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 The Prime Minister of Lebanon, officially the President of the Council of Ministers, is the head of government and the head of the Council of Ministers of Lebanon. The Prime Minister is appointed by the president of Lebanon, with the consent o ...

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 Bechara El Khoury ( ar, بشارة خليل الخوري; 10 August 1890 – 11 January 1964) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 1st president of Lebanon, holding office from 21 September 1943 to 18 September 1952, apart from an 11-day ...

succeeding

Riad Al 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.

in the post. Oweini was in office until 7 April 1951 and succeeded by Abdullah Yafi. 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 Saeb Salam (17 January 1905 – 21 January 2000) ( ar, صائب سلام) was a Lebanon, Lebanese politician, who served as List of Prime Ministers of Lebanon, Prime Minister six times between 1952 and 1973. Following his death, the Lebanese ...

and Abdallah El-Yafi, 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 Rashid Abdul Hamid Karami (30 December 1921 – 1 June 1987) ( ar, رشيد كرامي) was a Lebanese statesman. He is considered one of the most important political figures in Lebanon for more than 30 years, including during much of the Lebane ...

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 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 ...

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