Fawzi Salloukh
From AICbackground
Foreign Minister of Lebanon
Source: Arab Decision, http://www.arabdecision.org/show_cv_3_4_5_1_6_577737178.htm, no copyright provided.
Quotes
"Israel continues aggression on Palestine and Gaza is still occupied."
"Israel is full of nuclear warheads and the United States and international organizations have the duty to respond to this issue. Iran has the right to continue uranium enrichment for peaceful use...if any negotiations are held, they should be aimed at resolving the nuclear issue through diplomacy; but if some powers want to campaign against nuclear weapons they should take action against those who are possessing these arms not those who are enriching uranium for peaceful purposes."
-Remarks by Fawzi Salloukh at the Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement, Tehran, Iran, 30 July 2008.
Early Years and Education
You were born in 1931 in a small village named Qammetieh located in the Lebanese mountains southeast of the capital of Beirut. You were born into a Shi'a Muslim family which at the time was a distinct minority in Lebanon (the Christian Maronites, Sunni Muslims and Druze [a splinter sect of Islam who have a similar--but slightly more arcane--messianic belief to the Shi'a in the return of the 'Hidden Imam'] were all significantly more populous). Little is known about your early life save your attendance and graduation from the American University of Beirut in 1954 with a degree in Political Science. After graduation you worked as a professor of history and geography in a small college in Lebanon for two years and then in publishing house for several years.
Public Life
You have been a public servant of Lebanon for most of your adult life. In 1960 you joined Lebanon's foreign ministry and by 1964 you attained your first ambassadorship in the African nation of Sierra Leone. In 1971, you returned to Lebanon to work in the ministry as a staff officer and then in 1978 you became Lebanon's ambassador to Nigeria. This began a string of ambassador positions which included Algeria (1985), Austria (1990) and Belgium (1994). For most of those years, 1975-1990, you served in distant countries while your own country was imploding under a viscious civil war. It is likely during those years that you often wondered if you would even have a country to return after all of the violence, bloodshed and outside interventions. It is also important to note that at some point during your years abroad, you joined the Lebanese Shi'a political/militant group (and later political party) known as Amal.
Yet, you did return to a Lebanon in 1998 which had largely come to terms with itself and the many religious and ethnic groups comprising your small country. You left the ministry and became the secretary general (president) of Beirut's Islamic University. With this position raising your prominence among non-secular Islamic circles, the fact that Shi'a Muslims were now the largest religious or ethnic group in Lebanon and finally that Amal and Hezbollah (Amal's long-standing rival Shi'a party) were reconciling their differences, you found yourself called back into public service as foreign minister in the new Lebanese government assembled under Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in July 2005.
Since the independence of Lebanon from the French in 1943, the governments of Lebanon have been assembled under a system the French coined "confessionalism." Perhaps the best English translation to this term is 'sectarianism.' In theory, it provided for all religious and ethnic groups to participate in the government. The problem with the system is that it is dated and lacks an official mechanism in the government's charter to update which parties get what based on changing population demographics. This was one of the contributing factors in Lebanon's 15 year civil war and continues to this day as a source of distrust and violence. Your Amal party has enjoyed varying degrees of success and prominence in the government but many observers believe its influence is waning as Hezbollah becomes increasingly powerful in Lebanese politics. It seems that you and the other Amal party leaders have recognized this, and by all accounts you are cozying up to Hezbollah in recognition of their popularity and as a means to retain your own prominence.
In July 2008, Lebanon again resurrected the confessional system of government after three years of standing on the brink of renewed civil war. In reality, the pot had been simmering since the end of the last civil war but emotions and violence came to a head in February 2005 when an extremely popular former prime minister of Lebanon named Rafik Hariri was assassinated on the streets of Beirut. Hariri spent most of his premiership trying to rid Lebanon of its Syrian masters (Syria's political, military, and security presence in Lebanon was a remnant of the civil war when Syria was "invited in" to help bring security) and remained in his retirement an outspoken critic and thorn in the side of Syria and their Shi'a allies (Hezbollah and Amal) in Lebanon. Most of the West strongly believes that Syria ordered the assassination, an accusation that you have repeatedly, and loudly, repudiated. In November 2006, the situation in Lebanon became so acrimonious that you and four other Shi'a and pro-Syrian ministers "resigned" from the government. In reality, this was purely political theater as you remained in the position by default, representing Lebanon and retaining all of the perks of the office.
Domestic Issues of Concern
It is hardly slanderous to state that you and most of the other ministers in charge of Lebanon have little interest in maintaining Lebanon as a nation in any sense that we would recognize. The archaic confessional system is certainly a contributing factor to this lack of nationalistic fervor and the federal institutions (parochially controlled by party) serve the interests of the controlling party and not the country as a whole. So it is with your foreign ministry. You do not serve the country (although you will say such in a public forum to save face) or the new president, Michel Suleiman, or the newly re-appointed prime minister, Fouad Siniora (who is technically your boss but everyone knows would be committing political suicide if he tried to remove you). No, you serve the combined interests of Hezbollah and Amal and in particular their anti-Israeli, anti-United States, pro-Syrian and pro-Iranian platforms.
Domestic issues are not necessarily your purview as foreign minister, but it is in your best interest to support Hezbollah/Amal's domestic agenda which is very popular in Lebanon (especially in the Shi'a dominated south Lebanon) as they have supplanted the government of Lebanon in providing social welfare programs and even in the defense of Lebanon from Israeli aggression. Hezbollah feels secure enough in their position in Lebanon that they no longer feel threatened by Syrian intervention. This frees you to pursue the goal of getting greater Syrian influence back into Lebanese politics.
Policies and Beliefs Pertaining to the Middle East
You are loyal to the Shi'a movement in Lebanon and naturally have a common bond with Iran and their government (Iran is the only Shi'a Muslim governed country in the world). This connection is increasingly more important (perhaps even more so than your relationship with Syria) given Iran's growing strength in the region. It is no secret that Iran is attempting to be the hegemonic power in the Middle East, with a desire to supplant the likes of Saudi Arabia and Egypt within the region and the United States from outside. After many years of "sabre-rattling" by Egypt and Saudi Arabia against the evil state of Israel, without any meaningful results, you firmly believe it is time for the Iranians to take up the torch against Zionism.
Iran is a staunch supporter of Hezbollah providing money, arms and training. Hamas is also a major beneficiary of Iranian efforts to destabilize the Israeli position in the region which you see as helping Arabs (keep in mind that Iran is not an Arab state but Persian) in general and the Palestinians in specific. Finally, with similar views on the situations in Israel and Lebanon, Iran and Syria are allies. Not surprisingly, you are an outspoken advocate for Iran's pursuit of nuclear technology and you find great hypocrisy in the position of the US to allow the Israelis to maintain a stockpile of nuclear weapons while a Muslim country like Iran is forbidden to even pursue nuclear power!
In specific reference to the Arab-Israeli Conflict, you support the Palestinian position in total. However, your position comes more from a loathing for the Israelis rather than a love for the Palestinians. In other words, you could care less which Arab group occupies the historic area known as Palestine as long as there is not a single Jew present waving an Israeli flag . To that end, you support any effort by any nation or group to destablilize Israel in the short-term, and remove Israel from existence in the long-term. As the United States is unquestionably Israel's biggest benefactor, any efforts to weaken its position in the Middle East are just as welcome by you.
Role Playing Notes
Representing a small and rather inconsequential country in the Middle East, your ability to directly influence events is limited. However, with the help of others, you can certainly stir things up and potentially even incite destabilizing forces around the region which may keep Israel and their US lackeys off balance. As previously stated, you have little faith in the capacity of Saudi Arabia, Egypt or Jordan (the latter two of whom you consider "sell-outs" for signing peace deals with Israel in the past) to bring about any real change in the region. No, real change will come from Hezbollah/Amal and Hamas and their backers, Syria and Iran. You also see some hope in courting Russia's help in the form of money, arms and their important veto vote as a permanent member of the UN's Security Council.
You form a team with Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), Michel Aoun. The FPM is a Lebanese Christian political party supported by Iran and Syria. It is difficult to call them allies of Hezbollah/Amal but, in general, their agenda is similar. Domestically, you are all the "Opposition" to the Sunni/Maronite/Druze coalition majority who find common ground in their anti-Syria and anti-Iran stances. Internationally, and specifically in regards to the Arab-Israeli conflict, the three of you may not always see eye-to-eye on what direction to go. Nasrallah will establish an ultra-conservative, extremist position against the Israelis. Aoun is likely to be more moderate, but is still no friend of the Israelis. You ought to stake a position somewhere in between. However, with your palpable distaste for the Israelis, if you err to either side, it will be closer to Nasrallah. All in all, it is unlikely that the three of you will ever be on exactly the same page, but your combined efforts will be in the same general direction.
Jump into the fray and do not be afraid of stirring the pot! With the help of leaders from Hamas, Syria, Iran and perhaps Russia, you could really be the source of a major migraine for the leaders of Israel and the United States. Remember, you have a reputation to maintain of being outspoken and pugnacious!
References
1. Fawzi Salloukh, http://www.lebanonwire.com/prominent/current_ministers/salloukh_fawzi.asp, Prominent Lebanese, 01 SEP 08.
2. Hezbollah and allies get key ministries in Lebanon's new Cabinet, http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-lebanon12-2008jul12,0,4600310.story?track=rss, The LA Times, 12 JUL 08.
3. The Cabinet, http://www.lebanonembassyus.org/country_lebanon/cabinet.html, Embassy of Lebanon, 01 SEP 08.
4. His Excellency Minister Fawzi Salloukh, http://www.arabdecision.org/show_cv_3_4_5_1_6_577737178.htm, Arab Decision, 01 SEP 08.
5. Meet the government, http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=50704&MID=12&PID=2, NOW Lebanon, 11 JUL 08.
6. Lebanese FM says U.S. must rein in Israel nuclear arsenal, http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=727292, Mehrnews.com, 04 AUG 08.
7. Fawzi Salloukh, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fawzi_Salloukh, Wikipedia, last modified 15 AUG 08.
8. Fawzi Salloukh, http://en.allexperts.com/e/f/fa/fawzi_salloukh.htm, AllExperts, 01 SEP 08.
9. Lebanon gets a president, http://www.gulf-news.com/articles/08/05/27/10216351.html, GulfNews.com, 27 MAY 08.
10. Lebanon announces new unity government, http://www.gulf-news.com/region/Lebanon/10227987.html, GulfNews.com, 11 JUL 08.
