Abboud holds a Diploma of Higher Studies in Political Sciences from the Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut and a PhD in history from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Abboud began his diplomatic career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beirut in 1974.

Among these are the Monitoring Group of the April 1996 Understanding in Southern Lebanon, the U.N. General Assembly Sessions of 1997, 1998 and 1999, and the Non-Aligned Movement Summit Meetings of 1996 and 1998.

Abboud reappeared at the Los Angeles World Affairs Council to deliver speeches relating to Lebanon in his speech entitled: "Lebanon and the Peace Process: An Update“[2] In 2007, Abboud was described by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy as Syria's de facto second ambassador to the United States owing to Abboud's support for the Bashar al-Assad regime.

According to former Department of Defense official David Schenker, "Abboud has spent the last six years of the Bush administration largely isolated, having little or no contact with executive branch personnel.