 He held the post of Minister of Defense in an interim capacity while Elias Murr was convalescing from an assassination attempt of July 12, 2005.As Environment Minister, he strongly denounced the oil spill caused by Israeli bombardment of the Jiyeh thermal power station during the Israel-Lebanon conflict.He submitted his resignation from the cabinet on November 11, 2006, but Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has rejected the resignation.