Mohammad Safadi ( ar, محمد الصفدي; born 28 March 1944) is a Lebanese businessman who served as minister of finance under

Najib Mikati Najib Azmi Mikati ( ar, نجيب عزمي ميقاتي; born 24 November 1955) is a Lebanese politician and businessman, and three-time Prime Minister of Lebanon whose current term began in September 2021. He also serves as the acting President ...

between 2011 and 2014. He was also the minister of economy and trade from 2008 to 2011.

Early life and education

Safadi was born in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

, Lebanon, on 28 March 1944 to Sunni family. His family are businesspeople, running their own firm in Tripoli. He is a graduate of the American University of Beirut where he received a bachelor's degree in business administration in February 1968.

Business career

Safadi began his career in the private sector in Lebanon in 1969. In 1975 when the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

broke out in Lebanon, he began to invest in

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 ...

. Therefore, he has many business investments in Saudi Arabia most of which included the construction of residential compounds. He expanded his business across the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

and into Europe in Saudi Arabia. He also worked as business manager in London for Prince Turki bin Nasser, a member of House of Saud. Safadi established Safadi Group Holding in Lebanon in the 1990s.

Political career

Safadi was first elected to the Lebanese Parliament in 2000 as part of the Tripoli bloc. He served as the minister of public works and transport from 19 July 2005 to July 2008. Safadi also served as acting energy and water minister in 2007 and in 2008. Next, he was appointed minister of economy and trade on 11 July 2008 to the cabinet headed by Fouad Siniora. He was reelected member of parliament in the

2009 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2009. * Electoral calendar 2009 * 2009 United Nations Security Council election Caribbean * 2009 Antiguan general election * 2009 Aruban general election * 2009 Caymanian constitutional referendu ...

on the list of the

March 14 alliance The March 14 Alliance ( ar, تحالف 14 آذار, taḥāluf 14 adhār}), named after the date of the Cedar Revolution, is a coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon formed in 2005 that are united by their anti-Syrian stance ...

. Safadi was appointed minister of economy and trade to the cabinet of

Saad Hariri Saad El-Din Rafik Al-Hariri ( ar, سعد الدين رفيق الحريري, translit=Saʿd ad-Dīn Rafīq al-Ḥarīrī; born 18 April 1970) is a Lebanese-Saudi politician who served as the prime minister of Lebanon from 2009 to 2011 and 2016 ...

on 9 November 2009, and his tenure lasted until June 2011. Safadi did not support for Saad Hariri in the 2011 cabinet formation talks with

Lebanese President The President of the Lebanese Republic ( ar, رئيس الجمهورية اللبنانية, rayiys aljumhuriat allubnania; french: Président de la République Libanaise) is the head of state of Lebanon. The president is elected by the parliame ...

Michel Suleiman Michel Suleiman ( ar, ميشال سليمان ; born 21 November 1948) is a Lebanese Maronite Christian politician who served as President of Lebanon from 2008 to 2014. Before becoming president, he served as commander of the Lebanese Armed Forc ...

. Instead, he voted for

during cabinet formation consultations in January 2011. Therefore, he broke with his March 14 allies and sided with the Hezbollah-led

March 8 coalition The March 8 Alliance ( ar, تحالف 8 آذار, taḥāluf 8 adhār}) is a coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon formed in 2005 that are united by their pro-Syrian stance and their opposition to the March 14 Alliance. It ...

along with Mikati. Safadi became an ally of Mikati after this event. Safadi served as the minister of finance from 13 June 2011 to February 2014 in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Najib Mikati. Within the cabinet, Safadi was part of the group appointed by the Prime Minister and an independent or non-affiliated minister in the Mikati's cabinet. In October 2012, '' As Safir'' reported that Safadi would not participate in the 2013 parliamentary elections in Tripoli possibly due to health concerns. Safadi chairs the steering committee of the Middle East Regional Technical Assistance Committee (METAC) of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...

. He was also the head of the Lebanese-German Parliamentary Friendship Committee and a member of the Economy Commission at the Parliament. Safadi's term as finance minister ended in February 2014 when

Ali Hassan Khalil Ali Hassan Khalil ( ar, علي حسن خليل; born 15 July 1964) is a Lebanese politician, Member of Parliament, and former Minister of Finance. Khalil is described as the "second most powerful man" in Amal behind Parliament Speaker Nabih ...

was appointed to the post. In November 2019, amidst the

2019–20 Lebanese protests The 17 October Protests, commonly referred to as the 17 October Revolution () is a series of civil protests taking place in Lebanon. These national protests were triggered by planned taxes on gasoline, tobacco, and VoIP calls on applications ...

, Safadi was tapped as the next Prime Minister of Lebanon, to succeed Saad Hariri. Safadi withdrew his candidacy on 16 November, stating that it would have been difficult to form a harmonious cabinet.

Controversy

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' reported that Safadi involved in Al Yamama arms deal through an anonymous

offshore company The term "offshore company" or “offshore corporation” is used in at least two distinct and different ways. An offshore company may be a reference to: * a company, group or sometimes a division thereof, which engages in offshoring business pr ...

, Poseidon. The company was allegedly used to transfer money to Safadi, who was working for Prince Turki bin Nasser, Saudi royal and an air force officer at that time.Lebanese billionaire is drawn into BAE arms deal inquiry as 'second middleman for Saudis'
2 December 2006, ''The Guardian''

Personal life

On 5 October 2015, Safadi married Violette Khaïrallah. He has two children from a previous marriage. His son, Ramzi, died in a car crash in England on 10 March 2008. Safadi established a foundation entitled the Safadi Foundation in 2000. It provides health, educational, and social services.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Safadi, Mohammad 20th-century Lebanese businesspeople 21st-century Lebanese businesspeople 1944 births American University of Beirut alumni Finance ministers of Lebanon Economy and Trade ministers of Lebanon Lebanese corporate directors Lebanese Sunni Muslims Living people Members of the Parliament of Lebanon People from Tripoli, Lebanon Future Movement politicians