Marwan Hamadeh (; born 11 September 1939) is a Lebanese journalist and politician, who served in various capacities in different cabinets, including minister of education, minister of telecommunications, minister of economy and trade, minister of tourism, minister of health and minister for the displaced. He served as a 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 ...

until his resignation, on 5 August 2020, after the

explosions An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume of a given amount of matter associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Explosions may also be generate ...

in Beirut claiming that the government was "ineffective" to handle the incident.

Early life and education

Marwan Hamadeh, also written as Marouan Hamadé (preferred French transliteration), was born into a

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

family in

Baakleen Baakleen, also spelled Baaqlîne or Baakline (), is a prominent Druze town located in the Chouf District of Mount Lebanon, about 45 kilometers southeast of Beirut, Lebanon. Situated at an elevation of 850 to 920 meters, it has a population of ar ...

Chouf district Chouf (also spelled Shouf, Shuf or Chuf; ) is a historic region of Lebanon, as well as an administrative district in the governorate ( muhafazat) of Mount Lebanon. Geography Located south-east of Beirut, the region comprises a narrow coastal stri ...

, on 11 September 1939. His brother, Ali Hamadeh, is a journalist who was a member of Saad Hariri's political party and is married to Nadine Jabbour Hamade. His sister, Nadia Tueni, a notable author and French poet, was married to Ghassan Tueni, former UN ambassador and senior editor of the Lebanese daily, '' An Nahar''. Their son, and Hamadeh's nephew, Gebran Tueni, was assassinated in a car bombing in Beirut in December 2005. Hamadeh holds a law degree, which he earned from

Saint Joseph University Saint Joseph University of Beirut (; French: ''Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth'', commonly known as USJ) is a private Catholic research university in Beirut, Lebanon, founded in 1875 by French Jesuit missionaries and subsidized by the Go ...

in 1963. He received a PhD in economy from the same university.

Career and views

Hamadeh started his career as an economic and political editor for ''An Nahar'', ''

L'Orient le Jour Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...

'' and ''Le Point'' in 1964 and continued to work for these papers until 1975. He was appointed tourism minister in 1982, and his term lasted for two years. He served as economy minister in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Omar Karami, replacing Nazih Al Bizri in the post. Hamadeh's term lasted from 24 December 1990 to 15 May 1992, and he was succeeded by Samir Makdasi. From 1992 to 1996 he served as minister of health and social affairs in 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 ...

. In the general elections of 1996 he won a seat from Chouf. In October 2000, Hamadeh was appointed minister for the displaced to the cabinet led by Rafik Hariri. Then he was appointed economy minister in cabinet reshuffle in 2003, replacing

Bassel Fleihan Bassel Fleihan (10 September 1963 – 18 April 2005; ) was a Lebanese legislator and Minister of Economy and Trade. He died from injuries sustained when a massive bomb exploded on the Beirut seafront as he passed by in former Lebanese prim ...

. Hamadeh was one of three ministers in the cabinet, who were members of the

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 ...

led 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 ...

. During this period, Hamadeh was one of the close advisors to Jumblatt. Hamadeh was one of four members of the Lebanese Parliament who voted against the extension of president Lahoud's term in office in September 2004. Hamadeh, formerly one of Syria's staunchest allies in Lebanon, became a critic of the

Syrian occupation of Lebanon The Syrian occupation of Lebanon lasted from 31 May 1976, beginning with the Syrian intervention in the Lebanese Civil War, until 30 April 2005. This period saw significant Syrian military and political influence over Lebanon, impacting its g ...

after the Resolution 1559 was passed in 2005. Hamadeh and the same three other cabinet members, namely culture minister Ghazi Aridi, environment minister Farès Boueiz and refugee affairs minister Abdullah Farhat, also resigned from office on 7 September 2004 in protest at the constitutional amendment that allowed the three-year extension of then President

Émile Lahoud Émile Jamil Lahoud (born 12 January 1936) is a Lebanese politician who served as the 11th president of Lebanon from 1998 to 2007. During his presidency, the Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon, that had lasted since 1982, ended in May 2000. ...

's term. Finance Minister

Fouad Siniora Fouad Siniora (; born 19 July 1943) is a Lebanese politician. He served as the 12th Prime Minister of Lebanon, prime minister of Lebanon from 2005 to 2009. He served as minister of Finance from 2000 to 2004. Early career In the 1970s, Sanioura ...

replaced Hamadeh as acting economy minister. From 19 July 2005 to 11 July 2008 Hamadeh served as minister of telecommunications. In the general elections of 2009, Hamadeh won a seat from the

Assassination attempt

Hamadeh was injured in a car bomb explosion in

west Beirut West Beirut is a term referring to the western part of Beirut, the Lebanese capital, which became popular during the Lebanese Civil War that lasted from 1975 to 1990, when the city was divided along sectarian lines into two main areas: West Beiru ...

on 1 October 2004 that killed his bodyguard and injured his driver. The blast is considered to have been the beginning of series of assassinations by

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 ...

of Lebanese politicians and journalists, mostly anti-Hezbollah and anti-Syrian figures. Then Syrian vice president Abdul Halim Khaddam visited Hamadeh at the American University of Beirut Medical Center after the attack.

Personal life

Hamadeh is married to Vanda Barakat and has two children from his first wife, Karima Hamadeh, who has two children, and Rania Hamadeh Gemayel. From his daughter Gemayel, Hamadeh has two grandchildren. Hamadeh is a

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamadeh, Marwan 1939 births Living people Saint Joseph University alumni People from Chouf District Lebanese Druze people Members of the Parliament of Lebanon Communications ministers of Lebanon Tourism ministers of Lebanon Health ministers of Lebanon Displaced ministers of Lebanon Economy and Trade ministers of Lebanon Education ministers of Lebanon 20th-century Lebanese journalists Survivors of terrorist attacks Tueni family Progressive Socialist Party politicians