Foreign policy fouad siniora biography

The former PM highlighted how while the Middle East is the most oil and natural resources-rich region, it is also one of the driest regions. He highlighted that while the Middle East has about 6% of the world’s population, it only has 1% of renewable sources of water.

Siniora listed what he believed the most important events to shape politics to be in the Middle East. Among this list was the Nakba, the events of , which saw Israel occupy more Arab lands, the invasion of Iraq, the Arab Spring, and the impact of technological evolution in the field of telecommunications, which he believed “led among other things to the collapse of fear and silence” in the region.

According to Siniora, the most important problem of the Middle East is the current Palestine problem. The former PM highlighted how the structural policies of Israel are forcing Palestinians to flee their homes. More, criticizing the U.S. move to recognize Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel and the decision to cancel funding to those in need in the occupied Palestinian territories, Siniora emphasized that the fact that the new definition of Palestinian refugees only include those that were actually born in Palestine, is a structural way to slowly but surely see the dismantling and diminishing of this state.

According to Siniora the invasion of Iraq is what allowed for the region to be characterized by sectarian conflicts. Criticizing Iran for its sectarian policies, he simply stated that “We are all Muslims. What’s going to happen when you convert people from one sect to another. Is this how you are going to measure your success?”

Underlining how the Arab world has become the enemy, Siniora stated that “We do not want the rest of the world to be scared of us. But for this to happen, the rest of the world cannot go on to believe that the problems of the Arab world are the problems of the Arab people alone.”

Finalizing his speech, Fouad Siniora insisted on continuous reforms, which will lead to sta

Fouad Siniora was the right-hand man in business and politics of the slain ex-premier Rafik al-Hariri for more than 20 years.

He served in all five Hariri cabinets from to , first as minister of state then finance minister.

After Hariri's assassination in February and the success of the anti-Syrian 14 March forces in elections a few months later, Mr Siniora was backed as prime minister by Hariri's son and political heir Saad.

His term in office was dominated by the war between Israel and Hezbollah, followed by a dangerous standoff with the Hezbollah-led opposition.

The opposition withdrew their ministers from Mr Siniora's unity government in November in a bid to force him to resign.

Political crisis

On 13 November , Mr Siniora rejected the resignation of all five Shia Muslim opposition ministers and a Christian ally. The ministers resigned after disagreements on the government's position from the endorsement of the international tribunal on the assassination of Rafik al-Hariri.

The resignation prompted the opposition and then Lebanese President Emile Lahoud to consider Mr Siniora's US-backed government to be "lacking constitutional legitimacy".

On 21 November , the minister of industry, Pierre Gemayel, was assassinated in Beirut. Mr Siniora told the Saudi paper Ukaz that the assassination of Gemayel is "an attempt to topple the government and obstruct the international tribunal [investigating Hariri's death]".

In December , the opposition began a sit-in in downtown Beirut to call for Mr Siniora's resignation. The month sit-in ended after the signing of the Doha agreement between Lebanese rival groups on 21 May , which stopped the worst fighting seen in Lebanon since the end of the civil war in

The clashes broke out when Hezbollah and the opposition said the decision of Mr Siniora's government on 6 May, to investigate Hezbollah's private telecommun

Prime Minister of Lebanon from to

Fouad Siniora (Arabic: فؤاد السنيورة, romanized:&#;Fu'ād as-Sanyūrah; born 19 July ) is a Lebanese politician. He served as the 12th prime minister of Lebanon from to He served as minister of Finance from to

Early career

In the s, Sanioura worked for Citibank and taught at the American University of Beirut, his alma mater, and at the Lebanese University.

Member of National Assembly

He served as Minister of State for Financial Affairs from to , and as Minister of Finance from to

Prime minister

After the victory of the anti-Syrian opposition in parliamentary elections held in May and June , Fouad Siniora was asked by President Émile Lahoud on 30 June to form a government. He resigned from the chairmanship of Group Méditerranée (a banking holding controlled by the Hariri family). After laborious negotiations with the President and the different political forces, Siniora formed a government on 19 July

Lebanon War

On 12 July , Hezbollah launched a deadly cross-border attack against Israel, who subsequently started a day heavy bombardment and land invasion of Lebanon, also known as the Lebanon War. On 27 July , Siniora, seeking to end the conflict, presented a seven-point Siniora Plan at a nation conference in Rome. Siniora also called for an Arab League meeting in Beirut. During a televised address at the conference, he famously "sobbed" as he described the effects of the war on the Lebanese people.

Events leading to the Doha Agreement

On 13 November , Shiite ministers backed by Hezbollah and Amal resigned from Siniora's cabinet. This took place on the eve of the day when the Special Tribunal for Lebanon trying the murderers of Rafik Hariri was to be discussed in a cabinet meeting. Although there were only six resigning ministers, nearly 40% of the Lebanese MPs are in the opposition.

The Leban