Issam Hussein Naaman (born April 2, 1942) is a Lebanese lawyer, politician, author, lecturer, and former Member of Parliament and Minister of Telecommunications.

Early life and education

Naaman was born April 2, 1942, in

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

, Lebanon to a

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

family.''Lebanon.com'' gives his year of birth as 1937 instead. He earned a BA in

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

in 1958, and an MA in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

in 1965, both from

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

(AUB). He received his Licence en droit (

Bachelor of Law A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

) in 1960, and an MA in

public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations and affairs between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that ...

in 1979, both from

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 ...

. In 1984, he completed a PhD in public law from Columbia Pacific University,

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city in and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of th ...

Career

Naaman has been an Attorney since 1963. From 1975 to 1982, he was a member of the leadership of the

Lebanese National Movement The Lebanese National Movement (LNM; , ''Al-Harakat al-Wataniyya al-Lubnaniyya'') was a front of Leftist, pan-Arabist and Syrian nationalist parties and organizations active during the early years of the Lebanese Civil War, which supported ...

. From 1978 to 1988 he was a lecturer at the Faculty of Information, Lebanese University. In 1992, he was elected to the

Lebanese Parliament The Lebanese Parliament (, ) is the unicameral national parliament of the Lebanon, Republic of Lebanon. There are 128 members elected to a four-year term in Electoral district, multi-member constituencies, apportioned among Lebanon's divers ...

, and served until he was defeated in the 1996 elections. He served as Minister of Telecommunications in Prime Minister

Salim Hoss Salim Ahmad al-Huss ('';'' 20 December 1929 – 25 August 2024), also spelled Selim El-Hoss, was a Lebanese politician who served as the prime minister of Lebanon and a longtime Member of Parliament representing his hometown, Beirut. He was kno ...

's cabinet from 1998 to 2000. In 2005, he became a member of the "Third Force Movement".

Holocaust denial

According to the Anti-Defamation League, Naaman wrote in newspaper ''

Al-Quds Al-Arabi ''al-Quds al-Arabi'' () is an independent pan-Arab daily newspaper, published in London since 1989 and owned by Palestinian expatriates. According to news reports in 2013, it is now owned by Qatar media interests, through intermediaries. The pa ...

'', published in London on 22 April 1998:

Publications

Naaman is the author of several books and political articles. His main books are: * * * * * *

Notes

References

External links

Issam Naaman
1937 births Communications ministers of Lebanon Members of the Parliament of Lebanon Columbia Pacific University alumni Lebanese University alumni American University of Beirut alumni People from Sidon Lebanese Holocaust deniers Living people Lebanese Druze people {{Lebanon-politician-stub