Tracy Chamoun (; born 22 October 1960) is a Lebanese author, diplomat and political activist of Lebanese and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n descent. She was the Lebanese ambassador to

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

from 19 June 2017 until 7 August 2020.

Early life

Tracy Chamoun was born on 22 October 1960 to the Chamoun political family. She is one of two surviving children of

Dany Chamoun Dany Chamoun (; 26 August 1934 – 21 October 1990) was a prominent Lebanese politician. A Maronite Christian, the younger son of former President Camille Chamoun and brother of Dory Chamoun, Chamoun was also a politician in his own right. ...

, the assassinated former leader of the National Liberal Party and son of former President

Camille Chamoun Camille Nimr Chamoun (, ; 3 April 19007 August 1987) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 2nd president of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958. He was one of the country's main Christian leaders during most of the Lebanese Civil War. Early yea ...

; her mother is the late Patti Morgan Chamoun, an Australian fashion model and actress. In October 1990, a militia attacked her father's home and killed him, his second wife and two of their three young children. The Lebanese courts convicted

Samir Geagea Samir Farid Geagea (, , also spelled Samir Ja'ja' ; born 25 October 1952) is a Lebanese politician and former militia commander who has been the leader of the Lebanese Forces Lebanese Forces, political party and Lebanese Forces (militia ...

of the assassination.

Career

Dany Chamoun Foundation

Through the Dany Chamoun Foundation, Tracy Chamoun has sought to perpetuate the legacy of her father, who, on 21 October 1990, was assassinated together with his second wife and two children. Many received amnesty. Eleven associates are also sentenced. Her autobiography, ''Au Nom du Pere,'' centered on her relationship with her father and his life and work. In it, she recounts the harrowing experience in which she and her mother were kidnapped in 1980 during a

surprise attack Military deception (MILDEC) is an attempt by a military unit to gain an advantage during warfare by misleading adversary decision makers into taking action or inaction that creates favorable conditions for the deceiving force. This is usually ...

on the National Liberal Party headquarters by Phalangist militiamen under the command of

Bachir Gemayel Bachir Pierre Gemayel (, ; 10 November 1947 – 14 September 1982) was a Lebanese militia commander who led the Lebanese Forces, the military wing of the Kataeb Party, in the Lebanese Civil War and was elected President of Lebanon in 1982. ...

, her father's former ally.

Syrian occupation

Chamoun was an outspoken critic of the

Syrian occupation of Lebanon The Syrian occupation of Lebanon lasted from 31 May 1976, beginning with the Syrian intervention in the Lebanese Civil War, until 30 April 2005. This period saw significant Syrian military and political influence over Lebanon, impacting its g ...

. She has described her country's independence as a "myth". Before the

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

celebrations in 1990 she asked rhetorically:

To what extent does the establishment believe that the population is so blind that it cannot see that the nation is far from independent? Like the myth of the emperor with no clothes, it is a charade that only the sycophants see and celebrate.

Political views

Chamoun is known for her moderate political views. She became the first woman to found a political party in the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

, called the "Liberal Democrats Party of Lebanon" (also translated as the Party of Liberal Democrats of Lebanon). She favors the building of a modern democracy, and has spoken out against what she sees as the feudal political system in which clan loyalties often play a more significant role than ideology in politics. Chamoun has vowed to continue to remind people of the truth behind the assassination of her slain father which she writes about in her books Le Sang De la Paix published by Lattes in France and () published by Antoine in Lebanon.

Ambassador

She served as ambassador to Jordan from 19 June 2017 to 7 August 2020.when she resigned after the

2020 Beirut explosion On 4 August 2020, a major explosion occurred in Beirut, Lebanon, triggered by the ignition of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate. The chemical, confiscated in 2014 from the cargo ship and stored at the Port of Beirut without adequate safety me ...

, saying the catastrophe showed the need for a change in leadership.

Candidacy for presidency

On 29 August 2022, she announced her candidacy for president in the 2022 presidential election.

Early life

Career

Dany Chamoun Foundation

Syrian occupation

Political views

Ambassador

Candidacy for presidency

See also

References

External links

Further reading