Charbel Wehbe (; born 15 July 1953 in

Aqoura Aqoura (, also spelled ''Aaqoura'', "Akoura") is a mountainous village in the Byblos District of Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, Lebanon, 68 kilometers north of Beirut. Aaqoura has an average elevation of 1,600 meters above sea level (between 1000 and ...

) is a Lebanese politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants in the

Cabinet of Hassan Diab A Lebanese cabinet led by Hassan Diab was formed in Lebanon on 21 January 2020, after an agreement was reached by the heads of the involved political parties after nearly three months. Diab was appointed prime minister by president Michel Aoun ...

from August 3, 2020 up to his resignation on May 19, 2021. He was appointed after the resignation of Nassif Hitti.

Career

Wehbe who studied Mathematics and Law at the

Lebanese University The Lebanese University (LU; ) is the only state-funded public university in Lebanon. It was established in 1951. The university's main campus was originally located in Beirut, but a few satellite campuses were opened due to travel restriction ...

, served as a Consul General in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada (1995–2000),

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

(2002–2007) and an ambassador in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

(2007–2012), in addition to several diplomatic positions in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada.

Controversy

In May 2021, Wehbe had an altercation with Salman Al-Ansari, president of the Saudi Arabia lobby in the United States, on

Alhurra Alhurra ( ' ,The pronunciation differs depending on the variety of Arabic, for example, . "the Free One") is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. government-owned Arabic-language satellite TV channel that broadcasts news and current ...

TV, in which he blamed Saudi Arabia for the

assassination of Jamal Khashoggi On 2 October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident journalist, was killed by agents of the Saudi government at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Khashoggi was ambushed and strangled by a 15-member squad of Saudi operatives. His body w ...

, emergence of

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

in Syria and Iraq, and finally tried to insult his opponent by calling him a

nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

, which caused an uproar on

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

, and a comment from the Lebanese presidential office, that what he said only represented his personal opinion. However,

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

, and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

summoned the Lebanese ambassadors to their respective countries in retaliation. In the meantime, Wehbe said that he did not mean to offend "brotherly Arab countries". He later submitted his resignation, amid GCC countries' demand for a formal apology.

Awards

Order of Francisco de Miranda The Order of Francisco de Miranda (''Orden Francisco de Miranda'') is conferred by the Republic of Venezuela in memory of Francisco de Miranda (1754–1816). This national honor and decoration was created to recognize Venezuelan citizens and fore ...

1st Class

References

1953 births Foreign ministers of Lebanon Ambassadors of Lebanon to Venezuela Lebanese Maronites Lebanese University alumni Living people People from Byblos District Free Patriotic Movement politicians 20th-century Lebanese diplomats 21st-century Lebanese diplomats 21st-century Lebanese politicians {{Lebanon-politician-stub