's work during the 2009 parliamentary elections. *In September 2010, the

International Foundation for Electoral Systems The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) is an international, non-profit organization founded in 1987. Based in Arlington, Virginia, the organization provides assistance and support for elections and electoral stakeholders in ne ...

(IFES) awarded Ziyad Baroud the "2010 IFES Charles T. Manatt Democracy Award" as a tribute to his commitment to freedom and democracy. The IFES awards, which recognize extraordinary efforts to advance electoral participation and democratic values, are given yearly to an American Republican, an American Democrat and a member of the international community to highlight the fact that democracy work transcends political parties and national borders. The awards took place on 28 September 2010, in Washington, DC. *In October 2011, he was awarded "

Officier de la Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

" in the rank of ''Chevalier'' by the French President

for his civic achievements. The Order is the highest decoration in France. *In 2009, he was awarded "Grand Officier de L'Ordre National du Mérite de la République Française" in the rank of ''Commandeur'' by the

Republic of France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area e ...

. *In December 2009, he was named ''2010 Man of the Year'' by Capital Issues newspaper and Data & Investment Consult-Lebanon. *In 2007, he was named Young Global Leader by the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

. An award which "recognizes and acknowledges the professional accomplishment, commitment to society and their potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world of the top 250 young leaders from around the world."Ziyad Baroud from TI National Chapter Named "Young Global Leader" by WEF
(January 2007). In ''Transparency Archives''. Retrieved 12 January 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baroud, Ziad 1970 births Lebanese Maronites Living people Decentralization Interior ministers of Lebanon Saint Joseph University alumni University of Paris alumni People from Keserwan District Holy Spirit University of Kaslik faculty Lebanese expatriates in France