Abdul Hamid Karami (23 October 1890 – 23 November 1950) () was a Lebanese political and religious leader, who had nationalistic Arab inclinations.

Biography

Karami descended from one of the most prominent

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

families in Lebanon. Members of his family traditionally held the position of

mufti A mufti (; , ) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatāwa'' have played an important role thro ...

of Tripoli. Abdul Hamid Karami became mufti of Tripoli, but was removed by the French authorities. He was a leader of the movement demanding Lebanon's independence, a goal which was achieved by 1943. In 1944, Karami survived an assassination attempt, which was due to a local rivalry in Tripoli. Karami served as

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and

finance minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

of Lebanon for a brief period from 10 January 1945 to 20 August 1945. He also held the post of

defense minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

for that time. His sons, Rashid Karami and Omar Karami were also important Lebanese politicians who served as prime ministers. Karami died on 3 November 1950.

Controversy

In June 1935, Karami killed Abdul Majid Muqaddam, another prominent Tripoli native, since Muqaddam had beaten him with a stick and knocked off his turban. However, Karami was acquitted due to his claim of self-defense. Karami's lawyer was future president Bishara Khoury.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karami, Abdul Hamid 1890 births 1950 deaths Prime ministers of Lebanon Defense ministers of Lebanon Lebanese Sunni politicians Members of the Parliament of Lebanon Politicians from Tripoli, Lebanon Finance ministers of Lebanon