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Massad Boulos

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Massad Boulos
مسعد بولس
Boulos in 2024
Senior Advisor to the President on Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs
Designate
Assuming office
January 20, 2025
PresidentDonald Trump (elect)
SucceedingPosition established
Personal details
Born1971 (age 52–53)[1]
Kfaraakka, Koura District, Lebanon
CitizenshipLebanon
Nigeria
France
United States
Political partyRepublican[2]
SpouseSarah Boulos
RelationsMichael Boulos (son), Tiffany Trump (daughter-in-law)
Children4; including Michael and Fares
EducationUniversity of Houston

Massad Boulos (Arabic: مسعد بولس, born 1971) is a Lebanese-American businessman and political associate of Donald Trump; on 1 December Trump announced that he would appoint him as senior advisor on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.[3] He is the father of Michael Boulos and the father-in-law of Trump's daughter Tiffany. He supported Trump's presidential campaign in the 2024 United States presidential election, and canvassed for the support of Arab Americans, particularly in Michigan.[3][4]

Early life

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Boulos was born to a Greek Orthodox family in Kfaraakka, Koura, Lebanon (his surname meaning the apostle "Paul" in Arabic).[5][6] He moved to Texas as a teenager, where he obtained a law degree at the University of Houston Law Center.[7] Both his father and grandfather were figures in Lebanese politics and his father-in-law was a key funder of the Free Patriotic Movement.[8]

Career

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After completing his education, Boulos returned to his family's business and took over as CEO of SCOA Nigeria, a billion-dollar conglomerate that distributes motor vehicles and equipment throughout West Africa.[7]

Boulos has links to Christian politicians and parties in Lebanon, including Suleiman Frangieh and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) both of which are Christian allies of Hezbollah but maintained talks with opposition parties like the Lebanese Forces.[8][9] According to Aron Lund, quoting a report in As-Safir, Boulos began his political career as an ally of Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement, and represented it in Nigeria, where Boulos did business.[5] Boulos remained allied to Aoun after he agreed an alliance with Hezbollah.[5] Boulos initially stood for parliament in Koura, but withdrew for another list involving the FPM, Marada (Frangieh's party), and the communists.[5] In 2009, the FPM shortlisted him, but Aoun eventually chose another candidate.[5] By 2018, he was a supporter of Frangieh's Marada.[5] Aron Lund, an analyst at the Century Foundation, writes that his career "does not exactly indicate a firm commitment to either side in Lebanese or regional politics", and that his appointment suggests that Trump's Middle East policy "will often be more readily understood in light of the personalities orbiting Mar-a-Lago [a Trump-owned resort] than through an ideological prism or in terms of U.S. national interest."[5]

During the 2024 US presidential elections, Boulos campaigned for Trump in Muslim and Arab communities with Bishara Bahbah, who founded Arabs for Trump, and Richard Grenell. He sought to portray Trump as supportive of "global peace", according to Bahbah.[1]

Boulos has acted as an intermediary between the Palestinian Authority and its leader, Mahmoud Abbas and Trump.[10]

In December 2024 Boulos told Le Point that the 2024 Israel–Lebanon ceasefire agreement, including the requirement that Hezbollah should disarm, applied to the whole of Lebanon, not just areas south of the Litani river.[11]

Personal life

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Boulos holds Lebanese, Nigerian, French and American citizenship.[1] He married Sarah Boulos, who is also a businesswoman that founded the Society of the Performing Arts in Nigeria and is the owner of Cred International Lagos Island franchise.

Together they have four children.[12] In 2022, their son Michael married Tiffany Trump, daughter of Donald Trump.[5] Another son, Fares, is an actor who played a brief non-speaking role in The Crown.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Hayek, Caroline; Mardam Bey, Soulayma; Braidy, Nour (11 November 2024). "Lebanon's Massad Boulos: Trump's new Middle East insider?". L'Orient Today.
  2. ^ "The Lebanese-American businessman in Donald Trump's inner circle". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2024-12-01.
  3. ^ a b Swanson, Ian (1 December 2024). "Tiffany Trump's father-in-law Massad Boulos to become senior presidential adviser on Arab affairs". The Hill. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  4. ^ Shalal, Andrea (November 16, 2024). "Trump's pro-Israel cabinet picks upset Muslims who voted for him". Reuters. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Lund, Aron (20 November 2024). "Trump's Would-Be Lebanon Whisperer". The Century Foundation.
  6. ^ a b Andrews, Farah. "Who is Michael Boulos? Tiffany Trump's Lebanese husband". The National. Retrieved 2024-12-01.
  7. ^ a b "Who is the Lebanese billionaire who helped put Donald Trump in the White House?". The New Arab. 5 November 2024. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Trump picks Massad Boulos to serve as adviser on Arab, Middle Eastern affairs". L'Orient Today. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  9. ^ Magid, Jacob; Reuters (1 December 2024). "Trump announces Massad Boulos as senior adviser on Arab and Middle East affairs". Times of Israel. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  10. ^ Rasgon, Adasm; Homans, Charles (10 November 2024). "Palestinians Try to Sway Trump, Reaching Out to Tiffany Trump's Relative". New York Times.
  11. ^ "Militia disarmament includes "all of Lebanon" in ceasefire deal: Trump Mideast adviser". The New Arab. 4 December 2024.
  12. ^ Chika (2024-10-11). "Mum Of The Month: Performing Arts Mogul Sarah Boulos". LagosMums. Retrieved 2024-12-02.

See also

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