Jean Obeid
Jean Obeid | |
---|---|
جان عبيد | |
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants | |
In office 17 April 2003 – 26 October 2004 | |
Prime Minister | Rafik Hariri |
Preceded by | Mahmoud Hammoud |
Succeeded by | Mahmoud Hammoud |
Personal details | |
Born | Alma, Lebanon | 8 May 1939
Died | 8 February 2021 Lebanon | (aged 81)
Resting place | Lebanon |
Jean Obeid (Template:Lang-ar; 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][2] He was born in Alma, a village in the Zgharta district, on 8 May 1939.[3][4][5]
Career
Obeid was a journalist.[6] 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).[3] Gemayel also appointed him special envoy to Syria.[7][8] On 11 February 1987, Obeid met with Parliament Speaker Hussein Husseini and was kidnapped by nine gunmen in west Beirut.[9][10] Obeid was freed unhurt after four days.[11]
Obeid served as a member of the parliament, representing Chouf from 1991 to 1992 and Tripoli from 1992 to 2005.[1][2] He served as minister of state in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 1993. Then he was named as the minister of national education, youth and sports.[12] He was in office from 1996 to 1998. On 17 April 2003, he was appointed foreign minister in a reshuffle to the last cabinet of Hariri, replacing Mahmoud Hammoud in the post.[1][13][14] Obeid's tenure ended in 2004 and he was succeeded by Mahmoud Hammoud as foreign minister.[3][14] In 2008, he ran for the presidential elections and was considered to be possible consensus candidate.[3] Obeid was a candidate for President of Lebanon and participated in the 2014 Lebanese presidential election.[15]
In May 2018, Obeid returned to the Lebanese parliament by winning the Maronite seat for the constituency of Tripoli.[15][16]
Personal life
Obeid was married to Emile Boustany's daughter, Loubna,[17] and had five children.
Death
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.[16][18]
References
- ^ a b c "Lebanon: Ex-foreign Minister Positions Himself as Centrist for Presidency". Wikileaks. 18 November 2006. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Lebanon leading presidential candidates". Lebanon Wire. 23 September 2007. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
- ^ "FPM PM: Salam plans to form a cabinet of ghosts". Ya Libnan. 12 April 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ^ Eric J. Schmertz; Natalie Datlof; Alexej Ugrinsky (1997). President Reagan and the world. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-313-30115-5. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
- ^ Alan Copps (6 April 1984). "Lebanese, Syrian leaders to hold summit meeting". Observer Reporter. Beirut. IP. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
- ^ "Gemayel adviser taken captive in west Beirut". The Pittsburgh Press. 12 February 1987. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
- ^ "Gemayel Adviser Reported Kidnaped in Beirut". Los Angeles Times. Beirut. 13 February 1987. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
- ^ Rima Salameh (16 February 1987). "Druse chief says Waite being held by Shiites". Schenectady Gazette. Beirut. AP. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
- ^ "Hariri forms new government in Lebanon". Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. 17 April 2003. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ "Lebanon's new Cabinet: Members list, observations". Lebanonwire. 18 April 2003. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
- ^ a b Rola el Husseini (15 October 2012). Pax Syriana: Elite Politics in Postwar Lebanon. Syracuse University Press. p. 250. ISBN 978-0-8156-3304-4. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
- ^ a b "MP Jean Obeid Dies after Covid Diagnosis". MSN. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Jean Obeid Just Passed Away At 82 Years Old". The NNA. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- 1939 births
- 2021 deaths
- Candidates for President of Lebanon
- Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon
- Foreign ministers of Lebanon
- Government ministers of Lebanon
- Lebanese journalists
- Lebanese lawyers
- Lebanese Maronites
- Members of the Parliament of Lebanon
- People of the Lebanese Civil War
- People from Zgharta District