Akram Ojjeh (; 21 April 1918 – 28 October 1991) was a

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

businessman. Ojjeh was an intermediary in deals between Saudi Arabia and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, particularly arms sales. Ojjeh founded

Techniques d'Avant Garde TAG Group (Holdings) S.A. is a private holding company based in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. The name 'TAG' is an acronym of Techniques d'Avant Garde. The company generates revenue through its various subsidiaries that offer products and services ...

, an investment company focused on advanced technologies.

Techniques d'Avant Garde, (TAG)

Ojjeh founded

, an investment company focused on advanced technologies. TAG Group (Holdings) S.A. generates revenue through its various subsidiaries that offer products and services in the business aviation, motorsports, hospitality, consumer products and real estate industries. TAG was formed in 1977 and was led by Akram's son Mansour until his death in 2021. In 1985, TAG Group (Holdings) S.A. purchased Swiss watchmaker Heuer. TAG Group combined the TAG and Heuer brands to create the

TAG Heuer TAG Heuer S.A., founded Heuer AG ( ) is a Swiss luxury watchmaker. Founded in 1860 by Edouard Heuer in St-Imier, Switzerland, it was acquired by Techniques d'Avant Garde (TAG) in 1985, which purchased a majority stake in the company, forming ' ...

brand and also gave its newly acquired watchmaking subsidiary the combined TAG Heuer name. Under TAG Group's ownership, TAG Heuer modernised its product line and significantly increased worldwide sales.

LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational holding company and conglomerate that specializes in luxury goods and has its headquarters in Paris, France. The company was formed in 1987 through the ...

purchased the TAG Heuer subsidiary in 1999 for US$740 million. TAG Group is now primarily a holding company for Ojjeh shareholdings in TAG Aviation and MTG.

Al-Yamamah arms deal

Ojjeh was involved in the marketing of the French

Mirage 2000 The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, delta wing, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French ...

fighter jet to Saudi Arabia in competition with the British

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

Adnan Khashoggi Adnan Khashoggi (; 25 July 1935 – 6 June 2017) was a Saudi businessman and arms dealer known for his business dealings, extensive geopolitical influence, and opulent lifestyle, which earned him the moniker "''The Jay Gatsby, Great Gatsby ...

said in 1994 that Ojjeh was persuaded by the British sales team to "drop his role as 'fixer' for the French."

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft manufacturer, aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. ...

went on to win what became the

Al-Yamamah arms deal Al Yamamah () is the name of a series of record arms sales by the United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia, paid for by the delivery of up to of crude oil per day to the UK government, British government. The prime contractor has been BAE Systems and i ...

SS ''France'' liner

Akram Ojjeh purchased the ocean liner SS ''France'' in October 24, 1977, for 80 million francs. On June 25, 1979, he sold her to

Knut Kloster Knut Utstein Kloster (2 April 1929 – 20 September 2020) was a Norwegian shipping magnate. His grandfather, Lauritz Kloster, founded Kloster Rederi in 1924. In 1959, Kloster joined the family business and transformed it into a leading cruise lin ...

, the owner of

Norwegian Caribbean Line Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) is an American cruise line founded in Norway in 1966, headquartered in Miami, Florida, and incorporated in the Bahamas. It is the fourth-largest cruise line in the world by passengers, controlling about 8.6% of the to ...

, for 77 million francs.

Personal life

Ojjeh is of

Damascene Damascene may refer to: * Topics directly associated with the city of Damascus in Syria: ** A native or inhabitant of Damascus ** Damascus Arabic, the local dialect of Damascus ** Damascus steel, developed for swordmaking ** "Damascene moment", the ...

origin. He married four times. He was first married to a French woman with whom he had five children, including Mansour and Aziz. He later married Nahed Tlass (born 1958), who is the daughter of former Syrian Defense Minister

Mustafa Tlass Mustafa Abdul Qadir Tlass (; 11 May 1932 – 27 June 2017) was a Syrian military officer, author, historian and politician who was Ba'athist Syria's minister of defense from 1972 to 2004. He was part of the four-member Regional Command during th ...

Awards

In the 1970s, the French awarded Ojjeh with one of their highest state orders,

Commander of the Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

References