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 municipality 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 95 ...

on 2 February 1950. He hails from a

Maronite Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally re ...

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'', commonly known as USJ) is a private Catholic research university in Beirut, Lebanon, founded in 1875 by French Jesuit missionaries and subsidized by the Go ...

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 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, member of the Lebanese Parliament and a leftist intellectual. He was from the Frangieh family, one of the well-known political families of Lebanon. Early life Frangieh ...

and

Walid Jumblatt Walid Kamal Jumblatt (; born 7 August 1949) is a Lebanese politician who was the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party from 1977 until 2023. A Druze and former militia commander, Jumblatt led the Lebanese National Resistance Front, allying ...

, who supported the implementation of the

Taif accords The 1989 Taif Agreement (, ), officially known as the ('')'', was reached to provide "the basis for the ending of the Lebanese Civil War, civil war and the return to political normalcy in Lebanon". Negotiated in Taif, Saudi Arabia, it was desig ...

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 (; 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, in 1933. He was assassina ...

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 al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

. 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 al-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