Ghazi Aridi (born 17 October 1954) is a
Lebanese politician who has held various cabinet portfolios. He was the minister of public works and transportation from 13 June 2011 to December 2013.
Early life
Aridi was born into a
Druze
The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
family in
Baisour on 17 September 1954.
Aridi studied physics at
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 ...
.
Career
Aridi is a physics teacher by education and worked in a high school in
Aley
Aley ( ar, عاليه) is a major city in Lebanon. It is the capital of the Aley District and fourth largest city in Lebanon.
The city is located on Mount Lebanon, 15 km uphill from Beirut on the freeway to Damascus. Aley has the nick ...
before dealing with politics.
[ In 1972, he joined the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) headed by ]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 ...
. In 1980, he began to serve as a special envoy of the Lebanese National Movement (LNM). He became assistant secretary of the PSP in 1983.[ He was sent to ]Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
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, relig ...
where he remained during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. In 1991, Aridi began to serve as political advisor of Walid Jumblatt.[ He returned to Lebanon in 1983 and launched a radio station, the Sawt al Jabal (]Voice of the Mountain The Voice of the Mountain ( ar, صوت الجبل, ''Sawt al-Jabal'') was a radio station operated by the Progressive Socialist Party during the Lebanese Civil War.
History and profile
Although its beginning was in 1983, the broadcasting of the '' ...
) that was the broadcast radio station of the PSP.[ He worked as its director until 1994 when it was closed.][
Aridi won the Druze seat of ]Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
's third district that was once held by Akram Chehayeb, becoming a member of parliament in 2000.[ He was part of the Hariri's electoral list, called Beirut Al Karama (Beirut Dignity).
Aridi was first appointed minister of information to the cabinet led by ]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 ...
Rafik Hariri in October 2000. Aridi served in the post until April 2003. Then he served as the minister of culture in Hariri’s fifth cabinet from 17 April 2003 to 7 September 2004.
Aridi, together with three other cabinet ministers, namely then economy minister Marwan Hamadeh
Marwan Hamadeh ( ar, مروان حمادة; born 11 September 1939) is a Lebanese journalist and politician, who served in various capacities in different cabinets, including minister of education, minister of telecommunications, minister of econ ...
, environment minister Farès Boueiz
Farès Boueiz (Arabic: فارس بويز, born 15 January 1955) is a Lebanese jurist who served as a foreign minister for two terms as well as an environment minister.
Early life and education
On 15 January 1955, Boueiz was born into a Maronite ...
and refugee affairs minister Abdullah Farhat, resigned from office on 7 September in protest of constitutional amendment that extended the term of then president Emile Lahoud
Emil or Emile may refer to:
Literature
*''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
* ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life
*''Emil and the Detective ...
. They were among the members of the Lebanese parliament, who voted against the extension of Lahoud's term. The State Minister Karam Karam replaced Aridi as acting culture minister. In the general elections of 2005, Aridi ran for office on Jumblatt's list and won a seat from the third district of Beirut.
Later Aridi served as the minister of information in Fouad Siniora
Fouad Siniora ( ar, فؤاد السنيورة, translit=Fu'ād as-Sanyūrah; born 19 July 1943) is a Lebanese politician, a former Prime Minister of Lebanon, a position he held from 19 July 2005 to 25 May 2008. He stepped down on 9 November 2009 ...
's cabinet until 2008. Next, he was appointed minister of public works and transportation to the cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in July 2008.
Aridi won a seat from the third district of Beirut in the 2009 general election as part of the 14 March alliance list. He continued to serve as minister of public works and transportation in the 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 ...
cabinet from 2009 to 2011. In the cabinet, he was a member of democratic gathering and majority alliance.
Aridi was again appointed to the same post on 13 June 2011 in the Najib Mikati
Najib Azmi Mikati ( ar, نجيب عزمي ميقاتي; born 24 November 1955) is a Lebanese politician and businessman, and three-time Prime Minister of Lebanon whose current term began in September 2021. He also serves as the acting President ...
's cabinet. As a member of the Progressive Socialist Party, he was one of the three ministers appointed the party's leader Walid Jumblatt in the cabinet. In other words, Aridi was part of the National Struggle Front in the cabinet. He resigned from the post in December 2013.
Alliances and views
Aridi is one of the most significant aides of Walid Jumblatt.[ In addition, he has been political advisor of Jumblatt since 1991.][ Aridi stated that he is a friend of ]Hassan Nasrallah
Hassan Nasrallah ( ar, حسن نصر الله ; born 31 August 1960) is a Lebanese cleric and political leader who has served as the 3rd secretary-general of Hezbollah since his predecessor, Abbas al-Musawi, was assassinated by the Israel De ...
and that he respects both him and 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 ...
.[
]
Publications
Aridi published two books: ''Words in Difficult Times'' (1992), a collection of his speeches and political comments given to radio Voice of the Mountain and ''Lebanon: A Big Price for a Small Role'' (1999), a political analysis of the situation in Lebanon and the Middle East.[
]
Personal life
Aridi is married to Yussra Salman and has a daughter and a son.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aridi, Ghazi
20th-century Lebanese writers
21st-century Lebanese writers
1954 births
Lebanese Druze
Culture ministers of Lebanon
Information ministers of Lebanon
Lebanese University alumni
Living people
Members of the Parliament of Lebanon
People from Aley District
Progressive Socialist Party politicians