As the Ceasefire Monitoring Commission convenes on Wednesday in Naqoura, President Joseph Aoun has appointed former U.S. ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative, the Presidency announced.
Born in 1950 in the southern town of Jezzine, Karam hails from a Maronite Christian family and has long been known as a forthright voice on questions of sovereignty and foreign influence.
A graduate of Saint Joseph University’s law faculty, he began his career as a lawyer before entering public service at a turbulent moment in Lebanon’s post-war recovery.
Karam was appointed governor of the Bekaa in 1990 and of Beirut the following year, quickly emerging as an administrator with a reputation for independence. In 1992, he became Lebanon’s ambassador to the United States, presenting his credentials in Washington that September. His tenure was short-lived as he resigned in August 1993 and returned to legal practice in Beirut.
Over the decades, Karam remained active in political and intellectual circles. He joined the Qornet Shehwan Movement, a coalition of sovereignist figures pushing for the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon.
Karam has also been a persistent critic of Iranian involvement in Lebanon, warning that Tehran’s influence, largely exercised through Hezbollah, undermines the country’s stability and national institutions. In 2011, as the uprising in Syria gathered momentum, he was among the Lebanese public figures who signed a “Statement of Solidarity” with Syrians opposing the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
With decades of diplomatic and political experience, Karam now returns to an official role at a critical moment, representing Lebanon on a commission tasked with overseeing a fragile ceasefire amid heightened regional tensions.
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