Bahij Tabbara (born 1929) is a Lebanese jurist and politician who held various cabinet posts and was a member the parliament of Lebanon. He was among the close allies of Rafik Hariri.
Bahij Tabbara | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Justice | |
| In office 2003–2004 | |
| Prime Minister | Rafik Hariri |
| Minister of State for Administrative Reform | |
| In office 2001–2003 | |
| Prime Minister | Rafik Hariri |
| Minister of Justice | |
| In office 31 October 1992 – December 1998 | |
| Prime Minister | Rafik Hariri |
| Minister of Economy and Commerce | |
| In office April 1973 – June 1973 | |
| Prime Minister | Amin Al Hafez |
| Preceded by | Anwar Sabbah |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1929 (age 94–95) Beirut, Lebanon |
| Political party | Future Movement |
| Spouse | Hoda Kyriakos Saad |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | |
Early life and education
editTabbara was born in Beirut in 1929.[1][2] He received a degree in law from Saint Joseph University in Beirut and a PhD in law from the University of Grenoble in France.[2]
Career
editFollowing his graduation Tabbara began to work as a lawyer from 1954.[1] He was also the private lawyer and legal adviser of future Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.[3][4] He taught at Lebanese University and Saint Joseph University in Beirut.[1]
Between April and June 1973, Tabbara was the minister of economy and commerce in the cabinet led by the prime minister, Amin Al Hafez.[5] The appointment of Tabbara and another Sunni Zakariya Nsouli caused controversy in the general public and they were forced to resign.[5] They both resigned from the office together with Al Hafez.[5] Tabbara was involved in drafting the election law of Lebanon in the 1990s.[6] On 31 October 1992, he was named as the minister of justice in the first cabinet of Rafik Hariri.[7] Tabbara held the post in the subsequent cabinets of Hariri until December 1998.[2] He was the minister of state for administrative reform between 2001 and 2003.[2] He was again appointed minister of justice in 2003[8] and held the post for one year.[2]
In 2005, Tabbara was elected to parliament from the Future Movement.[1] The same year, after the assassination of Rafic Hariri, he was cited as one of the potential candidates for the premiership.[9] In May 2019, he was also proposed as the prime minister following the resignation of the Lebanese government led by Saad Hariri, but he declined the offer.[10]
In addition to his academic and political activities Tabbara was one of the shareholders of the companies, mostly real estate companies, owned by Rafik Hariri.[3][11]
Personal life and work
editTabbara married Hoda Kyriakos Saad, a lawyer, and they have three children.[1][2] He is the author of several books and articles on legal topics.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Who's Who in Lebanon 2007-2008 (19th ed.). Beirut: Publitec Publications. 2007. pp. 328–329. doi:10.1515/9783110945904.328. ISBN 9783110945904.
- ^ a b c d e f "Dr. Bahij Tabbara". OMSAR. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ a b Reinoud Leenders (2004). "Nobody Having too much to Answer for: Laissez-faire, networks, and postwar reconstruction in Lebanon". In Steven Heydemann (ed.). Networks of Privilege in the Middle East: The Politics of Economic Reform Revisited. New York; Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 197. ISBN 978-1-4039-8214-8.
- ^ Hannes Baumann (2012). Citizen Hariri and neoliberal politics in postwar Lebanon (PhD thesis). SOAS, University of London. p. 125. doi:10.25501/SOAS.00014240.
- ^ a b c "The Government of Amin Al-Hafez: Confidence Session Not Convened". The Monthly. 9 April 2014. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Lebanese Women Seek Stronger Representation in Parliament". Peace Women. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
Reporting from Al Shorfa
- ^ Ward Vloeberghs (2015). Architecture, Power and Religion in Lebanon. Rafiq Hariri and the politics of sacred space in Beirut. Vol. 114. Leiden; Boston: Brill. pp. 381–382. doi:10.1163/9789004307056_010. ISBN 9789004307056.
- ^ "30-minister government formed in Lebanon". KUNA. 17 April 2003. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Parliament re-elects pro-Syrian Nabih Berri as speaker". Associated Press. 28 June 2005. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ Farah Al Faraj (12 May 2019). "Samir Al-Khatib likely to take over Lebanese gov't". KUNA. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ Hisham Ashkar (2018). "The role of laws and regulations in shaping gentrification. The view from Beirut". City. 22 (3): 349. doi:10.1080/13604813.2018.1484641. S2CID 149478478.