Mahmoud Qamati

Mahmoud Qamati is a Lebanese politician and senior Hezbollah official who serves as deputy head of the organization’s Political Council. Qamati was born in 1953 in Haret Hreik, in Beirut’s southern suburbs. He studied political sociology at the Lebanese University, where he completed a diploma and a master’s degree in the field. Early in his political career, he was active in the Amal Movement before joining Hezbollah, becoming part of the organization’s first generation of members. Before focusing on political activity, he worked as a teacher of Arabic language and literature in public schools. Over the years, he held a number of positions within Hezbollah and became one of its prominent representatives in Lebanese politics. As part of his roles, he was involved in maintaining relations with Lebanese political parties and movements and served as one of Hezbollah’s main points of contact in the domestic political arena. On January 31, 2019, following the formation of Saad Hariri’s government after prolonged negotiations among Lebanon’s political parties, Qamati was appointed Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs as part of Hezbollah’s allocation of cabinet posts. The appointment brought him from the organization’s leadership into an official government position. In August 2025, amid an internal Lebanese debate over calls to place all weapons under state control, Qamati defended the position of Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem, stating that, from the organization’s perspective, its weapons constituted Lebanon’s “first line of defense.” He is also among the senior Hezbollah officials who have strongly opposed direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel. On June 18, 2026, the United States imposed sanctions on Qamati as part of measures targeting individuals and entities linked to Hezbollah. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Qamati was involved in coordinating the smuggling of funds from Iran for Hezbollah.