Boustany was born in Jounieh to a poor Lebanese family.

He served as a commander with the rank of general in the Lebanese Armed Forces[1] from 1 July 1965 to 6 January 1970.

[2] Boustany went to Egypt in 1969 and drafted the Cairo Accord, which was the first official concession of sovereignty of the Lebanese state.

[citation needed] In 1973, he was named the primary suspect in a bribery scandal within the Lebanese Army related to arms transactions.

He fled to Syria where he was granted asylum by Hafez al-Assad.