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 economy and trade, minister of tourism, minister of health and minister for the displaced.
He served as a member of the
Lebanese parliament until his resignation, on 5 August 2020, after the
explosions in Beirut claiming that the government was "ineffective" to handle the incident.
Early life and education
Marwan Hamadeh, also written as Marouan Hamadé (preferred French transliteration), 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
Baakleen
Baakleen or Baakline ( ar, بعقلين) is a major Druze town located in Mount Lebanon, Chouf District, 45 kilometers southeast of Beirut. Altitude 850 – 920 meters high, population is 30,000, area 14 square km, number of homes 2,870. Bord ...
,
Chouf district, on 11 September 1939.
His step brother, Ali Hamadeh, is a journalist who was a member of Saad Hariri’s political party and is married to Nadine Jabbour Hamade. His sister,
Nadia Tueni
Nadia Mohammad Ali Hamade (July 8, 1935 – June 20, 1983) was a Lebanese Francophone poet, who authored numerous volumes of poetry.
Early life
Nadia Mohammad Ali Hamadeh was born in Beirut in 1935, to a Lebanese Druze father, Mohammed Ali Ham ...
, a notable author and French poet, was married to
Ghassan Tueni
Ghassan Tueni ( ar, غسان تويني; 5 January 1926 – 8 June 2012) was a veteran Lebanese journalist, politician and diplomat who headed ''An Nahar'', one of the Arab World's leading newspapers. He was often referred to as the "Dean ...
, former UN ambassador and senior editor of the Lebanese daily, ''
An Nahar
''An-Nahar'' ( ar, النهار, lit=The Day or The Morning) is a leading Arabic-language daily newspaper published in Lebanon. In the 1980s, ''An-Nahar'' was described by the ''New York Times'' and ''Time Magazine'' as the newspaper of record fo ...
''. Their son, and Hamadeh's nephew,
Gebran Tueni
Gebran Ghassan Tueni ( ar, جبران تويني; 15 September 1957 – 12 December 2005) was a Lebanese politician and the former editor and publisher of daily paper ''An Nahar'', established by his grandfather, also named Gebran Tueni, ...
, was assassinated in a car bombing in Beirut in December 2005.
Hamadeh holds a law degree, which he earned from
Saint Joseph University in 1963.
[ He received a PhD in economy from the same university.][
]
Career and views
Hamadeh started his career as an economic and political editor for ''An Nahar'', ''L'Orient le Jour
''L'Orient-Le Jour'' () is a leading French-language daily newspaper in Lebanon.
History
''L'Orient-Le Jour'' was first published on 15 June 1971, following the merger of two French language Lebanese dailies, ''L'Orient'' (founded in Beirut i ...
'' and ''Le Point'' in 1964 and continued to work for these papers until 1975.[ He was appointed tourism minister in 1982, and his term lasted for two years.][ He served as economy minister in the cabinet led by Prime Minister ]Omar Karami
Omar Abdul Hamid Karami (last name also spelled Karamé and Karameh) ( ar, عمر عبد الحميد كرامي; 7 September 1934 – 1 January 2015) was the 29th prime minister of Lebanon, who served two separate terms. He was Prime Minis ...
, replacing Nazih Al Bizri in the post.[ Hamadeh's term lasted from 24 December 1990 to 15 May 1992, and he was succeeded by Samir Makdasi.][ From 1992 to 1996 he served as minister of health and social affairs in the first cabinet of ]Rafik Hariri
Rafik is the given name of:
* Rafik Al-Hariri (1944–2005), business tycoon, former Prime Minister of Lebanon
* Rafik Bouderbal (born 1987), French-born Algerian player currently playing for ES Sétif in the Algerian Championnat National
* Rafik ...
.[ In the general elections of 1996 he won a seat from Chouf.][
In October 2000, Hamadeh was appointed minister for the displaced to the cabinet led by Rafik Hariri. Then he was appointed economy minister in cabinet reshuffle in 2003, replacing ]Bassel Fleihan
Bassel Fleihan (10 September 1963 – 18 April 2005; ar, باسل فليحان) was a Lebanese legislator and minister of economy and trade. He died from injuries sustained when a massive bomb exploded on the Beirut seafront as he passed by ...
. Hamadeh was one of three ministers in the cabinet, who were members of the Progressive Socialist Party
The Progressive Socialist Party ( ar, الحزب التقدمي الاشتراكي, translit=al-Hizb al-Taqadummi al-Ishtiraki) is a Lebanese political party. Its confessional base is in the Druze sect and its regional base is in Mount Lebanon ...
led 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 ...
. During this period, Hamadeh was one of the close advisors to Jumblatt.
Hamadeh was one of four members of the Lebanese Parliament who voted against the extension of president Lahoud’s term in office in September 2004.[ Hamadeh, formerly one of Syria's staunchest allies in Lebanon, became a critic of the ]Syrian occupation of Lebanon
The Syrian occupation of Lebanon ( ar, الاحتلال السوري للبنان, french: Occupation syrienne du Liban) began in 1976, during the Lebanese Civil War, and ended on 30 April 2005 after the Cedar Revolution and several demonstrati ...
after the Resolution 1559 was passed in 2005. Hamadeh and the same three other cabinet members, namely culture minister Ghazi Aridi
Ghazi Aridi (born 17 October 1954) is a Lebanese people, 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 Dru ...
, 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, also resigned from office on 7 September 2004 in protest at the constitutional amendment that allowed the three-year extension of then President Émile Lahoud
Émile Jamil Lahoud (born 12 January 1936) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 16th president of Lebanon from 1998 to 2007. His main foreign-policy achievement was to end the Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon in May 2000, which was ...
's term. Finance Minister Fouad Siniora replaced Hamadeh as acting economy minister. From 19 July 2005 to 11 July 2008 Hamadeh served as minister of telecommunications.
In the general elections of 2009, Hamadeh won a seat from the Chouf district.
Assassination attempt
Hamadeh was injured in a car bomb explosion in west 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 ...
on 1 October 2004 that killed his bodyguard and injured his driver.[ The blast is considered to have been the beginning of series of assassinations of Lebanese politicians and journalists, mostly anti-Syrian figures.][
Then Syrian vice president ]Abdul Halim Khaddam
Abdul Halim Khaddam ( ; ar, عبد الحليم خدام; 15 September 1932 – 31 March 2020) was a Syrian politician who was Vice President of Syria and "High Commissioner" to Lebanon from 1984 to 2005. He was long known as a loyalist of Hafez ...
visited Hamadeh at the American University of Beirut Medical Center after the attack.
Personal life
Hamadeh is married to Vanda Barakat and has two children from his first wife, Karim Hamadeh, who has two children, and Rania Hamadeh Gemayel. From his daughter Gemayel, Hamadeh has two grandchildren.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamadeh, Marwan
1939 births
Living people
Saint Joseph University alumni
People from Chouf District
Lebanese Druze
Members of the Parliament of Lebanon
Government ministers of Lebanon
Lebanese journalists
Survivors of terrorist attacks
Tueni family
Progressive Socialist Party politicians