Adnan Mansour (; born 5 January 1946) is a Lebanese diplomat, politician and the former minister of foreign affairs and emigrants.

Early life and education

Mansour was born in Bourj el-Barajneh on 5 January 1946 into a

Shi'ite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood to ...

family. He obtained a bachelor's degree in administrative sciences and policies from St. Joseph University in Beirut. He holds a master's degree in political theory and a PhD in political science.

Career

Mansour began his career at the Foreign Ministry in 1974. He worked as Lebanon's consul in various countries, including Australia, Sudan and Egypt. From 1990 to 1994, he was the Lebanese ambassador to the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. He also served as the Lebanese ambassador to Iran from 1999 to 2007. His last diplomatic posts were Lebanese ambassador to the

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembourg ...

from 2007 to 2010 and to the Kingdom of Belgium from 2007 to 2011. Then Mansour served as an aide to Parliament Speaker

Nabih Berri Nabih Mustafa Berri ( ; born 28 January 1938) is a Lebanese politician who has been serving as Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon since 1992. He heads the Amal Movement and its parliamentary wing, Development and Liberation Bloc. Early lif ...

, and became a member of the

Amal Movement The Amal Movement () is a Lebanese political party and militia affiliated mainly with the Shia community of Lebanon. It was founded by Musa al-Sadr and Hussein el-Husseini in 1974 as the "Movement of the Deprived." The party has been led by ...

. Mansour was appointed minister of foreign affairs and emigrants on 13 June 2011, replacing Ali Al Shami in the post. Mansour was part of the March 8 coalition in the

Najib Mikati Najib Azmi Mikati (born 24 November 1955) is a Lebanese politician and businessman who served as the 52nd prime minister of Lebanon from 2021 to 2025. He previously served in this post as the 48th and 45th prime minister from 2011 to 2014 and i ...

's cabinet. Mansour visited Libya in January 2012, the first visit by a Lebanese diplomat to the country in thirty years. In September 2012, he and a Lebanese judge went to Mauritania to search for the possibility of questioning the former Libyan intelligence chief

Abdullah Senussi Abdullah Senussi ( ) is a Libyan national who was the intelligence chief and brother-in-law of former Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. He was married to Gaddafi's sister-in-law. Scottish police officers plan to interview him in connection ...

, who served during the

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...

's era about the fate of Imam Musa Sadr. Gebran Bassil replaced Mansour as foreign minister in February 2014.

Views and alliances

Mansour has a pro-Syrian stance and is close to the Nabih Berri. Nayla Tueni, a Lebanese journalist and deputy, called him the foreign minister of Syria in Lebanon. In September 2012, after the negative remarks of

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

leader

Hassan Nasrallah Hassan Nasrallah (, ; 31 August 196027 September 2024) was a Lebanese cleric and politician who served as the third secretary-general of Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political party and militia, from 1992 until his assassination in 2024. Bor ...

about the movie Innocence of Muslims, Mansour argued that Arab foreign ministers should meet to denounce the movie. Mansour's remarks were criticized by Lebanese politicians and cabinet members, including labor minister Salim Jreissati. In the summit of the Council of Arab Foreign Ministers in Cairo held on 6 March 2013, Mansour argued that Syria should rejoin the

Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...

. His remarks again drew criticism both from the Lebanese government and

Arab states of the Persian Gulf The Arab states of the Persian Gulf, also known as the Gulf Arab states (), refers to a group of Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi ...

Personal life

Mansour is married to Layla Fakhoury. They have three children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansour, Adnan 20th-century Lebanese diplomats 1946 births Amal Movement politicians Saint Joseph University alumni Ambassadors of Lebanon to Belgium Ambassadors of Lebanon to Iran Ambassadors of Lebanon to Luxembourg Ambassadors of Lebanon to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Foreign ministers of Lebanon Lebanese Shia Muslims Living people 21st-century Lebanese diplomats