Who is Massad Boulos, the Lebanese-American tycoon and Trump adviser?
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Automotive tycoon Massad Boulos was picked by President-elect Donald Trump on Dec 1 for a role that could prove pivotal as the US administration faces myriad crises in the Middle East.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
BEIRUT – US President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Mr Massad Boulos as a senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs may put the automotive tycoon, who is also Trump’s in-law, in a position to exert considerable influence over US policy in the Middle East.
Mr Boulos, whose son is married to Trump’s daughter, Tiffany, was picked by the Presient-elect on Dec 1 for a role that could prove pivotal as the administration faces myriad crises in the region: a tenuous ceasefire in Mr Boulos’ native Lebanon; a humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip; and a civil war in Syria, mostly dormant for years, that has rapidly escalated in recent days.
For Mr Boulos, once a relatively obscure entrepreneur, his appointment followed a meteoric rise to prominence in recent months.
During the election campaign, he helped garner support for Trump among Arab Americans in Michigan, a key battleground state. He has become a familiar face on Lebanese television, spreading the incoming Trump administration’s message, and he has acted as something of a de facto liaison between Trump and Middle Eastern leaders, including Mr Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Authority.
Then presidential candidate Donald Trump with his daughter Tiffany during a campaign rally on Nov 5. With them on stage are (from left) Tiffany’s husband, Mr Michael Boulos; Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump and Mr Donald Trump Jr.
Born in Lebanon, Mr Boulos hails from an influential Greek Orthodox family from the northern Lebanese town of Kafaraka, known for its olive oil. The family has played a role in local and national politics for nearly a century.
Despite brief forays into Lebanese politics himself, Mr Boulos has said he is not affiliated with any political party in the country, according to Newsweek. He is considered, however, to have close ties to the country’s Christian elite and has labelled himself as a friend of Mr Suleiman Frangieh, who has previously been named by Hezbollah leaders as the group’s top pick for Lebanon’s president and is closely allied with President Bashar al-Assad of Syria.
The US has labelled Hezbollah, both a militia and a political party, as a terrorist group, and Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism.
After studying in Texas, Mr Boulos went on to build his wealth in West Africa. He became the chief executive of SCOA Nigeria, an automotive conglomerate. He also runs Boulos Enterprises, a Nigeria-based company that distributes and assembles motorcycles, tricycles and power bikes.
His ascendancy from businessman to a close confidant of Trump has landed a diverse portfolio on his desk.
In September, when Mr Boulos had been busy campaigning in Michigan for Trump, he also met Mr Abbas on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
At the time, Mr Boulos told The New York Times that the meeting was “purely personal”, although Palestinian officials described it as part of an outreach effort to Trump. Mr Boulos had previously helped deliver a letter from Mr Abbas to Trump in July, in which Mr Abbas wished Trump well after an assassination attempt against him that month.
After Trump announced he had selected Mr Boulos as a senior adviser, some politicians in Lebanon suggested that the appointment may elevate the issues facing the crisis-hit country on the White House agenda.
Lebanon’s caretaker economy minister, Mr Amin Salam, said the appointment was a “historic opportunity”, noting in a post on social media on Dec 1 that Lebanon and the wider Arab world “have never been closer to the White House and the centre of decision-making than they are today”. NYTIMES