Former Prime Minister Omar Karami passed away overnight aged 80. Days before his death, his condition was downgraded from serious to critical after he had undergone a surgery earlier this month.

Omar Abdul Hamid Karami was born into a Sunni family in the northern city of Tripoli. He had served as Lebanon's prime minister two times.

His first mandate stretched from December 24, 1990, until May 16, 1992, when he resigned following massive rallies in protest against the deteriorating economic conditions back then.

He was sworn in again on October 26, 2004 and resigned on April 19, 2005, as the streets of Beirut were filled with tens of thousands of protesters and hours after a grueling no-confidence debate in the Lebanese Parliament.

"Out of concern that the government does not become an obstacle to the good of the country, I announce the resignation of the government I had the honor to lead," Karami announced amid massive rallies staged following the assassination of his predecessor, Rafik Hariri.

Ten days after the resignation, President Emile Lahoud re-appointed Karami as prime minister and assigned the latter to form a new government; a task that Karami failed to accomplish. On April 19, 2005, Karami resigned again.

Karami served as Lebanon's education minister from 1989 until 1990, and was elected three times as Tripoli's lawmaker.