Masaad Boulos is currently Trump’s Senior Advisor on Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs [Getty]
Lebanon-born businessman Massad Boulos was appointed by the Trump administration to act as the State Department’s Senior Advisor for Africa on Monday.
The appointment of Boulos will see him travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda in a tour that will begin on Wednesday, the US State Department said.
It will see Boulos meet with the heads of states of the respective countries, alongside business leaders to “promote US private sector investment in the region,” as well as “advance efforts for a durable peace in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo”, the statement read.
Boulos’s tour to both Rwanda and the DRC come amid a devastating war in eastern DRC, which has pitted Rwandan-backed M23 rebels launch several offensive against the government, capturing major cities such as Goma.
He has extensive business ties in Nigeria and was CEO of SCOA Nigeria, a conglomerate specializing in motor vehicle distribution across West Africa.
Boulos, whose son Michael Boulos is married to President Trump’s daughter Tiffany Trump, also serves as the State Department’s Senior Advisor to the President on Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs.
In March he claimed that a peace deal between Lebanon and Israel was near in remarks made alongside the chairman of the extremist Samaria Regional Council, Yossi Dagan, which represents 35 illegal settlements in the occupied-West Bank.
He was also one of Trump’s key emissaries to the Arab American community during the 2024 presidential election.
