The Lebanese presidency just announced the appointment of a new Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants.
On Monday afternoon, President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Hassan Diab signed the decrees that accept the resignation of Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti and appoint Charbel Wehbe to be his successor, the presidency said.
The signed decrees were read out by Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers Mahmoud Makkieh, who declared: “Hitti’s resignation has been accepted and Charbel Wehbe has been appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants.”
Prior to filling the new position, Wehbe, a former ambassador, was the diplomatic adviser of the President.
He was appointed as such after he retired in 2017 from his position as Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Director of Political and Consular Affairs.
Charbel Wehbe, 67, holds a BA in Lebanese Law from the Lebanese University, a BA in Law from the Wisdom Higher Educational Institute for Law Studies, and a diploma in Mathematics from the Faculty of Science at the Lebanese University.
He has had a long diplomatic career mostly at the ministry that he now heads. Over the course of 42 years, he headed diplomatic missions to various countries.
He was the Consul General of Lebanon in Montreal, Canada from 1995-2000, the Consul General of Lebanon in Los Angeles, the United States from 2002-2007, and the Ambassador of Lebanon to Venezuela from 2007 until 2012.
Furthermore, Wehbe has held several diplomatic positions at the Lebanese embassies in each of Egypt, The Netherlands, and Germany, as well as at the General Consulate of Lebanon in Toronto, Canada.
From the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, he has been presented with the Order of Francisco de Miranda First Class.
It’s worth noting that, during the formation of the current government, the diplomat was considered for the position along with Nassif Hitti, who just stepped down as Foreign Minister earlier on Monday.