Khalil Abou Hamad (1936–1992) was a Lebanese lawyer who served as the

minister of foreign affairs 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 foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

in the period 1970–1973.

Early life

Abou Hamad was born in 1936. He hailed from a Greek Catholic family.

Career

Abou Hamad was a lawyer by profession and founded a law firm in Beirut. He was named as the minister of foreign affairs on 13 October 1970 in the cabinet led by

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 ...

Saeb Salam Saeb Salam (17 January 1905 – 21 January 2000) () was a Lebanese politician, who served as Prime Minister six times between 1952 and 1973. Following his death, the Lebanese daily ''As-Safir'' described Salam as "most successful in dealing ...

, replacing Nassim Majdalani in the post. Abou Hamad remained in office until 25 April 1973 when a new cabinet formed, and

Khatchig Babikian Khatchig Babikian (1924–1999) aka John Babikian, was a philanthropist, attorney, a Lebanese politician of Armenian origin, and a former member of the Lebanese Parliament (1957–1999) and Lebanese government minister on many occasions as minist ...

was appointed as foreign minister.

Activities and views

When Abou Hamad was serving as foreign minister in December 1970, he announced the neutrality of Lebanon stating that Lebanon would not align with either side in the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. He visited China following the opening of

National Bank of China The National Bank of China () was a bank in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1891 by a wealthy and influential Guangzhou family. It is the first banknote issuer to be financed by Chinese merchants A merchant is a person who trades in goods produce ...

in Beirut in 1972. Following the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

of the Israeli Olympic athletes by the Palestinian

Black September Black September (), also known as the Jordanian Civil War, was an armed conflict between Jordan, led by Hussein of Jordan, King Hussein, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by chairman Yasser Arafat. The main phase of the fight ...

militants in Munich in September 1972, Abou Hamad argued that Lebanon would limit the movements of the Palestinians living in the country.

Later years and death

Abou Hamad was one of the board of trustees members of the Diana Tamari Sabbagh Foundation which was established by Palestinian businessman Hasib Sabbagh in 1979 following the death of his wife Diana Tamari. Abou Hamad died in 1992.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abou Hamad, Khalil 20th-century Lebanese lawyers 1936 births 1992 deaths Foreign ministers of Lebanon Lebanese corporate directors Lebanese Roman Catholics