Farès Boueiz Explained

Office:Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants
Primeminister:Omar Karami
Predecessor:Selim Hoss
Successor:Nasri Maalouf
Term Start:1990
Term End:May 1992
Primeminister1:Rafic Hariri
Predecessor1:Nasri Maalouf
Successor1:Selim Hoss
Term Start1:October 1992
Term End1:1998
Office2:Minister of Environment
Primeminister2:Rafic Hariri
Successor2:Michel Musa (acting)
Term Start2:2003
Term End2:7 September 2004
Birth Date:15 January 1955
Birth Place:Zouk Mikael, Lebanon
Spouse:Zalfa Hrawi
Nationality:Lebanese

Farès Boueiz (Arabic: فارس بويز, born 15 January 1955) is a Lebanese jurist who served as a foreign minister for two terms as well as an environment minister.

Early life and education

On 15 January 1955, Boueiz was born into a Maronite family in Zouk Mikael. In 1977 he obtained a law degree from Saint Joseph University in Lebanon, and in 1978 he specialized in corporate and international law at Jean Moulin University in Lyon, France.[1]

Career

Boueiz is a lawyer by profession.[2] In 1989 and 1990, he was appointed as the personal representative of Elias Hrawi, President of Lebanon, to France, Syria and the Vatican.

From 1990 to 1992, he served as foreign minister from when he left office for a few months following the general elections in 1992[3] and was temporarily replaced by Nasri Maalouf in the post. It was Boueiz who participated in a first official meeting with the PLO's Farouk Qaddumi, head of the group's political department, in mid-May 1991 after a long period.[4]

Boueiz continued to serve as foreign minister from 1992 to 1998 in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.[5] Hariri and he had a tensed relationship due to Hariri's interventions to foreign policy.[5] When Boueiz was in office, his father-in-law, Elias Hrawi, was the President of Lebanon.[6] In 1998 Salim Hoss succeeded Boueiz as foreign minister.

In 2003, Boueiz was appointed environment minister to the cabinet led by Rafic Hariri, replacing Michel Musa in the post.[6] [7] Boueiz was an independent member of the cabinet.[8] On 7 September 2004, he resigned from office protesting the constitutional amendment to extend the term of Émile Lahoud as president.[9] Three more ministers also resigned on the same day, namely Marwan Hamadeh, Ghazi Aridi and Abdullah Farhat.[10] These four ministers were also among the members of the parliament who voted against the extension of Lahoud's term.[11]

The state minister Michel Musa replaced Boueiz as acting environment minister.[12] Boueiz was among the potential candidates for the presidency after Émile Lahoud's first term in 2004.[13]

Boueiz served as a member of the Lebanese Parliament, representing Kesrouan until 2005.[14] He was again one of the contenders for the presidency of Lebanon after Lahoud in 2007.[15]

In the general elections in 2009, Boueiz was not on the list of the March 14 alliance.[16]

Views

During his second term as foreign minister, Boueiz overtly cooperated with the Syrian authorities.[17] However, in 2001, he objected the accusations of Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass regarding Patriarch Sfeir.[18] On the other hand, Boueiz was skeptical about the peace accord signed by Israel and the PLO in 1993, and argued that Palestinian refugees should not settle in Lebanon due to sensitive demographic balance between native Christians and Muslims in the country.[19] During talks with Egyptian diplomats in Rome in early April 1998, Boueiz argued that the Nazis' approach against Jewish people was based on political reasons stating "they have behaved arrogantly like the chosen people of God."[20]

Personal life

Boueiz married Zalfa Hrawi in 1985[21] and is the son-in-law of Elias Hrawi.[22]

Notes and References

  1. News: رئاسيات 2014 - فارس بويز 'غير المطواع' الجامع بين المبدئية والواقعية استقال مرتين / صداقات إقليمية ودولية لم تخلُ من فتور ومواقف أتعبته في الإنتخابات. 11 April 2021. An Nahar. ar. December 2018.
  2. News: Hassan M. Fattah. 6 September 2005. Lebanon's President Facing Pressure to Resign. The New York Times. 16 March 2013. 11 May 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120511223803/http://tech.mit.edu/V125/PDF/N36.pdf. dead.
  3. News: Ihsan A. Hijazi. 2 More Lebanese Ministers Quit to Protest Election. 19 March 2013. The New York Times. 26 August 1992.
  4. Book: Simon Haddad. The Palestinian Impasse in Lebanon: The Politics of Refugee Integration. 2003. Sussex Academic Press. 978-1-903900-46-8. 35. Brighton; Portland, OR.
  5. Book: Nicholas Blanford. London. Killing Mr. Lebanon: The Assassination of Rafik Hariri and Its Impact on the Middle East. 2006. 49. Bloomsbury Publishing. 978-1-84511-202-8.
  6. Book: Rola el Husseini. Pax Syriana: Elite Politics in Postwar Lebanon. 2012. Syracuse University Press. 978-0-8156-3304-4. 115. Syracuse, NY.
  7. News: Environmental Impact Assessment. 16 March 2013. Ministry of Energy & Water & Electricitè du Liban. April 2011.
  8. News: Lebanese Political Feud Jolts Cabinet. 16 March 2013. Los Angeles Times. 7 September 2004. AP. Beirut.
  9. Book: Chibli Mallat. Lebanon's Cedar Revolution An essay on non-violence and justice. Mallat. 122. Chibli Mallat. https://web.archive.org/web/20120202044246/http://mallat.com/books/Appendix1%20and%202.pdf. dead. 2 February 2012.
  10. News: Four Lebanese ministers step down. 16 March 2013. BBC. 7 September 2004.
  11. Are Knudsen. 2005. Precarious peacebuilding: Post-war Lebanon, 1990-2005. CMI Working Paper. 2. 11250/2435894.
  12. News: 4 ministers quit Lebanese Cabinet over amendment. 16 March 2013. The Daily Star. 7 September 2004. Nada Raad. Nafez Kawas. Bairut.
  13. News: Bouez Rules out Lahoud. 1 February 2014. Naharnet. 14 August 2004. dead. 16 March 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140201223839/http://old.naharnet.com/domino/tn/Newsdesk.nsf/Story/972D3FCFBF4EA4A8C2256EEE002C31B7?OpenDocument&PRINT.
  14. News: Joseph A. Kechichian. The wait for a leader. 15 July 2012. Ya Libnan. 23 September 2007. dead. 20 May 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080520061634/http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2007/09/lebanon_the_wai_1.php.
  15. Web site: David Schenker. Presidential Elections in Lebanon: Consensus or Conflagration?. The Washington Institute. 9 April 2013. Policy Paper. 1 November 2007.
  16. News: Robert G. Rabil. Lebanon at the crossroads. Lebanonwire. 24 March 2013. 6 June 2009.
  17. Mordechai Nisan. Mordechai Nisan. Christian Decline and Models of Lebanon. ACPR. 1999. 83.
  18. News: Robert G. Rabil. The Maronites and Syrian withdrawal: from "isolationists" to "traitors"?. Middle East Policy. 1 September 2001. 18 March 2013.
  19. News: Kenneth Reich. No Peace in Lebanon Until Refugees Are Resettled, Foreign Minister Says. 18 July 2013. Los Angeles Times. 5 October 1993. Anaheim.
  20. Web site: ADL urges Lebanese President to publicly condemn anti-semitic comments made by Lebanese foreign minister. Anti-Defamation League. 18 July 2013. New York. Press Release. 22 April 1998. 19 February 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140219094753/http://archive.adl.org/presrele/islme_62/3143-62.html.
  21. Web site: Family man. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140201170221/http://www.eliashrawi.com/gallery.html. 1 February 2014. 16 March 2013. Elias Hrawi website.
  22. News: 9 March 2012. Gebran, "son-in-law of the world". Now Lebanon. 19 March 2013. 18 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140218235904/https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/gebran_son-in-law_of_the_world. dead.