Fouad Siniora
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Fouad Siniora ( ar, فؤاد السنيورة, translit=Fu'ād as-Sanyūrah; born 19 July 1943) is a Lebanese politician, a former
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
of
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
, a position he held from 19 July 2005 to 25 May 2008. He stepped down on 9 November 2009 in favor of
Saad Hariri Saad El-Din Rafik Al-Hariri ( ar, سعد الدين رفيق الحريري, translit=Saʿd ad-Dīn Rafīq al-Ḥarīrī; born 18 April 1970) is a Lebanese-Saudi politician who served as the prime minister of Lebanon from 2009 to 2011 and 2016 ...
, the late Rafik Hariri's son. He is the leader of the parliamentary group of the Future Movement.


Early career

In the 1970s, Sanioura worked for
Citibank Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City ...
and taught at the
American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...
, his alma mater, and at the
Lebanese University The Lebanese University (LU) (, ) is the only public university in Beirut, Lebanon. It is ranked #701–750 worldwide in terms of education. The creation of the Lebanese University was an idea first mentioned in the speech of the former Minist ...
.


Member of National Assembly

He served as minister of state for financial affairs from 1992 to 1998, and as
minister of finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
from 2000 to 2004.


Prime minister

After the victory of the anti-Syrian opposition in
parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
held in May and June 2005, Fuad Siniora was asked by President Lahoud on 30 June 2005 to form a government. He resigned from the chairmanship of Group Méditerranée (a banking holding controlled by the Hariri family). After laborious negotiations with the President and the different political forces, Siniora formed a government on 19 July 2005.


2006 Lebanon War

On 12 July 2006, Hezbollah launched a deadly cross-border attack against Israel Israel started a 33-day heavy bombardment and land invasion of Lebanon, also known as the
2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...
. On 27 July 2006, Siniora, seeking to end the conflict, presented a seven-point
Siniora Plan The Siniora Plan was the unofficial name of the 7-point truce plan for the 2006 Lebanon War (the July War) that was presented by Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Siniora at the 15-nation conference in Rome on 27 July 2006. The Siniora Plan called ...
at a 15-nation conference in Rome. Siniora also called for an
Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...
meeting in Beirut. During a televised address at the conference, he famously "sobbed" as he described the effects of the war on the Lebanese people.


Events leading to the Doha Agreement

On 13 November 2006, Shiite ministers backed by
Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...
and
Amal Amal may refer to: * Amal (given name) * Åmål, a small town in Sweden * Amal Movement, a Lebanese political party ** Amal Militia, Amal Movement's defunct militia * Amal language of Papua New Guinea * Amal (film), ''Amal'' (film), 2007, directed ...
resigned from Siniora's cabinet. This took place on the eve of the day when the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), also referred to as the Lebanon Tribunal or the Hariri Tribunal, is a tribunal of international character applying Lebanese criminal law to carry out the investigation and prosecution of those responsib ...
trying the murderers of Rafik Hariri was to be discussed in a cabinet meeting. Although there were only six resigning ministers, nearly 40% of the Lebanese MPs are in the opposition. The Lebanese opposition claimed that this resignation meant that the Siniora Government was not a legitimate one because it did not represent all religious groups in Lebanon, namely the Shiite Lebanese. According to the constitution, the government is legal as long as it has two-thirds of the ministers, and so the majority believed the Siniora government was still a totally legal cabinet. On 1 December 2006, the parliamentary minority, primarily the pro-Syrian parties of Amal, Hezbollah and 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 movement ...
of Michael Aoun launched a campaign of street demonstrations with the goal of getting veto power in the government. The country was further put into paralysis when the opposition refused to attend the parliament and vote for a new president, after Emile Lahoud's presidential term expired. This meant the Fuad Siniora was an acting president until the new president was voted in. On 7 May 2008, Hizbollah, Amal and the
Syrian Social Nationalist Party The Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) or is a Syrian nationalist party operating in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine. It advocates the establishment of a Greater Syrian nation state spanning the Fertile Crescent, including present ...
, among others, launched an armed strike against Beirut. The
Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport (Arabic: مطار رفيق الحريري الدولي بيروت, (previously known as Beirut International Airport) () is the only operational commercial airport in Lebanon, which is located in the ...
, the Government's Grand Serail, and houses of Majority leaders, Saad Hariri and
Walid Jumblatt Walid Kamal Jumblatt ( ar, وليد جنبلاط; born 7 August 1949) is a Lebanese Druze politician and former militia commander who has been leading the Progressive Socialist Party since 1977. While leading the Lebanese National Resistance ...
, were all put under siege. Mount Lebanon was also attacked in the operation. Vengeance attacks broke out in other areas of Lebanon.


Personal life

Siniora is known for his interest in Arab literature and poetry.


See also

* First Cabinet of Fouad Siniora * Position of Lebanon in the 2006 Lebanon War *
Siniora Plan The Siniora Plan was the unofficial name of the 7-point truce plan for the 2006 Lebanon War (the July War) that was presented by Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Siniora at the 15-nation conference in Rome on 27 July 2006. The Siniora Plan called ...


Notes


References


External links


Official Website: Fuad Siniora

Profile: Fuad Siniora
''BBC News'', 28 May 2008
Siniora reappointed as Lebanon PM
''BBC News'', 28 May 2008 * Siniora, Fua

''Washington Post'', 9 August 2006 , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Siniora, Fouad 1943 births American University of Beirut alumni Finance ministers of Lebanon Future Movement politicians Lebanese Sunni Muslims Living people Members of the Parliament of Lebanon People from Sidon Prime Ministers of Lebanon