Ghattas Khoury
Ghattas Khoury is a professor of General and Vascular Surgery at the American University of Beirut Medical Center and a Lebanese politician. He is the former Minister of Culture in Lebanon (2016 - 2019). He is also a former member of the Lebanese parliament (2000 - 2005) and former president of the Lebanese Order of Physicians (1998 - 2001). Education. Khoury graduated from Marjeyoun National College and went on to study medicine in Madrid, where he graduated from Complutense University with a diploma in medicine in 1978. In 1983, he gained a diploma in General Surgery from the American University of  Beirut. He gained his degree in Vascular Surgery from St. Mary's Hospital, London, Imperial College, in 1984, and in 1986 a diploma in General Surgery from the South East Thames Regional Health Authority. He also holds a Master's degree in Diplomacy and Strategic Negotiations from the La Sagesse University and the University of Paris-XI which he completed in 2013. He is fluent in Arabic, English, and Spanish. Public Service. In 1998, Dr. Ghattas Khoury was elected as President of the Lebanese Order of Physicians, where he served till 2001. During the 2000 parliamentary elections in Lebanon, he  was elected Maronite deputy for Beirut on the list of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. As a member of parliament, he joined the Parliamentary Committee for Public Health and Social Affairs. In 2005, Khoury withdrew his candidacy from the parliamentary elections in favor of Solange Bachir Gemayel in Beirut. During Prime Minister Saad Hariri's second government in 2016, he was appointed Minister of Culture and served in this capacity till 2019. He is currently one of the closest advisers to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Merits and Awards. In 1983, he was chosen British Council Scholar and in 1996 , American College of Surgeons Scholar. He was also awarded the Lebanese Order of Merit in 2001 and the Order of the General Maronite Council in 2018. Recently, in February of 2020, Khoury was awarded the Royal Spanish Order of Civil Merit, the Rank of Numbered Commander in recognition of extraordinary services for the mutual beneficial cooperation between Spain and Lebanon.