Mohammed Fahmi

Mohammed Fahmi (Sunni) is the Lebanese minister of interior and municipalities and a retired general of the Lebanese army. He succeeded Raya El Hassan.

Background

Born of a Shia Lebanese mother from the influential Zein family and an Egyptian father, he was naturalized Lebanese and join the Lebanese army in 1978. He became close to the then head of the Lebanese army general Emile Lahoud (1989–1998) and Jamil Al Sayyed who at the time was second in command of the army's intelligence service. The latter played an important role in his designation as minister of the interior in January 2020. He joined the government of Hassan Diab (politician) as an independent. He maintains good relations with the Syrian government and with Hezbollah, although he is not a member of that party. Fahmi is generally considered to be a courageous military and a man who supports the institutions of the state. He held various offices in the Lebanese army: head of the bomb squad removal unit, head commander of the Mount Lebanon military region, and the security department of the military intelligence services. Fahmi studied at the James Madison University in the United States.