Omar Abdul Hamid Karami (last name also spelled Karamé and Karameh) ( ar, عمر عبد الحميد كرامي; 7 September 1934 – 1 January 2015) was the 29th prime minister 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 Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

, who served two separate terms. He was Prime Minister for the first time from 24 December 1990, when

Selim al-Hoss Selim Ahmed Hoss ( ar, سليم أحمد الحص; also transliterated ''Salim Al-Hoss;'' born 20 December 1929) is a veteran Lebanese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon and a longtime Member of Parliament representing his h ...

gave up power, until May 1992, when he resigned due to economic instability. He was again Prime Minister from October 2004 to April 2005.

Early life

Karami was born Omar Abdul Hamid Karami in the northern Lebanese town of An Nouri, near

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

in 1934 to a Sunni Muslim family. He was the son of former prime minister and independence hero

Abdul Hamid Karami Abdul Hamid Karami (23 October 1890 – 23 November 1950) ( ar, عبد الحميد كرامي) was a Lebanese political and religious leader, who had nationalistic Arab inclinations. Biography Karami descended from one of the most prominen ...

. He was the brother of Arab nationalist the eight-time prime minister and major Lebanese statesman,

Rashid Karami Rashid Abdul Hamid Karami (30 December 1921 – 1 June 1987) ( ar, رشيد كرامي) was a Lebanese statesman. He is considered one of the most important political figures in Lebanon for more than 30 years, including during much of the Lebane ...

, who was assassinated in 1987. Omar Karami held a degree in law, which he received from

Cairo University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...

in 1956.

Career

Karami worked as both lawyer and businessman. In 1989, he was appointed education minister and on 24 December 1990, prime minister. He was in office until May 1992 when he resigned due to the collapse of the Lebanese pound against the US dollar which provoked street riots. Karami was elected as Parliamentary representative of Tripoli in 1991, following his brother's assassination. In late October 2004, he formed a cabinet after the resignation of

Rafik Hariri Rafik is the given name of: * Rafik Al-Hariri (1944–2005), business tycoon, former Prime Minister of Lebanon * Rafik Bouderbal (born 1987), French-born Algerian player currently playing for ES Sétif in the Algerian Championnat National * Rafik ...

. Due to the assassination of ex-prime minister Hariri on 14 February 2005, members of the opposition blamed Syria for the assassination, and demanded Syria withdraw its troops and intelligence personnel from Lebanon. Protests grew in

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 ...

despite an official ban on public protests, and the opposition planned to call for a no confidence vote. Amid the growing pressure, Karami announced on 28 February 2005 that his government would resign, although it remained temporarily in a

caretaker Caretaker may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Caretaker'' (film), a 1963 adaptation of the play ''The Caretaker'' * '' The Caretakers'', a 1963 American film set in a mental hospital * Caretaker, a character in the 1974 film '' ...

role. Ten days after the resignation, following protests in Beirut that were supportive of president Karami,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Émile Lahoud Émile Jamil Lahoud (born 12 January 1936) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 16th president of Lebanon from 1998 to 2007. His main foreign-policy achievement was to end the Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon in May 2000, which was ...

re-appointed Karami as prime minister on 10 March and asked him to form a new government. With the backing of a majority of deputies, Karami called on all parties to join a government of national unity. On 13 April, after failing to create a new government, Karami resigned again. He was replaced by

Najib Mikati Najib Azmi Mikati ( ar, نجيب عزمي ميقاتي; born 24 November 1955) is a Lebanese politician and businessman, and three-time Prime Minister of Lebanon whose current term began in September 2021. He also serves as the acting President ...

in the post. This resignation added to the turmoil already prevalent in Lebanon since Hariri's assassination as now there was no government to call the elections which were due that upcoming May. Karami did not run for office in the 2005 general elections.

Personal life

Karami was the father of Faisal Karami.

Death

On the morning of 1 January 2015, Karami died following a long period of illness at the age of 80.Former Prime Minister Omar Karami dies at age of 80
''The Daily Star''. 1 January 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karami, Omar 1934 births 2015 deaths Cairo University alumni People from Tripoli, Lebanon Lebanese Sunni Muslims Prime Ministers of Lebanon Members of the Parliament of Lebanon Children of national leaders Arab Liberation Party politicians