New US Ambassador Michel Issa arrives in Lebanon

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut released a statement on Friday following the arrival of the new U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, in Beirut.

The statement said, "The U.S. Embassy in Beirut is pleased to announce the November 14 arrival of Ambassador-Designate Michel Issa in Lebanon.  Ambassador Issa had a distinguished former career in banking, where he spent two decades excelling as a currency trader, managing trading floors, and leading initiatives in credit and compliance before transitioning to a successful career in the automobile industry."

"Below is Ambassador Issa’s official biography:   

Ambassador Designate Michel Issa arrived on 14 November, 2025, to the Republic of Lebanon.  

Ambassador Designate Issa previously served as President & CEO of Newton Investment Group LLC, in Newton, New Jersey, following a distinguished twenty-year banking career, including in New York and Paris. In 1999, Ambassador Designate Issa retired from banking to pursue his passion for automobiles and successively applied his business acumen to the automobile industry. 

Ambassador Designate Issa was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and spent his early childhood there before moving to Paris, France.  He holds a DEUG (Diplôme d’Etudes Universitaires Générales) Associate Degree in Economics from the University of Paris X Nanterre in Nanterre, France. He also studied at the Cours d’Etudes Supérieures de Banques in Paris, France."


Read the statement here.