A parliamentary session will be held on June 14 to elect a new president
The head of the International Monetary Fund for the Middle East and Central Asia, Jihad Azour, resigned temporarily due to a conflict of interest, after a group of Lebanese lawmakers nominated him for the position of president in his country.
Several prominent political parties in Lebanon have pressed in recent weeks for Azour to become the country’s next president, in light of a years-long crisis between the political forces in Lebanon.
Azour had previously held the position of Minister of Finance in Lebanon, before assuming his position as head of the Monetary Fund in the Middle East region, while it was not clear whether he wanted or agreed to assume the position of President of the Republic in Lebanon.
Earlier this month, Azour refused to comment on whether he was interested in the presidency when contacted by Bloomberg and referred questions to the International Monetary Fund, which did not respond or comment on this information.
Lebanon is scheduled to hold a parliamentary session on June 14 to elect a new president, where some deputies are expected to vote for Azour, while his rival for the post is expected to be former minister and veteran politician Suleiman Franjieh.
Azour, a Maronite Christian, served as Lebanon’s finance minister from 2005 to 2008, and also worked at McKinsey & Company before joining the International Monetary Fund in 2017.
He was born in 1966 and holds a Master’s degree in Finance from the University of Paris 20 in France. He also holds a PhD in Economics from Harvard University in the United States, and also holds another PhD in Economics from the Institute of Political Studies in Paris.
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2023-06-09 09:26:00
