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Antoine Azzam (born in Beirut in 1965) is a Lebanese career diplomat and former academic. He currently serves as Ambassador of Lebanon to South Korea.
Antoine Azzam | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ambassador of Lebanon to the Republic of Korea | |
Incumbent | |
| Assumed office April 26th, 2018 | |
| President | Michel Aoun |
| Preceded by | Jad Saeed El-Hassan |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | Lebanese |
| Education | Université St. Joseph de Beyrouth Université Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas Harvard Kennedy School |
| Awards | Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great |
Education
Upon graduating from both Collège de la Sagesse and Collège Notre Dame de Jamhour with a Lebanese and a French baccalaureate respectively, Azzam enrolled at the jesuit Université St. Joseph de Beyrouth. Azzam earned a bachelor of arts in history and subsequently earned a bachelor of arts in geography a year later from the school's faculty of humanities. Azzam attended the graduate school studying Geography and Geopolitics and completed coursework at Université Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas, graduating with an honors thesis on the geostrategic importance of water resources in the Levant. Azzam further attended the Harvard Kennedy School studying negotiation and peacebuilding.
Career
Career before Foreign Service
Upon graduating from Université St. Joseph, Azzam joined the faculty at the university as an assistant professor. He taught coursework on the history of international relations, geopolitics and geostrategy, political communication and cartography.
Early Career (Beirut, Rome)
In 1993, he joined the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs as valedictorian of the Ministry's entrance examination. He was posted as a political attaché on the International Affairs desk ultimately playing an integral role in the organization of the Sommet de la Francophonie in 2002. Azzam was posted as First Secretary of the Lebanese Embassy in Rome, serving as Permanent Representative of Lebanon to the FAO, WFP and IFAD until 2004[1].
Consul General in New York City
In 2004, he was posted to New York City, serving as Consul General and chief of mission until 2012. Azzam also served as an advisor to the Lebanese Delegation at the General Assembly as well as a member of the Lebanese Delegation during Lebanon's presidency of the UN Security Council[2]. Azzam organized the Lebanon Capital Markets day at Euronext in 2009, ringing the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange in 2009[3]. He was also involved in numerous women's empowerment initiatives aimed at supporting Lebanese women[4]. Azzam was designated as Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great by the Bishop of the Maronite Eparchy of Brooklyn, Gregory John Mansour, on behalf of his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.[5]
Permanent Representative to the League of Arab States and Charge d'Affaires to Egypt
Azzam subsequently returned to Beirut to serve as Director of the League of Arab States Affairs desk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before being appointed permanent representative of Lebanon to the League of Arab States and Counsellor to the Lebanese Embassy in Cairo where he became Chief of Mission and Acting Ambassador until 2017. While at the League of Arab States, Azzam was tapped as Lebanon's only representative during the 2017 emergency ministerial meeting condemning the actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia[6]. The Arab League planned on designating Lebanon as a terrorist state for harboring Hezbollah representatives within the government, a designation which Azzam opposed in the strongest of terms and had repealed, with support from Secretary General, Ahmed Aboul Gheit[7][8]. Azzam fostered strong religious dialog in the region, notably between the Grand Imam of al-Azhar and Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East[9].
Ambassador to South Korea
Azzam was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Lebanon to South Korea in 2018, presenting his credentials to President Moon Jae-in.
Personal life
Azzam is Roman Catholic and resides in Yonsan-gu, Seoul. He is married and has 2 children.
References
- ^ "FAO Fisheries Report No. 702". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ https://undocs.org/pdf?symbol=en/ST/SG/SER.C/L.619
- ^ "World Council for the Cedars Revolution - Lebanese Issuers Celebrate 'Lebanon Capital Market Day' in New York". www.cedarsrevolution.net. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ "Lebanese Women Honored in New York". www.wango.org. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ "L'ordre papal de Saint-Grégoire-le-Grand remis au consul du Liban à New York". L'Orient-Le Jour. 2009-11-10. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ "Arab League to discuss Iranian 'violations'". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ "Lebanon Voices Reservations on Arab League Statement Calling Hizbullah 'Terrorist'".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Arab League chief says Lebanon should be 'spared'". France 24. 2017-11-20. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ "Une présence libanaise de premier plan au congrès d'al-Azhar demain". L'Orient-Le Jour. 2017-02-27. Retrieved 2021-12-31.