Elias Nicolas Bou Saab (; born 8 September 1967) is a Lebanese politician. He was a

Minister of National Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

, Advisor to the President of Lebanon Michel Aoun on International Cooperation. He was elected Deputy speaker of the Lebanese parliament on May 31, 2022. He was also a member of the founding board of directors of television station OTV.

Early life

Elias Bou Saab was born in

Dhour El Choueir Dhour El Choueir (), sometimes Dhour Shweir, is a mountain town in Lebanon ('dhour' meaning 'summit, top f a mountain) located in the Matn District. It lies slightly north of the main Beirut - Damascus highway, overlooking the city of Beirut and ...

, located in the

Matn Matn () is an Islamic term that is used in relation to Hadith terminology. It means the text of the hadith, excluding the isnad. Use A hadith is made of both an isnad (chain of transmission) and a matn. A hadith would typically adopt the f ...

region of

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round. Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...

, to Nicolas Bou Saab and Janette Owayjan. He attended St. Joseph School in Cornet Chahwan from 1971 till 1987. After graduating from high school, Elias traveled to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to attend The American College in London to receive his Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing, where he was elected twice President of the Student Government Association. He later received his Masters of Arts in International Relations from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

in the spring of 1994. In 1992, he founded the Lebanese Graduates of Britain (LGB) and served as its first president.

Career

Elias Bou Saab founded the American University in Dubai in 1995. He is the Executive Vice President and has overseen the university's development into one of the premier institutions of higher education in the region. Bou Saab has developed several

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

programs at AUD. He has been an active member of the

Clinton Global Initiative The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was e ...

since its inception in 2005. He created a scholarship program in President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

's name to provide U.S. students the opportunity to study in the Middle East. These programs have received great support from

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (; born 15 July 1949) is an Emirati politician and royal who is the current ruler of Dubai, and serves as the vice president and prime minister of the UAE. Mohammed succeeded his brother Maktoum bin Rashid ...

, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Ruler of Dubai. He was a member of the founding board of directors of television station OTV, Al Mada.org news site, Fame Fm and Sawt El Mada radio station, which are the broadcasting channels of the

Free Patriotic Movement The Free Patriotic Movement (, ) is a Lebanese political party. Founded by Michel Aoun in 1994, the party is currently led by Aoun's son-in-law Gebran Bassil since 2015. History Background For many years, while Michel Aoun was and exiled i ...

. He is also the co-founder of the Emirati Lebanese Friendship Association and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Young Arab Leaders.

Political career

In 2010, Bou Saab was elected President of the municipality to his native village of Dhour El Choueir. He was able to raise the quality of living for the people of his village through achievements such as providing running electricity, water, and reviving the Famous Immigrant Festival of Dhour El Choueir. In February 2014, Bou Saab was named Minister of Education and Higher Education in Lebanon, one of the two representatives of Michel Aoun's

in the Tammam Salam's government. . As Minister of Education, Bou Saab was in charge of overseeing the Lebanese education system and addressing the pressing challenges created by the influx of Syrian refugees that has nearly doubled the student population in Lebanon. Bou Saab called on the international community to help resolve the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon. He proposed five action plans: creating an emergency support office in the Ministry of Education, rehabilitating existing schools and establishing new schools, incorporating all education activities under the formal education system, improving the quality of public schools, and strengthening the national education system. The plan will be implemented with international support from Global institutions such as the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education,

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

UNCHR The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the United Nations System, overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a ...

, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

DFID The Department for International Development (DFID) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom, from 1997 to 2020. It was responsible for administering foreign aid ...

, and

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian United States foreign aid, foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 19 ...

. In March 2017, the President of Lebanon Michel Aoun appointed Bou Saab as his advisor on International Cooperation. he was elected in May 2018 as member of the

Lebanese Parliament The Lebanese Parliament (, ) is the unicameral national parliament of the Lebanon, Republic of Lebanon. There are 128 members elected to a four-year term in Electoral district, multi-member constituencies, apportioned among Lebanon's divers ...

representing Metn District on "Strong Metn" List. Since then, he is a member of the Free Patriotic Movement. He was then elected Deputy Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament succeeding

Elie Ferzli Elie Ferzli (; born 22 November 1949 in Zahle, Lebanon) is a Lebanese politician. He served as Information Minister and Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon in the early 2000s. He was succeeded by as deputy speaker Farid Makari in 2005. H ...

following the

2022 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2022 United Nations Security Council election * 2022 national electoral calendar * 2022 local e ...

amid the ongoing

economic crisis A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and ma ...

. Bou Saab was able to win by a slim margin of 50.78% of the

vote Voting is the process of choosing officials or policies by casting a ballot, a document used by people to formally express their preferences. Republics and representative democracies are governments where the population chooses representative ...

after a 2-round vote took place. Bou Saab was reportedly kicked out of the Free Patriotic Movement bloc in April 2024 in which FPM sources cited political disagreements since the beginning of the 2022 parliament. Disagreements mostly include choice of presidential candidates and ideological differences. Together with three other former FPM members the Independent Consultative Gathering was formed.

Personal life

He is married to the renowned singer Julia Boutros and has two sons, Samer and Tarek.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bou Saab, Elias 1967 births Living people Boston University alumni Free Patriotic Movement politicians Defense ministers of Lebanon Education ministers of Lebanon Mayors of places in Lebanon People named in the Panama Papers Lebanese people of Armenian descent Greek Orthodox Christians from Lebanon People from Dhour El Choueir