President-elect Donald J. Trump’s selection of Massad Boulos as a senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs may put Mr. Boulos, an automotive tycoon who is also Mr. Trump’s in-law, in a position to exert considerable influence over U.S. policy in the Middle East.
Mr. Boulos, whose son is married to Mr. Trump’s daughter, Tiffany, was picked by Mr. Trump on Sunday for a role that could prove pivotal as the Trump administration faces myriad crises in the region: a tenuous cease-fire in Mr. Boulos’ native Lebanon; a humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip; and a once-dormant conflict in Syria that has rapidly escalated in recent days.
For Mr. Boulos, once a relatively obscure entrepreneur, his appointment followed a meteoric rise to prominence in recent months.
During the election campaign, he helped garner support for Mr. Trump among Arab Americans in Michigan, a key battleground state. He has become a familiar face on Lebanese television, spreading the incoming Trump administration’s message. And he has acted as something of a de facto liaison between Mr. Trump and Middle Eastern leaders, including Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority.
Born in Lebanon, Mr. Boulos hails from an influential Greek Orthodox family from the northern Lebanese town of Kafaraka, known for its olive oil. The family has played a role in local and national politics for nearly a century.
Despite brief forays into Lebanese politics himself, Mr. Boulos has said he is not affiliated with any political party inside the country, according to Newsweek. He is considered, however, to have close ties to the country’s Christian elite, and has labeled himself as a friend of Suleiman Frangieh, who has previously been named by Hezbollah leaders as the group’s top pick for Lebanon’s president, and is closely allied with President Bashar al-Assad of Syria.
The United States has labeled Hezbollah, both a militia and a political party, as a terrorist group, and Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Mr. Boulos did not respond to a request for an interview.
After studying in Texas, Mr. Boulos went on to build his wealth in West Africa. He became the chief executive officer of SCOA Nigeria, an automotive conglomerate. He also runs Boulos Enterprise, a Nigeria-based company that distributes and assembles motorcycles, tricycles and power bikes.
Mr. Boulos’s ascendancy from businessman to a close confidante of Mr. Trump has landed a diverse portfolio on his desk. In September, when Mr. Boulos had been busy campaigning in Michigan for Mr. Trump, he also met with Mr. Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. At the time, Mr. Boulos told The Times the meeting was “purely personal,” though Palestinian officials described it as part of an outreach effort to Mr. Trump. Mr. Boulos had previously helped deliver a letter from Mr. Abbas to Mr. Trump in July, in which Mr. Abbas wished Mr. Trump well after an assassination against him that month.
After Mr. Trump announced he had selected Mr. Boulos as a senior adviser, some politicians in Lebanon suggested the appointment may elevate the issues facing the crisis-hit country on the White House agenda.
Lebanon’s caretaker economy minister, Amin Salam, said the appointment was a “historic opportunity,” noting in a post on social media on Sunday that Lebanon and the wider Arab world “have never been closer to the White House and the center of decision-making than they are today.”
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