US President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday appointed Lebanese-American businessman Massad Boulos as his senior adviser for Arab and Middle Eastern affairs, bringing a new family member (his son-in-law Michael's father) to a key position in the administration.
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“I am proud to announce that Massad Boulos will serve as the President’s Senior Advisor for Arab and Middle East Affairs,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. The appointment gives Boulos, who is the father-in-law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany, a senior position in the White House.
Deal maker
The businessman will take on a difficult task in the midst of Israel's war against Hamas, the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the advance of opposition factions in Syria against the forces of Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Paul's appointment comes a day after Trump chose Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law Jared, to serve as U.S. ambassador to France.
Trump described Paul as "a brilliant lawyer and highly respected business leader with extensive experience on the international stage."
Trump added, "He was instrumental in building tremendous new alliances with the Arab American community."
The president-elect described Paul as a "deal maker."
"end wars quickly"
Trump repeatedly pledged during his election campaign to quickly end the wars in Gaza, Ukraine and elsewhere, without specifying how he would do so.
In this context, Paul stressed in an interview with the British Sky News network in October that it is important to end the war “quickly.”
"What we mean by ending the war quickly is that you have some military objectives that you have to achieve, which is to get rid of Hamas's infrastructure and its ability to launch new attacks and so on," he said.
"Let's move on to peace, let's move on to rebuilding Gaza and rebuilding Lebanon," he added.
"We want Gaza to be prosperous. We want the Palestinian people to be prosperous and to live in peace, to live in harmony, side by side with the Israelis, and to have complete security on both sides," he continued.
Who is Masoud Boulos?
The Lebanese businessman, who was born in Lebanon and whose family hails from the north of the country, had previously run for a seat in the Lebanese parliament, but did not win.
He moved to Texas to study law at the University of Houston.
He also moved to Nigeria to pursue his family business before becoming CEO of SCOA Nigeria, a $1 billion vehicle distribution and assembly group in West Africa.
In 2022, his son Michael Boulos married the president-elect's youngest daughter, Tiffany Trump.
He played a prominent role during Trump's election campaign within Arab communities, especially in Michigan.
Trump is counting on him to play a role in calming tensions and conflicts in the Middle East, after he promised peace in the region.