Elias Nicolas Bou Saab ( ar, إلياس بو صعب; born 8 September 1967) is a Lebanese politician. He was a

Minister of National Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

, Advisor to the President of Lebanon Michel Aoun on International Cooperation. He was elected Deputy speaker of the Lebanese parliament on May 31, 2022. He was also a member of the founding board of directors of television station OTV.

Early life

Elias Bou Saab was born in

Dhour El Choueir Dhour El Choueir ( ar, ضهور الشوير), sometimes Dhour Shweir, is a mountain town in Lebanon ('dhour' meaning 'summit, top f a mountain) located in the Matn District. It lies slightly north of the main Beirut - Damascus highway, overlooki ...

in Mount Lebanon on September 8, 1967. He is the son of Nicolas Bou Saab and Janette Owayjan. He attended St. Joseph School in Cornet Chahwan from 1971 till 1987. After graduating from high school, Elias traveled to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to attend The American College in London to receive his Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing. He later received his Masters of Arts in International Relations from Boston University in the Spring of 1994 where he was elected twice President of the Student Government Association. In 1992, he founded The Lebanese Graduates of Britain (LGB) and served as its first President.

Career

Elias Bou Saab founded the American University in Dubai in 1995. He is the Executive Vice President and has overseen the University's development into one of the premier institutions of higher education in the region. Bou Saab has developed several

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

programs at AUD. He has been an active member of the

Clinton Global Initiative The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was es ...

since its inception in 2005. He created a scholarship program in President Clinton’s name to provide U.S. students the opportunity to study in the Middle East. These programs have received great support from

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum ( ar, محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم, links=no; ; born 15 July 1949) is the vice president, prime minister, and minister of defence of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as the ruler of Dubai. ...

, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai. He was a member of the founding board of directors of television station OTV, Al Mada.org news site, Fame Fm and Sawt El Mada radio station, which are the broadcasting channels of the

Free Patriotic Movement The Free Patriotic Movement ( ar, التيار الوطني الحر, ) is a Lebanese political party. Founded by Michel Aoun in 2005, the party is currently led by Aoun son-in-law Gebran Bassil since 2015. Ideology The Free Patriotic movemen ...

. He is also the co-founder of the Emirati Lebanese Friendship Association and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Young Arab Leaders.

Political career

In 2010, Bou Saab was elected President of the municipality to his native village of

located in Maten region of Mount Lebanon. He was able to raise the quality of living for the people of his village through achievements such as providing running electricity, water, and reviving the Famous Immigrant Festival of

. In February 2014, Bou Saab was named Minister of Education and Higher Education in Lebanon, one of the two representatives of Michel Aoun's

in the Tammam Salam's government. . As Minister of Education, Bou Saab was in charge of overseeing the Lebanese education system and addressing the pressing challenges created by the influx of Syrian refugees that has nearly doubled the student population in Lebanon. Bou Saab called on the international community to help resolve the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon. He proposed five action plans: creating an emergency support office in the Ministry of Education, rehabilitating existing schools and establishing new schools, incorporating all education activities under the formal education system, improving the quality of public schools, and strengthening the national education system. The plan will be implemented with international support from Global institutions such as the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education,

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

UNCHR The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a subsidiary body of t ...

, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

, DFID, and

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

. In March 2017, the President of Lebanon Michel Aoun appointed Bou Saab as his advisor on International Cooperation. he was elected in May 2018 as member of Lebanese Parliament representing Metn District on "Strong Metn" List. Since then, he is a member of the

. He was then elected Deputy Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament succeeding Elie Ferzli following the 2022 elections amid the ongoing

economic crisis An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

. Bou Saab was able to win by a slim margin of 50.78% of the

vote Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an Constituency, electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision making, decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election camp ...

after a 2 round vote took place.

Personal life

He is Married to the renowned singer

Julia Boutros Julia Boutros ( ar, جوليا بطرس; born April 1, 1968) is a Lebanese singer rose to prominence in the 1980s with a series of songs like "Ghabet Shams El Haq" and "Wein el Malayeen". She is also the sister of Ziad Boutros and the wife of t ...

and has two sons, Samer and Tarek.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bou Saab, Elias 1967 births Living people Free Patriotic Movement politicians Defense ministers of Lebanon Education ministers of Lebanon Mayors of places in Lebanon People named in the Panama Papers Lebanese people of Armenian descent Greek Orthodox Christians from Lebanon People from Dhour El Choueir