Bishara Merhej (born 1946) is a Lebanese journalist and politician who held various cabinet posts, including

minister of interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

. He also served at the Lebanese parliament in the 1990s.

Early life and education

Merhej was born in Beirut in 1946. He hails from a

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

family. His parents were Jamil Merhej and Salma Matar Rahbani. Merhej obtained a degree in economics 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 1967.

Career

Following his graduation Merhej first worked as a teacher. Then he began to work as a journalist and wrote articles for the economy section of '' Al Anwar''. He is cofounder of the Active Arab Front and joined the Al Baath Arab Socialist Party where he served in different capacities until 1973. In 1975 he involved in the establishment of the Assembly of Popular Leagues and Association which supported a united Lebanon and

Arab identity Arab identity () is the objective or subjective state of Identity (social science), perceiving oneself as an Arab and as relating to being Arab. Like other Cultural identity, cultural identities, it relies on a common culture, a traditional linea ...

of the country. Merhej was elected to the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in the elections of 1992 and 1996 representing Beirut. At the parliament he was a member of the human rights committee. On 31 October 1992 he was appointed interior minister to the first cabinet of

Rafik Hariri Rafic Bahaa El Deen al-Hariri (; 1 November 1944 – 14 February 2005) was a Lebanese businessman and politician who served as prime minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 to 2004. Hariri headed five cabinets during his tenu ...

who selected him to the post. In a reshuffle Merhej was named state minister on 2 September 1994. Merhej was the minister of state for administrative reform in the third cabinet of Hariri between 7 November 1996 and 4 December 1998.

Personal life

Merhej is married to Wali Grote, a physician, with who he has two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merhej, Bishara 1946 births American University of Beirut alumni Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Lebanon Region politicians Greek Orthodox Christians from Lebanon Living people Interior ministers of Lebanon Lebanese journalists Members of the Parliament of Lebanon Politicians from Beirut Ministers without portfolio of Lebanon Independent politicians in Lebanon