Afif Abdul Wahab (1915–2003) was a Lebanese medical doctor, general surgeon and urologist, businessman and philanthropist, born and raised in El Mina. After receiving his

Medical Doctorate A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

from the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

in 1941, he opened up a hospital in his hometown of El-Mina in 1946 in partnership with Joseph Yamine and Richard Jebara, for a short period before moving to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

in 1949. Again with Yamine and Jebara, Abdul Wahab opened up the first Arab-owned hospital in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

, The Lebanese Hospital in Jeddah, and was one of the first medical doctors to live and work in Saudi Arabia. In 1953 Abdul Wahab received the Saudi Citizenship from King Saud Bin Abdul Aziz, In 1962 all three partners opened another hospital in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, Ash-Sharq Hospital which was a medical contractor for ARAMCO. Abdul Wahab, along with Yamine received the National Cedars Medal from Lebanese president

Suleiman Frangieh Suleiman Kabalan Frangieh (15 June 1910 – 23 July 1992) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 5th president of Lebanon from 1970 to 1976. Early life and education Suleiman Frangieh was a scion of one of the leading Maronites, Maronite f ...

, which is the highest honor given to a Lebanese citizen. He died in January 2003, aged 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdul Wahab, Afif 1915 births 2003 deaths Lebanese emigrants to Saudi Arabia Lebanese urologists American University of Beirut alumni

See also

References