Under the patronage and in the presence of Minister of Tourism Laura Lahoud El Khazen, the Automobile and Touring Club of Lebanon (ATCL) held a ceremony at its Kaslik headquarters to officially launch four postage stamps issued by the Ministry of Telecommunications, in cooperation with LibanPost, to mark the club’s centenary.
Also attending were Minister of Energy and Water Joe Saddi, Minister of Industry Joe Issa El Khoury, Minister of the Displaced and Minister of State for Technology Kamal Shehadi, Minister of Youth and Sports Dr Nora Bayrakdarian, MP Neemat Frem, representatives of the Army Commander, General Security, State Security and Customs, senior security officials, representatives of the Press Editors’ Syndicate and the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, LibanPost vice-president Chadi Moghames, members of the Lebanese philatelic society, stamp collectors and members of the media. ATCL president Nabil Karam and the board members welcomed the guests.
A first for the Middle East
Master of ceremonies Georges Sweidi described the launch as a unique event: the first time stamps have been issued for a motoring club in the Middle East and the Arab world, and only the second time worldwide after the Principality of Monaco. He credited ATCL president and former rally champion Nabil (Billy) Karam, who has used his strong relationships, notably with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, to put the club on the world stage.
The minister, the ministers present, MP Frem and Karam then unveiled the four stamps to applause.
Karam: “a remarkable chapter in our club’s history”
Karam noted that, after four stamps for President General Joseph Aoun and four for Pope Leo XIV’s historic visit to Lebanon, the Ministry of Telecommunications and LibanPost decided to issue a set of four stamps for the ATCL, a century after the first stamp of Greater Lebanon, featuring the cedar, was issued in 1925. The club, founded in 1919, has served motor sport and tourism for 107 years.
He thanked Minister of Telecommunications Charles El Hajj for honouring the club as a non-profit organisation of public benefit, and LibanPost for what he called a wonderful design by the famous Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. He also thanked FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem for allowing the FIA logo to appear alongside the ATCL logo, and FIVA president Alberto Scuro for allowing the FIVA logo to be used, both firsts in the history of world philately. Worldwide, only the Automobile Club de Monaco had previously been honoured with stamps, for its 120th and 125th anniversaries.
Karam described the Rally of Lebanon as the most important and best-known event in the Middle East Rally Championship, a dream for every driver to win, and the only rally in the region held on asphalt. More than 20 years ago, when the FIA wanted a Middle East rally on the World Rally Championship calendar, the ATCL put the Rally of Lebanon forward, but it was not accepted for one reason: it ran on asphalt, while the WRC then wanted a gravel event, so the Jordan Rally was chosen.
He added that in 1998 the ATCL tried to bring Formula 1 to Lebanon: an agreement was signed with Bernie Ecclestone to hold a Grand Prix in downtown Beirut in 2003, but it did not go ahead for the political reasons of the time. As a collector of motoring stamps, Karam said the Rally of Lebanon stamp is the first motoring-themed stamp in Lebanon’s history.
This unique set of four stamps bears witness to a remarkable chapter in our club’s history.
Nabil (Billy) Karam, ATCL president
The minister’s tribute
Minister Laura Lahoud El Khazen said the stamps carry part of Lebanon’s memory to future generations and that the ATCL fully deserves the honour. She spoke of the club as a place woven into the personal memories of thousands of families, and as a window through which Lebanon has looked out to the world for more than a century, welcoming motor sport champions, international tournaments, heads of state and figures from around the world.
She paid tribute to everyone who has led the club, up to her friend Billy Karam, and especially to her father, Sheikh Fouad El Khazen, who presided over the ATCL for more than three decades. She also recalled President Fouad Chehab, whose vision placed the Jounieh marina at the club’s disposal, and expressed the hope that the club’s second century would be one of peace, reform and opportunities fulfilled.
Karam presented the minister with a commemorative shield, a documentary on the club’s history since 1919 was screened, and the ceremony ended with a cocktail reception.
Photos: Pro Photo.