Dramatic downfall of Carlos Ghosn reverberates in Lebanon

He may have fallen from grace internationally as one of the auto industry’s most powerful leaders, but Carlos Ghosn can count on continued support in at least one corner of the globe.

Lebanon has long held hopes that Ghosn, whose grandparents were Lebanese and who holds extensive development projects in the country, would play a bigger role in politics one day, or help rescue its increasingly sluggish economy. But Ghosn, ex-chairman of Nissan Motor Co., was detained last month on allegations of underreporting his income, and on Friday, a Japanese court approved extending his detention for 10 more days.

Now, politicians across the board are mobilizing in his defence, with some suggesting his detention may be part of a political or business-motivated conspiracy, and the government even considering extraditing him from Tokyo to face trial here.

“To Carlos Ghosn in his predicament I say, a Lebanese phoenix will not be scorched by the Japanese sun,” Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk said at a security conference in Beirut this week.

Lebanon, a tiny country of 4.5 million, takes excessive pride in its huge emigrant community and successful businessmen and celebrities of Lebanese heritage. They include Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim, Columbian singer Shakira, MexicanAmerican actress Salma Hayek, Lebanese-British barrister Amal Clooney and fashion designers Elie Saab and Reem Accra.

The Lebanese took special pride in the auto industry icon, who holds a Lebanese passport, speaks fluent Arabic and visits regularly, including a last visit right before he was detained in Tokyo. Born in Brazil, where his Lebanese grandfather had sought his fortune, Ghosn grew up in Beirut, where he spent part of his childhood at a Jesuit school.