Hussein Al Oweini

Summary

Hussein Al Oweini (Arabic: حسين العويني; 24 December 1900 – 11 January 1971) was a Lebanese businessman and politician who served as Prime Minister of Lebanon twice.[1] He also held other cabinet positions.

Hussein Al Oweini
Prime Minister of Lebanon
In office
20 February 1964 – 25 July 1965
PresidentCharles Helou
Preceded byRashid Karami
Succeeded byRashid Karami
Interim Prime Minister of Lebanon
In office
14 February 1951 – 7 April 1951
PresidentBechara El Khoury
Preceded byRiad Al Solh
Succeeded byAbdullah Arif Yafi
Personal details
Born(1900-12-24)24 December 1900
Beirut, Ottoman Empire
Died11 January 1971(1971-01-11) (aged 70)
Beirut, Lebanon
Signature

Early life edit

Oweini was born in 1900.[2] He hailed from a Sunni family based in Beirut.[3]

Career edit

Oweini worked in Saudi Arabia as a business agent for the House of Saud from 1923 to 1947.[4] He founded a company, Ne'ma Te'ma, in Riyadh.[5] He had also business investments in Beirut and was one of the shareholders of Air Liban through the Busson Group.[6] The other members of the Busson Group included Antoine Sahnawi, Michel Khattar, and Georges Karam.[6] Oweini was also one of the owners of a local insurance company which was the representative of the French insurance company Union Nationale.[6]

Oweini was the minister of finance from July 1948 to June 1951.[7] He was first appointed interim prime minister on 14 February 1951 under President Bechara El Khoury[3][8] succeeding Riad Al Solh in the post.[9][10] Oweini was in office until 7 April 1951 and succeeded by Abdullah Yafi.[2] In 1951 Oweini cofounded BLOM Bank in Lebanon.[11]

On 27 September 1957, Oweini and two other former prime ministers, Saeb Salam and Abdallah El-Yafi, were arrested on charges of planning an armed coup and riots during the elections held in May.[12] Oweini's second term as prime minister was from 20 February 1964 to 25 July 1965 under President Charles Helou.[13][14] Both his predecessor and successor was Rashid Karami as prime minister.[2] Oweini was the leader of the National Front.[15] 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.[16]

Personal life and death edit

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.[11] Oweini died on 11 January 1971, aged 70.[17] After his death, the Hussein Al Oweini Award was initiated in his honor.[18]

References edit

  1. ^ Elie Salem (Autumn 1967). "Cabinet Politics in Lebanon". The Middle East Journal. 21 (4): 490. JSTOR 4324201.
  2. ^ a b c "Rulers of Lebanon". Jewish Library. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  3. ^ a b R. Hrair Dekmejian (1975). Patterns of Political Leadership: Egypt, Israel, Lebanon. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-87395-291-0.
  4. ^ Saad Mehio (9 July 2002). "Prime Minister Alwaleed bin Talal? For what?". The Daily Star. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  5. ^ "Riyadh's guest". Ain Al Yaqeen. 21 April 2000. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  6. ^ a b c Fawwaz Traboulsi (2012). A History of Modern Lebanon (2nd ed.). London: Pluto Press. pp. 119–120. doi:10.2307/j.ctt183p4f5. ISBN 9780745332741. JSTOR j.ctt183p4f5.
  7. ^ "Former Ministers". 18 December 2019. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019.
  8. ^ Wassim Mroueh (14 June 2011). "Looking back on almost 7 decades of Cabinet crises". The Daily Star. Beirut. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  9. ^ Hani A. Bazzi (1964). The Lebanese Executive between 1934 and 1963 (MA thesis). American University of Beirut. p. 43. ProQuest 2323545294.
  10. ^ "Developments of the Quarter: Comment and Chronology". The Middle East Journal. 5 (2): 209. Spring 1951. JSTOR 4322271.
  11. ^ a b Joseph Daher (2022). "Lebanon, how the post-war's political economy led to the current economic and social crisis" (Report). European University Institute. p. 14. doi:10.2870/824020. hdl:1814/73856. ISBN 9789294661791.
  12. ^ Samir Khalaf (2002). Civil and Uncivil Violence in Lebanon: A History of the Internationalization of Communal Contact. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-231-50536-9.
  13. ^ George W. Cornell (2 December 1964). "Welcome Pope". The Evening News. Bombay. AP. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  14. ^ "Bridge stamps of Lebanon". Bridge Guys. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  15. ^ Wilton Wynn (22 July 1958). "Lebanon leader predicts US troop removal". Ellensburg Daily Record. Beirut. Associated Press. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  16. ^ "New peace plan for Middle East offered". The Dispatch. United Press International. 2 January 1969. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  17. ^ MEED. Economic East Economic Digest, Limited. 1971. p. 75.
  18. ^ "Zahraa Shait". American University of Beirut. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2013.

External links edit

  •   Media related to Hussein Al Oweini at Wikimedia Commons
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Lebanon
1951
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Lebanon
1964–1965
Succeeded by
Rashid Karami