Hussein Al Oweini ( ar, حسين العويني; 24 December 1900 – 11 January 1971) was a Lebanese businessman and politician who served as Prime Minister of Lebanon twice. He also held other cabinet positions.

Early life

Oweini was born in 1900. He hailed from a Sunni family based in

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 ...

Career

Oweini worked in Saudi Arabia as a business agent for the

House of Saud The House of Saud ( ar, آل سُعُود, ʾĀl Suʿūd ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi state (1727–1818), and ...

from 1923 to 1947. He founded a company, Ne'ma Te'ma, in Riyadh. He had also business investments in Beirut and was one of the shareholders of

Air Liban Middle East Airlines – Air Liban S.A.L. ( ar, طيران الشرق الأوسط ـ الخطوط الجوية اللبنانية ''Ṭayyarān al-Sharq al-Awsaṭ – al-Khuṭūṭ al-jawiyyah al-lubnāniyyah''), more commonly known as Middle ...

through the Busson Group. The other members of the Busson Group included Antoine Sahnawi, Michel Khattar and Georges Karam. Oweini was the

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 July 1948 to June 1951. He was first appointed interim prime minister on 14 February 1951 under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Bechara El Khoury succeeding Riad Al Solh in the post. Oweini was in office until 7 April 1951 and succeeded by

Abdullah Yafi Abdallah El-Yafi ( ar, عبد الله اليافي - also transliterated as Abdallah Yafi, Abdallah Bey Aref el-Yafi and other variants; 7 September 1901 – 4 November 1986) was the Prime Minister of Lebanon serving twelve times between ...

. In 1951 Oweini cofounded

BLOM Bank BLOM BANK ( French: Banque du Liban et D’Outre Mer; Arabic: بنك لبنان والمهجر) is a Lebanese bank established in 1951 and has been frequently selected as the Best Bank in Lebanon by the most recognized regional and international ...

in Lebanon. On 27 September 1957, Oweini and two other former prime ministers, Saeb Salam and

Abdallah El-Yafi Abdallah El-Yafi ( ar, عبد الله اليافي - also transliterated as Abdallah Yafi, Abdallah Bey Aref el-Yafi and other variants; 7 September 1901 – 4 November 1986) was the Prime Minister of Lebanon serving twelve times between 1 ...

, were arrested on charges of planning an armed coup and riots during the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

held in May. Oweini's second term as prime minister was from 20 February 1964 to 25 July 1965 under President

Charles Helou Charles Helou ( ar, شارل الحلو; 25 September 1913 – 7 January 2001) was a Lebanese politician and President of Lebanon from 1964 to 1970. Early life and education Born in Beirut on 25 September 1913, Helou was the scion of a powerf ...

. Both his predecessor and successor was Rashid Karami as prime minister. Oweini was the leader of the National Front. He also served as the minister of foreign affairs and emigrants for three separate terms, from 1958 to 1960, in 1965, and 1968 to 1969. During his third term as foreign minister, Oweini also acted as minister of national defense.

Personal life and death

One of Oweini's daughter is Nada Oweini who is one of the shareholders of the BLOM Bank and the wife of Saudi-Lebanese businessman Ghassan Chaker. Oweini died on 11 January 1971, aged 70. After his death, the Hussein Al Oweini Award was initiated in his honor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oweini, Hussein 20th-century Lebanese businesspeople 1900 births 1971 deaths Defense ministers of Lebanon Finance ministers of Lebanon Foreign ministers of Lebanon Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Government ministers of Lebanon Lebanese corporate directors Lebanese Sunni Muslims Politicians from Beirut Prime Ministers of Lebanon Lebanese bankers