Kheireddine Abdul Wahab
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Kheireddine Abdul Wahab (1878 – January 1944) was a Lebanese businessman and
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of the city of
El Mina El-Mina or El Mina (Arabic: الميناء / ALA-LC: ''al-Mīnā’'', which means "the harbour"), is a coastal independent town in Tripoli, Northern Lebanon. El-Mina occupies the location of the old Phoenician city of Tripoli. It acts as the ha ...
, who played a pivotal role in the establishment of Lebanon's second largest harbor, at Tripoli, as well as founding the Piloting & Harboring company, which oversees present-day harbor activities.


Biography

Abdul Wahab was born the son of a sailor in the northern city of
El Mina El-Mina or El Mina (Arabic: الميناء / ALA-LC: ''al-Mīnā’'', which means "the harbour"), is a coastal independent town in Tripoli, Northern Lebanon. El-Mina occupies the location of the old Phoenician city of Tripoli. It acts as the ha ...
, which was then known as Al-Askaleh, during Ottoman rule. Wahab received little schooling, and became a foreman on the El Mina docks, where merchant ships used smaller, local boats to onload and offload cargo. This was a lengthy, and labor-intensive process, and Abdul Wahab, with the help of his brother Adel, and enjoying the advantage of having a large family, the Abdul Wahabs, came to dominate the El Mina harbour labour force during the first decade of the 20th century, seeing Kheireddine himself become the owner of the small loading boats, leveraging his labour advantage. In 1914, with
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
imminent, the importance of vital harbors became apparent. Kheireddine enjoyed good relations with the Ottomans at the time, and with political backing was the first, and to this day, the only man who leased one of Lebanon's islands, Cows island (today known as Abdul Wahab Island), as his ship construction site. This was the beginning of a long history of shipping, that extended between
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
and Aleppo, branching out into commercial transport, import and export, in addition to the piloting and harboring business in El Mina. By the end of the war and the inception of the
French Mandate The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (french: Mandat pour la Syrie et le Liban; ar, الانتداب الفرنسي على سوريا ولبنان, al-intidāb al-fransi 'ala suriya wa-lubnān) (1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate fou ...
on
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 Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
, Abdul Wahab had switched camps, and had helped Allied forces during the war through using his shipping business and in his status as a respected figure in the region. Among other tasks, he served as a proxy to assist the Allies in smuggling arms, ammunition and food behind enemy lines. With the end of war in 1918, the French mandate modernized many outlets in Lebanon, one of which was the construction of the "Grumpk" key, as well as deepening the waters and the construction of a modern harbor in
Tripoli, Lebanon Tripoli ( ar, طرابلس/ ALA-LC: ''Ṭarābulus'', Lebanese Arabic: ''Ṭrablus'') is the largest city in northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in the country. Situated north of the capital Beirut, it is the capital of the North Gove ...
, that still stands today. The project was contracted to a French corporation, which in turn subcontracted it to the local businesses, including Abdul Wahab's. The mandate then issued him the exclusive right of providing piloting, harboring, and fresh water supply services within Tripoli harbor waters. The French mandate appointed Kheireddine Abdul Wahab as mayor of the newly established city of Al-Askaleh, a position which he held for 20 years until his death. In his later years, and after forming the Kheireddine and Adel Abdul Wahab Holding company, which at one point was a major owner of Al-Askaleh business and real estate, Abdul Wahab retired and took to philanthropy until his death in January 1944.


References

*''"Yawmiyat Madinah"'' (Diaries of a City) - By J. Touma, Jarousse Press 2003. *''"El-Mina - Tarikh w Tourath" '' (El Mina: History and Culture) - By A. Kabbara, Dar El-Chamal Press 2006.


See also

*
El Mina, Lebanon El-Mina or El Mina (Arabic: الميناء / ALA-LC: ''al-Mīnā’'', which means "the harbour"), is a coastal independent town in Tripoli, Northern Lebanon. El-Mina occupies the location of the old Phoenician city of Tripoli. It acts as the ha ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdul Wahab, Kheireddine 1878 births 1944 deaths People from Tripoli, Lebanon Dock workers from the Ottoman Empire