Tracy Chamoun

Tracy Chamoun (Arabic: ترايسي شمعون‎) (born on 22 October 1960)[1] is a Lebanese author, diplomat and political activist of Lebanese and European descent. She was appointed as ambassador of Lebanon to Jordan on 19 June 2017. She is one of two surviving children of Dany Chamoun, the assassinated former leader of the National Liberal Party and son of former President Camille Chamoun; her mother is the late Patti Morgan Chamoun, an Australian fashion model and actress.[2] She was the Lebanese ambassador to Jordan from August 2017 until 7 August 2020 when she resigned after the 2020 Beirut explosions, saying the catastrophe showed the need for a change in leadership.[3]

Life and career

Dany Chamoun Foundation

Through the Dany Chamoun Foundation, Tracy Chamoun has sought to perpetuate the legacy of her father, who, on 21 October 1990, was assassinated together with his second wife and two children. Many received amnesty. Eleven associates are also sentenced.[4] Her autobiography, Au Nom du Pere, centered on her relationship with her father and his life and work. In it, she recounts the harrowing experience in which she and her mother were kidnapped in 1980 during a surprise attack on the National Liberal Party headquarters by Phalangist militiamen under the command of Bachir Gemayel, her father's former ally.

Syrian occupation

Chamoun was an outspoken critic of the former Syrian occupation of Lebanon. She has described her country's independence as a "myth". Before the Independence Day celebrations in 1990 she asked rhetorically:

To what extent does the establishment believe that the population is so blind that it cannot see that the nation is far from independent? Like the myth of the emperor with no clothes, it is a charade that only the sycophants see and celebrate.

Political views

Chamoun is known for her moderate political views. She became the first woman to found a political party in the Arab world, called "The Liberal Democrats Party of Lebanon".[5] She favors the building of a modern democracy, and has spoken out against what she sees as the feudal political system in which clan loyalties often play a more significant role than ideology in politics. She is critical of her uncle, Dory Chamoun, head of the National Liberal Party, for his alliance with Samir Geagea, the man convicted of killing her family.[6] Publicly, however, she has defended her uncle, and has refused to enter into discussions with those critical of him.

Legacy

Chamoun has vowed to continue to remind people of the truth behind the assassination of her slain father which she writes about in her books Le Sang De la Paix published by Lattes in France and (ثمن السلم) published by Antoine in Lebanon.

See also

References
  1. "الجامعة اللبنانية | مركز المعلوماتية القانونية :: التشريعات النافذة :: تعيين السيدة ترايسي باتريسيا دانيال شمعون، سفيراً من خارج الملاك في وزارة الخارجية والمغتربين :: المواد :: 1". legallaw.ul.edu.lb.
  2. "News". 15 March 2016 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  3. "Anti-government protests break out in Beirut". 7 August 2020 – via www.bbc.com.
  4. Los Angeles Times, 25 June 1995. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  5. "Tracy Chamoun, Lebanese author and politician". France 24. 3 April 2013.
  6. "Lebanese Ex-Warlord Sentenced in Rival's Slaying : Mideast: Christian is the first militia chief convicted of civil war crimes. Many received amnesty. Eleven associates are also sentenced.", Los Angeles Times, 25 June 1995. Retrieved 14 October 2016.

Further reading
  • "Declaration on the anniversary of Dany Chamoun’s assassination", October 2008, Tayyar.org
  • "Warlord gets life, but plans his vacation" Robert Fisk, The Independent, 25 June 1995
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