Jihad Azour (Arabic: جهاد أزعور; born 4 May 1966) is a Lebanese economist and politician who served as Lebanon's minister of finance under Fouad Saniora's government from 2005 to 2008.
Azour obtained his PhD with high honors in international finance from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris in France in 1996.
His masters thesis was awarded the best student research in 1987 by INSEE (the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies).
In 2003, Azour joined La Fassad, the Lebanese chapter of Transparency International, a non-profit, non-governmental anti-corruption organisation.
In 2005, Azour was advisor to the International Monetary Fund's department of fiscal affairs on reforming Qatar's tax structure.
[5] As Minister of Finance, Azour oversaw administrative and fiscal management reform including development of a function-based structure, containing government debt, streamlining trade and customs procedures through dialogue with private sector entities, modernizing cadastral operations, improving donor coordination by convening quarterly meetings, building capacity and human resources and upgrading and automating IT infrastructure.
[8] From 2006 to 2008, Azour chaired the G8-MENA Ministerial Group which regroups ministers of finance and central bank governors of the G8 and MENA countries.
[10] In the wake of the 2020 Beirut explosion, Lebanon president, Michel Aoun left office prior to his term finishing in October 2022.
In late May 2023, the Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, the Christian-based political party, the Lebanese Forces, the Kataeb, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and the PSP endorsed Azour.