Adnan Mansour

Adnan Hassan Mansour (Arabic: عدنان حسن منصور‎; born 5 January 1946) is a Lebanese diplomat, politician and the former minister of foreign affairs and emigrants.

Adnan Mansour
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants
In office
13 June 2011 – 15 February 2014
Prime MinisterNajib Mikati
Preceded byAli Al Shami
Succeeded byGebran Bassil
Personal details
Born (1946-01-05) 5 January 1946
Bourj el-Barajneh, Lebanon
NationalityLebanese
Political partyIndependent
Alma materSt. Joseph University
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life and education

Mansour was born in Bourj el-Barajneh on 5 January 1946 into a Shi'ite family.[1][2] He obtained a bachelor's degree in administrative sciences and policies from St. Joseph University in Beirut.[3] He holds a master's degree in political theory and a PhD in political science.[2]

Career

Mansour began his career at the foreign ministry in 1974.[4] He worked as Lebanon's consul in various countries, including Australia, Sudan and Egypt.[4] From 1990 to 1994, he was the Lebanese ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[2] He also served as the Lebanese ambassador to Iran from 1999 to 2007.[2][5][6] His last diplomatic posts were Lebanese ambassador to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg from 2007 to 2010[2] and to the Kingdom of Belgium from 2007 to 2011.[7]

Then he served as an aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri,[8] and became a member of the Amal movement.[4] Mansour was appointed minister of foreign affairs and emigrants on 13 June 2011 and succeeded Ali Al Shami as minister.[5][9][10] Mansour is part of the March 8 coalition in the Najib Mikati's cabinet.[11]

He visited Libya in January 2012, the first visit by a Lebanese diplomat to the country in thirty years.[12] In September 2012, he and a Lebanese judge went to Mauritania to search for the possibility of questioning the former Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi, who served during the Muammar Gaddafi's era about the fate of Imam Musa Sadr.[13][14]

Gebran Bassil replaced Mansour as foreign minister in February 2014.[15]

Views and alliances

Mansour has a pro-Syrian stance[14] and is close to the Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri.[16] Nayla Tueni, a Lebanese journalist and deputy, called him the foreign minister of Syria in Lebanon.[17] In September 2012, after the negative remarks of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah about the movie "Innocence of Muslims", Mansour argued that Arab foreign ministers should meet to denounce the movie.[18] Mansour's remarks were criticized by Lebanese politicians and cabinet members, including labor minister Salim Jreissati.[18] In the summit of the Council of Arab Foreign Ministers in Cairo held on 6 March 2013, Mansour argued that Syria should rejoin the Arab League.[19] His remarks again drew criticism both from the Lebanese government and Arab states of the Persian Gulf.[19]

Personal life

Mansour is married to Layla Fakhoury. They have three children.[2]

References
  1. El Basha, Thomas (13 June 2011). "Mikati forms 30-member Lebanon Cabinet". The Daily Star. Beirut. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  2. "Foreign Minister Mansour". Embassy of Lebanon. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  3. "Adnan Mansour". Beirut. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  4. "Lineup of Mikati's 30". The Daily Star. 14 June 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  5. "Lebanon: Hezbollah dominates new cabinet of PM Mikati". BBC. 13 June 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  6. "Iran, Lebanon limbs of same body: Ahmadinejad". Lebanon Wire. Tehran. 17 February 2007. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  7. "Lebanon announces cabinet line-up". Now Lebanon. 13 June 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  8. Laila Bassam; Yara Bayoumy (13 June 2011). "Lebanon gets Hezbollah-led cabinet after 5-month lag". Reuters. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  9. "Lebanon's New Cabinet" (PDF). International Foundation for Electoral Systems. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  10. Dakroub, Hussein (14 June 2011). "New Cabinet, old realities". The Daily Star. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  11. "The New Lebanese Government" (Assessment Report). Lebanese Information Center. July 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  12. "Adnan Mansour Concludes First Visit to Libya by Lebanese Diplomat for 30 Years". The Tripoli Post. 16 January 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  13. Dakroub, Hussein (3 September 2012). "Mansour, Lebanese judge to question Sanousi on Sadr's fate". The Daily Star. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  14. "Lebanon FM to interview Gaddafi's top spy about Sadr's fate". Ya Libnan. 3 September 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  15. "Lebanon announces new government after ten month political deadlock". Euronews. 15 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  16. "Riyadh renews commitment to Lebanon". The Daily Star. 11 March 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  17. Tueni, Nayla (13 March 2013). "Lebanon's foreign minister on the Syrian side?". Al Arabiya. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  18. "Minister Jreissati calls Mansour's move "unconstitutional"". Ya Libnan. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  19. Hajj, Elie (12 March 2013). "Lebanon Foreign Minister Creates Stir Over Syria". Al Monitor. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
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