Elias Murr (, '; born 30 January 1962) is a Lebanese politician and an International political figure.

Early life and education

Murr was born on 30 January 1962 in

Bteghrine Bteghrine (, also spelled Bteghrin and Btighrin) is a municipality in the Matn District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate of Lebanon. Etymology The exact origin of the town name ''Bteghrine'' is unknown, but possibilities include ''Place of Warr ...

. He is the son of former deputy Prime Minister and interior minister,

Michel Murr Michel Murr (, 29 September 1931 – 31 January 2021) was a Lebanese politician and businessman. He served as member of parliament, deputy prime minister and interior minister and was a prominent lawmaker in the northern Metn region. Early li ...

. He holds a master's degree in law. He was married to the daughter of former President

Emile Lahoud Emile or Émile may refer to: * Émile (novel) (1827), autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life * Emile, Canadian film made in 2003 by Carl Bessai * '' Emile: or, On Education'' (1762) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a treatise o ...

Political career

Elias Murr started his political career as the mayor of Bteghrine, his hometown, from 1982 till 1996. From 2000 to 2005 Murr was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior and Municipalities, replacing his father Michel Murr. In 2001 he oversaw the drafting and signature of the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

at the convention to execute the Action program to protect working children and to combat and eliminate child labor. During his ministry, Murr was appointed acting Minister of Foreign Affairs. Murr was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and

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 ...

from 2005 and 2008. Murr supports international police cooperation, and served from 2000 to 2004 as president of the Arab Interior Minister Council, which coordinates internal security and crime fighting among Arab nations. In 2009, Elias Murr was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister. In 2010, Murr was a member of the Lebanese National Dialogue committee. In October 2013, Murr was appointed the President of the Board of the

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

Foundation for a Safer World, which aims to strengthen the capabilities of Interpol to fight

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

, organized crime and

financing of terrorism Terrorism financing is the provision of funds or providing financial support to individual terrorists or non-state actors. Most countries have implemented measures to counter terrorism financing (CTF) often as part of their money laundering laws ...

. Murr took part in many negotiations with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, and oversaw the deployment of 25,000 soldiers for the implementation of UNSC resolution 1701, preserving the cease fire mandated by the international community. Elias Murr is an honored officer of the National Cedar Legion and the holder of the

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Gran ...

of the Order of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Assassination attempt

On 12 July 2005, Murr was targeted by a circa 20-kg improvised explosive device in the city of

Antelias Antelias () is a city in Lebanon in the Matn District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate. It is located around 5 km to the north of Beirut. Etymology The name is originally Greek, ἀντήλιος – from ἀντί(anti) "contra" and ἥλ� ...

, 5 km north of Beirut. 12 people were injured, and one person was killed by the explosion that almost took the life of the Deputy Prime Minister at the time. Murr said that he knew an attempt on his life had been planned for months, and had informed the state security services. According to various sources, the assassination attempt is linked to

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

's assassination squad -

Unit 121 Unit 121 is Lebanese militant organization Hezbollah's covert assassination team reporting directly to the group's Secretary-General. The unit has allegedly conducted deadly car bombings targeting Lebanese military and political leaders and jou ...

Business activities

In parallel with his political endeavors, Murr spent the past twenty years at the helm of "Group Murr", founded in 1957 by his father as a construction company operating in the public works sector. Group Murr is featured in ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

"Top 100 Making An Impact in the Arab World" list. In 2015, the group holds more than 25 companies, operating across three continents and a wide range of segments of the international market, including: Construction, real estate and resort development, engineering, consumer products, aviation services, security, commercial services for the shipping industry. Murr also serves as the chairman of the board of the Al Joumhouria News Corporation, the publisher of one of Lebanon's leading daily newspapers and of several other thematic periodicals. After stopping publications throughout the Lebanese civil war, under H.E. Murr's leadership the ''Al Joumhouria'' newspaper, saw its rebirth in 2011, and became the first Lebanese newspaper to embrace new media, by developing proprietary mobile applications, push notifications, and developing an award-winning website for its digital edition. Murr is also the chairman of the board of Pan Arab News; a website currently under construction, marrying innovation and creativity with using smart technologies to offer its users a unique experience. Pan Arab News will tackle Middle East news as well as the latest events in the Gulf Region.

WikiLeaks accusations

In December 2010, a Lebanese Newspaper posted on its website cables from the

United States diplomatic cables leak An incident, commonly referred to as Cablegate, began on 28 November 2010 when WikiLeaks began releasing classified cables that had been sent to the U.S. State Department by 274 of its consulates, embassies, and diplomatic missions around ...

revealing that Murr had separated the army from Hezbollah if a new war was to erupt on Israel's northern border.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murr, Elias 1962 births Living people People from Matn District Greek Orthodox Christians from Lebanon Terrorist incidents in Lebanon in 2005 2005 crimes in Lebanon Defense ministers of Lebanon Interior ministers of Lebanon Deputy prime ministers of Lebanon Survivors of terrorist attacks