Henri Helou (; born 3 July 1953 in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

), is a Lebanese politician and a

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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 ...

and a member of the Democratic Gathering Bloc.

Early Life and education

Helou is the son of Lebanese MP . His maternal grandfather is the renowned Lebanese politician, Member of Parliament, writer and journalist Michel Chiha. Initially French educated, Helou received his higher education in the United States at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

studying engineering and then moved to al-Khobar in Saudi Arabia for work. He later received his master's degree in civil engineering at

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. He was chosen as the architect in charge of building the palace of the former

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. He also lived for a few years in

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Politics

Helou ran for Lebanese parliament in 2003 following his father Pierre Helou's death who was a member of the Parliament. In a partial election to fill in the vacancy in the Christian

Maronite Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally re ...

seat in the Baabda- Aley electoral district, Henri Helou beat rival candidate and pro- Aounist candidate Hekmat Deeb. He also enrolled again in 2010 at the American University in Beirut for further studies.

Presidential candidacy

Helou was nominated by

Walid Jumblatt Walid Kamal Jumblatt (; born 7 August 1949) is a Lebanese politician who was the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party from 1977 until 2023. A Druze and former militia commander, Jumblatt led the Lebanese National Resistance Front, allying ...

and his

Progressive Socialist Party The Progressive Socialist Party () is a Lebanese political party. Its confessional base is in the Druze sect and its regional base is in Mount Lebanon Governorate, especially the Chouf District. Founded by Kamal Jumblatt in 1949, the party ...

(PSP) for the Lebanese presidential elections in 2014. In the first round, requiring two-thirds of the 128 Lebanese MPs (meaning 86 votes), on 23 April 2014,

Lebanese Forces The Lebanese Forces ( ') is a Lebanon, Lebanese Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-based political party and Lebanese Forces (militia), former militia during the Lebanese Civil War. It currently holds 19 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's Parliamen ...

leader

Samir Geagea Samir Farid Geagea (, , also spelled Samir Ja'ja' ; born 25 October 1952) is a Lebanese politician and former militia commander who has been the leader of the Lebanese Forces Lebanese Forces, political party and Lebanese Forces (militia ...

received 48 votes, whereas Henri Helou received 16 votes and former president

Amine Gemayel Amine Pierre Gemayel (, ; born 22 January 1942) is a Lebanese politician who served as the eighth president of Lebanon from 1982 to 1988. Gemayel was born in Bikfaya to Pierre Gemayel, the founder of the Christianity in Lebanon, Christian Kat ...

1 vote, with 52 blank votes and seven void cancelled votes. As all the MPs left after the vote, there was no

quorum A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group necessary to constitute the group at a meeting. In a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature), a quorum is necessary to conduct the business of ...

to hold the second round, which needed only a simple majority of votes. Helou's candidacy remained on the ballots for 45 unsuccessful rounds, but was withdrawn when it became obvious that General Michel Aoun would win and Jumblatt personally supported Aoun's candidacy and pledged that a big majority of his bloc's MPs would also vote for Aoun instead of their own Progressive Socialist Party-supported candidate Helou. Helou is married with Marianne Matrasse and has three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helou, Henri 1953 births Alumni of the University of London Cornell University alumni Living people Politicians from Beirut Lebanese Maronites Candidates for President of Lebanon Progressive Socialist Party politicians