What many do not know is that a Lebanese Druze woman has left her mark on the White House and the home every American president turns to.
Salwa Choucair, of Lebanese origin from the town of Arsoun, was Chief of Protocol with the rank of Ambassador at the White House, beginning in 1982 and for seven years during the term of President Ronald Reagan. She also oversaw the house officially designated for the American President's guests of foreign leaders, known as the President's Guest House or Blair House, which every American president has used on the eve of their inauguration.
She was the wife of a grandson of the famous American President Theodore Roosevelt. She is the person who left the most touches and imprints on the historic house located about 22 meters from the White House gate in Washington.
Through a foundation that maintains and restores the house, which was built in 1824, whenever needed, and preserves its antiques and luxurious furniture, Salwa Choucair supervised and cared for the house as Chair of the Foundation's Board of Trustees.
Immigration from Lebanon
Salwa Choucair's father entered a ship clandestinely that transported him as an immigrant to the United States, where she was born. Her parents, Najla and Salim Choucair, were from the Druze community; they emigrated from the town of "Arsoun" in the Baabda district, where her father worked as a peddler in the early 20th century in America, and later established his own store.
Returning to the house where Choucair left her mark, American presidents have often used it to escape to for their private affairs from the nearby White House. The first to start the tradition of moving to this house on the eve of the inauguration was former American President Jimmy Carter, and every president since has repeated it, with each of them sleeping there the night before taking the oath, the latest of whom was the current President, Joe Biden.
