Farid Karam was born in Kaftoun, Al Koura on June 3, 1929.
He received his high-school diploma from the International College in Beirut. He then graduated from the American University of Beirut with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology in 1950 and continued to receive a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1954. Dr. Karam then moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1961, where he specialized in Ear, Nose & Throat, and Facial Plastic Surgery.
He began his career as a professor at the American University of Beirut Hospital, where he served as Assistant Professor of Medicine from 1963 to 1975. Dr. Karam later moved to be the Chief of Otolaryngology and Facial Plastic Surgery at the Veteran’s Medical Centre at Bay Pines Florida, and he remained in this position from 1976 to 1992, later being appointed as Chief of Division, Surgery. In 1992, he was appointed as an Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at the College of Medicine, at the University of South Florida.
Dr. Karam returned to Lebanon in 1999 and continued to practice Otolaryngology and Facial Plastic Surgery. In 2007, he was appointed as a member on the Board of Trustees of the University of Balamand by his Beatitude Ignatius IV, Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and All the East.
Beyond his education and professional career, Dr. Karam was a scout and began his journey at the International College Scouts, at the American University of Beirut.
In 1942 he was appointed as the leader of the Lebanese Scouts Association (LSA). In 1952 he became the General Commissioner, and in 1963 he was announced as the President of the LSA.
He was also elected as the International Commissioner of the Lebanese Scouting Federation (LSF) from 1963 till 1967, later being elected as its President. As part of his role, he consolidated the laws of the Lebanese Scouts and was the co-contributor with Colonel Fahs, Head of Youth Sports Division, in building “SMAR- Jbeil”, the National Scout Camping in Lebanon.
He joined the World Scout Committee, based in Geneva, in 1971. Dr. Karam was elected Vice President twice from 1973 to 1977; he was the first Arab member reaching this position.
He was also a founding member of the World Scout Foundation, headed by His Majesty Carl Gustav, King of Sweden, from 1977 to 2008.
Dr. Karam was honored and recognized for his achievements, being awarded with the Bronze Wolf Medal (highest World Scout Medal for life achievements) in 1977. The President of Lebanon granted him the Lamp of Knowledge Medal in the First Degree in 1951, the National Order of Merit in 1964, the Officer Grade in 1972, and the Knight Grade in 1988.
Dr Farid Karam passed away in Beirut, on February 28, 2018.