Michel Samaha
| Michel Samaha | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 September 1948 |
| Nationality | Lebanese |
| Years active | 1960s – present |
| Spouse(s) | Gladys Samaha |
| Children | Three daughters |
Michel Fuad Samaha (born 9 September 1948) is a former minister of information and minister of tourism in Lebanon, and a longtime politician and intelligence operative. Samaha is known for his long and close relationship with the Syrian government, and was one of several Lebanese officials sanctioned by the United States in 2007 for allegedly "contributing to political and economic instability in Lebanon." In December 2012 Samaha was listed by the United States as a global terrorist under section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224. Arrested and imprisoned in August, 2012, Samaha was convicted in May 2015 of transporting explosives into Lebanon and sentenced to four and a half years in jail. He was released on bail in January 2016. Samaha was sentenced again to 13 years with hard labour in April 2016 for attempting to carry out terrorist acts.
Samaha was born on 9 September 1948. He became a member of the Phalangist or Kataeb Party in 1964 when he was a student. He was elected head of the party's student body in the 1970s. After graduation, he was appointed by Amine Gemayel as his media advisor. Then he became the chairman of the board of Tele Liban. During the Lebanon civil war, he acted as a mediator between the party and Assad government. Samaha served as an advisor and envoy to Amine Gemayel during the latter's presidency from 1982 to 1988.
However, later he joined the Lebanese Forces (LF) faction led by Elie Hobeika. In 1985, he began to act as both a Lebanese political operator and a Syrian-French intelligence operative. He agreed to support the 1985 tripartite agreement between the LF represented by Hobeika, Nabih Berri’s Amal Movement, and Walid Jumblatt’s Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) on the eve of its signing. Samaha left the LF-controlled areas on 15 January 1986. LF was headed by Samir Geagea during this period.
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