Ghassan Salamé joins the Board of the Kofi Annan Foundation
The Kofi Annan Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Ghassan Salamé, Lebanese academic, politician and diplomat, to the Board of the Kofi Annan Foundation.
“I am delighted to welcome Ghassan Salamé to the Board of the Foundation,” said Chair of the Board Elhadj As Sy. “Ghassan brings to the Board several decades of experience from a distinguished career in politics, diplomacy and academia. His expertise and guidance will be of great value to the Foundation as we continue in our quest for a fairer, more peaceful world.”
“Kofi Annan was both a mentor and friend,” Mr Salamé said. “I have always been and remain impressed by his profound patience in adversity. A question posed by Kofi Annan was always done so as to close a gap he had identified; his answers were always determined by the well-being of the most impoverished. Kofi was aware of his distinguished position without losing his humane approach. It is an honour to continue his legacy as a member of the Kofi Annan Foundation Board.”
“Kofi was aware of his distinguished position without losing his humane approach.”
“The Foundation will benefit greatly from Ghassan joining the board”, said Alan Doss, President of the Kofi Annan Foundation. “He worked closely with the Foundation as a member of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State as well as on the preparatory work for the Extremely Together Youth initiative. He will bring a wealth of experience to the Foundation, especially on conflict prevention and resolution.”
More about Ghassan Salamé
Ghassan Salamé is a Lebanese academic, politician and diplomat. He served as the Lebanese Minister of Culture from 2000 to 2003. He is the founding Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) and professor of International Relations Emeritus at Sciences Po. Ghassan Salamé also taught international relations at the American University of Beirut and Saint Joseph University in Beirut.
Ghassan Salamé was born in 1951 in Lebanon. He studied public law (Saint Joseph University, University of Paris); literature (PhD in humanities, Paris III Sorbonne-Nouvelle University); and political science (PhD, Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne University).
From 2000-2003, Salamé served as Lebanon’s Minister of Culture, as well as Chairman and Spokesman of the Organization Committee for the Arab Summit (March 2002) and of the Francophone Summit (October 2002) in Beirut.
He sat on the Board of many NGOs, such as the International Crisis Group (Brussels), the International Peace Institute (New York), and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Egypt). He was a senior advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General from 2003 to 2006. Salamé served as the political advisor to the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) in 2003, where he played a critical role in bringing together Iraqi factions. He joined the Commission on the Rakhine State (Myanmar), which was chaired by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Salamé served as the head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya from 2017 to 2020.
He is the Founding Chairman of the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (Beirut)and the author of several books on the politics of the Middle East. Salamé was made Chevalier de la Legion d’ honneur in 2004. He studied Law, Humanities (PhD) and Political Science (PhD).
