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Jean Obeid

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Jean Obeid
جان عبيد
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants
In office
17 April 2003 – 26 October 2004
Prime MinisterRafik Hariri
Preceded byMahmoud Hammoud
Succeeded byMahmoud Hammoud
Personal details
Born(1939-05-08)8 May 1939
Alma, Lebanon
Died8 February 2021(2021-02-08) (aged 81)
Beirut, Lebanon

Jean Obeid (Arabic: جان عبيد; 8 May 1939 – 8 February 2021) was a Lebanese journalist and politician, who served in different cabinet posts, the last of which was foreign minister of Lebanon from 2003 to 2004.

Early life

Obeid hailed from a Maronite family.[1] He was born in Alma, a village in the Zgharta district, on 8 May 1939.[2][3]

Career

Obeid was a journalist by profession.[4] He held several high-level positions in various newspapers and magazines. He was an advisor on Arab affairs to two former Lebanese Presidents, Elias Sarkis (1978-1982) and Amin Gemayel (1983-1987).[2] Gemayel also appointed him special envoy to Syria.[5][6] On 11 February 1987, Obeid met with Parliament Speaker Hussein Husseini and was kidnapped by nine gunmen in west Beirut.[7][8] Obeid was freed unhurt after four days.[9]

Obeid served as a member of the parliament, representing Chouf from 1991 to 1992 and Tripoli from 1992 to 2005.[1] He served as minister of state in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 1996.[10] Then he was named as the minister of national education, youth and sports.[11]

On 17 April 2003, he was appointed foreign minister in a reshuffle to the last cabinet of Hariri, replacing Mahmoud Hammoud in the post.[12][13] Obeid's tenure ended in 2004, and he was succeeded by Mahmoud Hammoud as foreign minister.[2][13] In 2008, Obeid ran for the presidential elections and was considered to be possible consensus candidate.[2] He was also a candidate for President of Lebanon and participated in the 2014 Lebanese presidential election.[14]

In May 2018, Obeid returned to the Lebanese parliament by winning the Maronite seat for the constituency of Tripoli.[14][15]

Personal life and death

Obeid was married to Emile Boustany's daughter, Loubna,[16] and had five children Sleiman, Hala, Amal, Jana and Badwi Obeid. He was the maternal uncle of Jihad Azour a former minister of finance and director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department in the International Monetary Fund.

On the morning of 8 February 2021, the National News Agency (NNA) announced that Obeid had died due to complications from COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon.[15][17]

References

  1. ^ a b Nassif Maraoun. "Six candidates and one satisfactory seat. All of them extra-judicial". Tayyar. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d "Meet Lebanon's leading presidential candidates". Ya Libnan. 24 September 2007. Archived from the original on 11 June 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  3. ^ Joseph A. Kechichian (23 September 2007). "The wait for a leader". Ya Libnan. Archived from the original on 20 May 2008. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  4. ^ "FPM PM: Salam plans to form a cabinet of ghosts". Ya Libnan. 12 April 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  5. ^ Eric J. Schmertz; Natalie Datlof; Alexej Ugrinsky, eds. (1997). President Reagan and the world. Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-313-30115-5.
  6. ^ Alan Copps (6 April 1984). "Lebanese, Syrian leaders to hold summit meeting". Observer Reporter. Beirut. IP. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  7. ^ "Gemayel adviser taken captive in west Beirut". The Pittsburgh Press. 12 February 1987. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  8. ^ "Gemayel Adviser Reported Kidnaped in Beirut". Los Angeles Times. Beirut. 13 February 1987. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  9. ^ Rima Salameh (16 February 1987). "Druse chief says Waite being held by Shiites". Schenectady Gazette. Beirut. AP. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  10. ^ Dalal Saoud (7 November 1996). "Lebanon PM forms a new Cabinet". United Press International. Beirut. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Hariri forms new government in Lebanon". Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. 17 April 2003. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  12. ^ "Lebanon's new Cabinet: Members list, observations". Lebanonwire. 18 April 2003. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  13. ^ a b Rola el Husseini (2012). Pax Syriana: Elite Politics in Postwar Lebanon. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. p. 250. ISBN 978-0-8156-3304-4.
  14. ^ a b "MP Jean Obeid Dies after Covid Diagnosis". MSN. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Jean Obeid dies, phased lockdown lifting, calls for Slim murder probe: Everything you need to know this Monday". L'Orient Today. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  16. ^ "Relations by marriage within the political class:-Reconciliations, Alliances and Hostilities". Monthly Magazine. 10 December 2015. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  17. ^ "Jean Obeid Just Passed Away At 82 Years Old". The NNA. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants
2003–2004 		Succeeded by
Mahmoud Hammoud
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