Alejandro Hamed Franco (26 February 1934 – 24 April 2023) was a Paraguayan politician who was appointed

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Fernando Lugo Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez (; born 30 May 1951) is a Paraguayan politician and Loss of clerical state, laicized Bishops in the Catholic Church, Catholic bishop who was President of Paraguay from 2008 to 2012. Previously, he was a Roman Cath ...

, a term he served between 2008 and 2009. At the time of his death he was nominated to become the next Paraguayan ambassador to Uruguay.

Biography

Alejandro Hamed was born on 26 February 1934. He was of

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

origin. Hamed died on 24 April 2023, at the age of 89.

Political career

In 2008, he was controversially appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay by incoming president Fernando Lugo. The United States had him on a blacklist from entering the US or flying on American aircraft. After leaving the post in 2009, he was ambassador to Venezuela. As of 2010, he was nominated to become the ambassador to Uruguay.

Foreign policy

Hamed was said to have "expressed sympathy" for

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...

, and been an advocate of the

Palestinian cause Palestinian nationalism is the national movement of the Palestinian people that espouses self-determination and sovereignty over the region of Palestine.de Waart, 1994p. 223 Referencing Article 9 of ''The Palestinian National Charter of 19 ...

(a move that caused consternation in the United States). During his tenure as foreign minister, there were concerns that Paraguay would break ties with Taiwan in favour of China, this was controversial because Paraguay was the only country in South America to recognise Taiwan. During a visit to Jordan, he discussed with his counterpart the Middle East process. He has also visited Qatar. During a visit to Iran, he told his counterpart that Paraguay was willing to make "mature economic, industrial and agricultural cooperation with Iran." He also said Paraguay would support Venezuela's entry into

Mercosur The Southern Common Market (commonly known by abbreviation ''Mercosur'' in Spanish and ''Mercosul'' in Portuguese) is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full me ...

. After

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

's inauguration as US president he said Lugo hoped ties with the US would be secure, particularly in the economic field. Hamed also signed an agreement with the US ambassador to Paraguay,

Liliana Ayalde Liliana Ayalde (born March 1956) is the former United States Ambassador to Brazil and was previously the Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for the United States State Department with responsibility for the Offices of Caribbean Affairs, Central Ame ...

, to amend the ''Narcotics and Money Laundering Agreement''. The new agreement would be used to combat drug trafficking with the US offering US$253,000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamed, Alejandro 1934 births 2023 deaths Paraguayan historians Ministers of foreign affairs of Paraguay Ambassadors of Paraguay to Uruguay Ambassadors of Paraguay to Venezuela Universidad Nacional de Asunción alumni Paraguayan people of Syrian descent Politicians from Asunción 21st-century Paraguayan politicians