If you're Lebanese or living in Lebanon, you probably know by now that Brazil has a Lebanese president ... whereas Lebanon still doesn't.

It may seem cool to think that the son of Lebanese immigrants now governs the country of your favorite – or least favorite for the Germany fans – football team... but President Michel Temer isn't  the type of politician diaspora Lebanese should be excited to write home about.

Besides Temer, there are several other leaders of Lebanese descent who took the reins of power in foreign nations. Here's a look at 6. Some good... and some that fit the cliche mould of Lebanese mafioso politics all too well.

lebanese heads of state

1. Michel Temer, Brazil

Source: WikiMedia
Source: WikiMedia

Michel Temer became the acting president of Brazil in April, when President Dilma Roussef was impeached. With Roussef officially removed from office by the country's senate at the end of August, Temer is set to govern the South American nation until January 2019.

But, when the term runs up, Temer won't be able to run for election. He has been banned from running for any political office for at least eight years, due to violating election laws. He is also implicated in several serious corruption investigations.

Temer also hasn't been one to promote diversity. As soon as Roussef – Brazil's first female president – was impeached, Temer cobbled together a cabinet composed entirely of men. For the first time since the 1970s, women have zero representation in Brazil's cabinet.

2. Julio César Turbay, Colombia

Turbay served as president of Colombia from 1978 to 1982. His father immigrated to Colombia from Tannourine, Lebanon and his mother was Colombian.

During his presidency, he oversaw the implementation of the 1978 Security State, granting the armed forces more control and leeway in the country to defeat FARC rebels. Human rights groups, activists and journalists criticized this policy, linking it to an increase in arbitrary detentions and torture.

Turbay's handling of the 1980 Dominican embassy crisis, when 16 ambassadors were held hostage in the Dominican Republic's embassy for 61 days, has been generally lauded and was resolved relatively peacefully by his administration.

3. Abdalá Bucaram, Ecuador

Source: WikiMedia
Source: WikiMedia

Bucaram only served as president of Ecuador for a few months, from August 1996 until February 1997. The son of Lebanese immigrants, Bucaram championed the nickname "El Loco" (The Mad Man) for himself. Apparently, Ecuador's congress totally agreed and declared him unfit to rule, ending his mandate prematurely.

Soon after being elected, Bucaram was accused of embezzling millions of dollars in public funds. He remains in exile in Panama, where he was given asylum.

4. Jamil Mahuad, Ecuador

jamil mahuad
Source: WikiMedia

Mahuad may have served longer than Bucaram, but he also was unable to complete a full term in office. President from August of 1998 until January of 2000, Mahuad resigned due to demonstrations by indigenous Ecuadorians and a military revolt in the wake of a severe economic crisis.

Still, Mahuad was a champion of peace while president, having signed a historic peace agreement with neighboring Peru over longstanding border disputes. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize as a result.

But in 2014, Mahuad was sentenced in absentia – he fled to the United States in 2000 – to 12 years in jail for charges of embezzlement. In response to the sentence, Mahuad argued that it was politically motivated saying, "The whole world knows the current situation faced by Ecuador's legal system and its role in the persecution of journalists and critics of the government," according to the BBC .

5. Julio Teodoro Salem, Ecuador

Yes, it seems like Ecuador has a thing for heads of state with Lebanese origins, although all of them were short-lived leaders. Salem takes short-term to a new level. He served as head of state for only two days, from May 29 to May 31, 1944. A popular uprising removed President Carlos Alberto Arroyo del Río from office and Salem took the reins of power as head of state until José María Velasco Ibarra was named Supreme Chief of the Republic.

6. Edward Seaga, Jamaica

Although Jamaica technically recognizes the Queen of England as its head of state, Seaga served as Jamaica's prime minister, or head of government, from 1980 to 1989. Seaga was born in the United States to a Jamaican father of Lebanese descent and a Scottish-Jamaican mother.

In the late 1950s, Seaga setup West India Records Limited, which became the most successful record company in the West Indies. His work with music focused mainly on ethnic Jamaican music. In honor of Jamaica's 50th anniversary as an independent nation, Seaga released a compilation musical album titled "Reggae Golden Jubilee Origins of Jamaican Music" in 2012. He worked on the project for 16 years and the album contains music from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s.

Politically, he is seen as having contributed significantly to Jamaica's independence from Great Britain and is considered to be one of the founding fathers of the country's constitution, which was written in 1961. Seaga has received numerous honors and awards for his political contributions and work.