The nearly 5-month-old presidential vacuum, which has paralyzed Parliament and is threatening to cripple the government’s work, appears to be also affecting the diplomatic corps, as the Cabinet cannot appoint new ambassadors in the absence of a president, while foreign envoys accredited to Lebanon cannot function before presenting their credentials to the head of state.
Some Lebanese diplomatic missions abroad have become vacant after a number of diplomats had reached the retirement age, with the government unable to appoint replacements in the absence of a president who must sign the decrees of new ambassadors, diplomatic sources said.
This situation, brought on by the presidential deadlock, has prompted some countries to extend the stay of their ambassadors accredited to Lebanon until a successor is elected to former President Michel Sleiman, whose six-year tenure ended on May 25.
At the top of the list of envoys whose term has been extended is Saudi Ambassador Ali Awad Asiri, who was preparing to leave Lebanon for his new assignment in Pakistan when a royal decree was issued to keep him in Beirut, even though he had made farewell visits to senior Lebanese officials and was hosted by some of his Lebanese friends who threw parties in his honor.
Diplomatic sources said Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdel-Aziz had decided to keep Asiri in Beirut in view of the importance of the kingdom’s ambassador being present in Lebanon while the country witnesses major political development and security incidents.
Had Asiri been transferred to Pakistan, the sources said, this would have left the Saudi Embassy without an ambassador and it would have been run by the charge d’affaires. They added that even a newly appointed Saudi ambassador to Lebanon would be unable to assume his duty before presenting his credentials to the president.
Egyptian Ambassador Ashraf Hamdi had left Beirut at the end of his assignment in Lebanon.
His successor, Mohammad Badereddine Zayed, who was appointed by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, is currently serving as a charge d’affaires, while waiting for the election of a new president to present his credentials as Egypt’s ambassador.
Swiss Ambassador to Lebanon Ruth Flint left Beirut last month, and a successor has yet to be appointed. When Berne names a new ambassador to Lebanon, he/she will serve as a charge d’affaires with the rank of an ambassador until a president is elected.
“The vacuum in diplomatic missions in Lebanon or in Lebanese missions abroad does not affect Lebanon’s relations with foreign countries,” a Lebanese ambassador told The Daily Star.
The ambassador, who requested anonymity, said there were countries which set the assignment of a new ambassador at between one to four years, while Lebanon does not do so.
The duration of a Lebanese ambassador’s assignment hinges on a political decision within the government, the ambassador said.
He added that if there was a vacancy at the head of a Lebanese diplomatic mission abroad, a decision by the foreign minister to send a temporary charge d’affaires is more important than assigning the embassy to a diplomat serving there.
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