Omar Karami

Omar Abdul Hamid Karami ( French Omar Karamé , Arabic عمر كرامي, DMG ʿUmar Karāmī ; * September 7, 1934 in an-Nuri ; † January 1, 2015 in Beirut ) was a Lebanese politician and two-time Lebanese Prime Minister . Karami was considered pro Syrian .

Life

Karami was born in the northern Lebanese town of an-Nuri near Tripoli . He was the son of the Lebanese politician Abdul Hamid Karami and the younger brother of the eight-time Prime Minister Raschid Karami , who was assassinated in 1987. Omar was a lawyer until he entered politics after his brother was murdered.

Omar Karami first took over the office of Prime Minister on December 24, 1990, when Selim al-Hoss gave up power. As a member of parliament (since 1991) he represented Tripoli. His advocacy of close ties with neighboring Syria has been criticized by nationalist Lebanese. Above all, the predominantly anti-Syrian Maronites accused him of submitting Lebanese sovereignty to Syrian hegemony . On May 13, 1992 he was forced to resign after mass protests over the collapse of the Lebanese currency .

On October 21, 2004, Karami was again prime minister. Two weeks after the attack on Rafiq al-Hariri , who was killed in a bomb attack in Beirut on February 14, 2005 , pressure from public protests had to resign. The opposition blamed Syria for the terrorist attack and demanded that the neighboring country withdraw its troops and intelligence staff from Lebanon, which Karami's pro-Syrian cabinet rejected. Several opposition leaders accused Karami's government of being implicated in the Hariri attack. Despite a ban on meeting, the protests in Beirut expanded and the opposition announced that they would pass a vote of no confidence . Faced with mounting pressure, Karami announced on February 28, 2005 that his government would resign, but remained executive.

Ten days after his resignation, following much larger pro-Syrian protests, President Émile Lahoud Karami reappointed Prime Minister on March 10 and tasked him with forming a government. With the support of the majority in parliament, Karami called on all parties to work in a government of national unity. On April 13, 2005, after the failure to form a new government, Karami resigned for good.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "Omar Karami obituary" , The Guardian , January 1st, 2015.
2. ^ “Comeback for pro-Syria Lebanon PM” , BBC , March 10, 2005.
3. ^ "Lebanese cabinet talks collapse," BBC, April 13, 2005.

predecessor	Office	successor
Selim Hoss Rafiq al-Hariri	Prime Minister of Lebanon December 24, 1990 - May 13, 1992 October 21, 2004 - April 15, 2005	Rachid Solh Najib Miqati