Henri Philippe Pharaon (هنري فيليب فرعون; also referred to in some sources as Henry Pharon) (1901 – August 6, 1993), was a Lebanese

art collector A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

, sportsman, politician, and businessman. He played a crucial role in securing Lebanon's independence from France and served as

foreign minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

and other cabinet positions.

Biography

Pharaon was born the son of Philippe Pharaon a wealthy Lebanese Melkite Catholic merchant in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. Four years later his family moved to

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 ...

, where he was educated in Jesuit schools. He attended college in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and received a law degree at Lyons University in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Pharaon married Noelie Cassar, heiress of a wealthy Maltese family from

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

, in 1922, while he was national tennis champion of Lebanon. They had one son, Naji Henri. Probably the richest man in Lebanon during much of his lifetime, he helped to found independent Lebanon and designed the

Lebanese flag The national flag of Lebanon ( ar, علم لبنان) is formed of two horizontal red stripes enveloping a horizontal white stripe. The white stripe is twice the height (width) of the red ones (ratio 1:2:1)—a Spanish fess. The green cedar (L ...

, 0. Known as a Mediterraneanist who encouraged cooperation between Christians and Muslims, Pharaon opposed prime minister

Riad El-Solh Riad Reda Al Solh ( ar, رياض الصلح; 17 August 1894 – 17 July 1951) was the first prime minister of Lebanon after the country's independence.

and countered

pan-Arabism Pan-Arabism ( ar, الوحدة العربية or ) is an ideology that espouses the unification of the countries of North Africa and Western Asia from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea, which is referred to as the Arab world. It is closely c ...

. He served in the

Lebanese Parliament The Lebanese Parliament ( ar, مجلس النواب, translit=Majlis an-Nuwwab; french: Chambre des députés) is the national parliament of the Republic of Lebanon. There are 128 members elected to a four-year term in multi-member constit ...

from 1943 to 1946, and then as the Lebanese

intermittently from 1945 to 1947. After that, he retired from politics to focus on business interests. During the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

of 1975-1990 Pharaoun took no side. His business interests included

Banque Pharaon & Chiha Banque Pharaon & Chiha S.A.L. was a Lebanese bank, founded in 1876, and headquartered in Achrafieh, Beirut. The bank was founded by Antoine Chiha during the Lebanese Ottoman era. It was one of the oldest Lebanese banks that were still operating ...

, which he founded. During the 1950s and 1960s he owned the world's biggest racing stable of Arabian horses. Pharaon was murdered in his bedroom at the Carlton Hotel in 1993. He was stabbed 16 times; his driver and bodyguard was also found stabbed over 20 times to death at the scene. Police released a statement including the possibility of robbery as a motive for stabbing the 92-year-old man so many repeated times. A man formerly employed by Pharaon as a bodyguard was arrested for his murder. One of their palaces in Beirut was one of the landmarks of that city, and was partly destroyed during the civil war and later sold to the Saudi royal family. His former Beirut residence is now the

Robert Mouawad Private Museum The Robert Mouawad Private Museum ( ar, متحف روبير معوض الخاص) is a private residence in Beirut's Zokak el-Blat quarter that was turned into a museum by the Lebanese businessman Robert Mouawad. The palace was built in the neo-go ...

, housing a collection of Arab, Greek and Byzantine antiquities. During his lifetime Pharaon gained an international reputation as a collector of art and antiquities, many of which he amassed at the mansion located at Beirut's

Green Line Green Line may refer to: Places Military and political * Green Line (France), the German occupation line in France during World War II * Green Line (Israel), the 1949 armistice line established between Israel and its neighbours ** City Line ( ...

. According to the New York Times, the residence is a "palace

hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...

resembles a Gothic castle with a hodgepodge of Greek and Roman statues and sarcophaguses in the walled garden."

Notes

References

External links

The Robert Mouawad Museum, Beirut

Eleanor Roosevelt discusses Henri Pharaoun
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pharaoun, Henri Egyptian emigrants to Lebanon 1901 births 1993 deaths Lebanese Melkite Greek Catholics Members of the Parliament of Lebanon Government ministers of Lebanon Lebanese murder victims People murdered in Lebanon Deaths by stabbing in Lebanon Flag designers University of Lyon alumni