Sami Khiyami () is a

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 ...

diplomat, former Syrian

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Background

Born on 28 August 1948, Khiyami studied Electrical Engineering at the

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 ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, and

Claude Bernard University Lyon 1 Claude Bernard University Lyon 1 (, UCBL) is one of the three public universities of Lyon, France. It is named after the French physiologist Claude Bernard and specialises in science and technology, medicine, and sports science. It was establis ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. An

electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

expert by training, he has held a number of professional roles, including senior advisor to the

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

n banking industry and a member of the board of Syrian Arab Airlines. He speaks Arabic, English, French, and German.

Issues

In July 2006, Khiyami announced to the London media that

was attempting to dissuade

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 ...

from continuing to launch rocket attacks on

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, the latter being part of the claimed justification for

's July air strikes on

. Khiyami has also argued that the international community, when gauging its response to the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

conflict, should examine the totality of the conflict's victims. Khiyami was seen as collaborating closely with Ghayth Armanazi of the Syrian Media Centre, London, and the British Syrian Society. On April 28, 2011, Khiyami's invitation to

Prince William William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his p ...

wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...

was formally withdrawn due to Syria's violent response to protesters. Khiyami left his position as ambassador to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in March 2012. He quit the diplomatic service shortly thereafter, citing the excessive use of violence of the Syrian governments against protesters as the reason for his resignation. According to German and Arabic media reports Khiyami is among the founding members of an initiative called the ' Council of the Syrian Charter' that unites elders and representatives from various Syrian families, clans, tribes and communities both inside and outside of Syria. Khiyami is said to have played an important role in the drafting of a document known as the ' Code of Conduct for Syrian Coexistence' that was solemnly signed by community representatives, including Syrian

Alawites Alawites () are an Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate Ali ...

, in 2017.

References

External links

Syrian Embassy web page

The last three months of Bush

Syria and Lebanon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khiyami, Sami 1948 births Living people Ambassadors of Syria to the United Kingdom American University of Beirut alumni University of Lyon alumni

Background

Issues

See also

References

External links