Issam Fares (born 1937) is a Lebanese businessman, a former member of the Lebanese Parliament and deputy prime minister of Lebanon. In 1954, at the age of seventeen, Fares left his homeland and found a job as a clerk at a catering and food services firm in Qatar. Two years later, he was heading Abela Group’s finances and subsequently managing its operations in Pakistan, Kuwait, Iran and Saudi Arabia. At age 38, Fares went into business for himself and established a civil engineering and construction firm, which completed many notable projects including the world's longest international bridge, which connects

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. He then sold the company to

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...

, and used the proceeds to buy up Houston-based investment firm, Wedge Group, a company that he heads today.

Early life

Issam Michael Fares was born in Tripoli, Lebanon, in 1937. He was educated at Tripoli College, and graduated in 1954.

Career

In the general elections of 2000, Fares won the seat of Akkar, the first district of the North Lebanon. He served as deputy prime minister 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 ...

from 2000 to 2005. Prior to that his career spans four decades in the Persian Gulf, specifically Saudi Arabia, where he began with Abela Catering and then Ballast Needam. By the early 1970s Fares was playing a key role in the infrastructure buildout of Saudi Arabia, including roads and housing.

The Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies The Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies is an interdisciplinary education and research organization founded in 2001, devoted to the regional study of the Eastern Mediterranean within the greater Middle East. The Center is part of The F ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

, and the

Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs The Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI) is located at the American University of Beirut (AUB). This independent institute develops policy research in the Arab region and provides a space for the exchange of ideas ...

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 ...

(AUB) are named after him. He operates the

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

based WEDGE Group.

Personal life

Issam Fares owns one of the 200 largest superyachts in the world, the Wedge Too. It has a length of 65m (213’25") and was designed by

Philippe Starck Philippe Starck (; born 18 January 1949) is a French industrial architect and designer known for his wide range of designs, including interior design, architecture, household objects, furniture, boats and other vehicles. Life Starck was born on ...

. It was built in 2002 in the Netherlands. Fares has donated over a billion dollars to various political, educational and philanthropic institutions. Fares is married to Hala Fares."Superyacht Wedge Too"
''Super Yacht Fan''. Accessed 5 April 2016. Their daughter Noor Fares is a jewelry designer, married the artist Alexandre Al Khawam in 2015, and lives in

Belgravia Belgravia () is a Districts of London, district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' Tudor Period, during the ...

, London. Their son Nijad Fares is married to Zeina, and they live in Houston, Texas, US.

References

External links

Issam Fares home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fares, Issam 20th-century Lebanese businesspeople 21st-century Lebanese businesspeople 1937 births Living people Members of the Parliament of Lebanon Deputy prime ministers of Lebanon Eastern Orthodox Christians from Lebanon Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Knights of St. Gregory the Great Recipients of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece) Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise Grand Officers of the National Order of the Cedar Recipients of the Order of Saint Ignatius of Antioch People from Tripoli, Lebanon