Saeb N. Jaroudi (Arabic: صائب جارودي) was the former minister of national economy, industry, and tourism in Lebanon and the first chairman of the board and president of the Kuwait-based

Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) is a Kuwait-based pan-Arab development finance institution. All member-states of the Arab League are members of the AFESD. As of 2003, it held around US$7.3 billion in assets. The AFESD ...

. He held a number of leadership roles in the Arab world, Europe, and the United States throughout his career.

Background and education

Jaroudi was born into a prominent family from

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. He graduated high school from

International College, Beirut International College () is an independent non-profit international school in Beirut, Lebanon. Its students come from all over Lebanon, as well as the Middle-East and around the world. With two campuses, one in the Lebanese capital Beirut and the ...

in 1947 after which he went to study in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

where he earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

and completed his PhD studies at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

.Directory of AUB Faculty Members, Staff Members, and Officers

Career

Early Start in Academia

Jaroudi began his professional experience teaching economics at 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 ...

, where he also participated in the pioneering work of the Economic Research Institute on economic development and business legislation in the Middle East.

United Nations Development Programme

His strong

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 ...

ties began when he joined the UN’s Center for Development Planning in New York as a senior economist. During a decade-long UN career, he assisted in the establishment and implementation of several Arab countries’ national development plans. He also assisted the Kuwaiti government in establishing the

Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) (), commonly known as the Kuwait Fund, is the State of Kuwait’s agency for the provision and administration of financial and technical assistance to developing countries. History and profil ...

and driving its operations during its early years.

Minister of National Economy, Industry, and Tourism

From 1970 to 1972, Jaroudi was minister of national economy, industry, and tourism in

Saeb Salam Saeb Salam (17 January 1905 – 21 January 2000) () was a Lebanese politician, who served as Prime Minister six times between 1952 and 1973. Following his death, the Lebanese daily ''As-Safir'' described Salam as "most successful in dealing ...

's first cabinet during President

Suleiman Frangieh Suleiman Kabalan Frangieh (15 June 1910 – 23 July 1992) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 5th president of Lebanon from 1970 to 1976. Early life and education Suleiman Frangieh was a scion of one of the leading Maronites, Maronite f ...

's mandate, He introduced policies that successfully stimulated the development of lesser developed regions of the country, encouraged the flow of foreign direct investment into the country and increased exports through bilateral trade agreements. To promote investment in Lebanon’s industrial sector, he developed and led a pioneering matchmaking program with the

United Nations Industrial Development Organization The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in e ...

(UNIDO), which culminated in the signing of 20 new joint venture projects between Lebanese and foreign investors.

Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development

In 1972, he was elected as the first chairman of the board and president of the Kuwait-based

by the Arab Ministers of Finance. He established the Fund as the regional development bank of the Arab world, initiating and financing major national and inter-country industrial, agriculture, rural development, power, water, education, and healthcare projects. During his tenure, he also initiated the establishment of the

Arab Monetary Fund The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) is a regional Arab world, Arab organization, a working sub-organization of the Arab League. It was founded 1976, and has been operational since 1977. History The first president and director of the Arab Monetary ...

and the Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development.

Later career

In his later years, Jaroudi served as a senior economic consultant advising international public and private institutions on economic policy and project finance. He served on several boards at LGB Bank, Arab Finance Corporation, The Arab British CentreCompany information
UK Government Official Site "Find and Update Information" and the British Lebanese Association, He also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Arab British Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and

Honors and recognition

In recognition of his contributions to the economic and social advancement of developing countries, Jaroudi was elected as a member of the United Nations Committee for Development Policy and

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

’s International Fund for the Promotion of Culture. He was also an elected fellow of The

Royal Numismatic Society The Royal Numismatic Society (RNS) is a learned society and charity based in London, United Kingdom which promotes research into all branches of numismatics. Its patron was Queen Elizabeth II. Membership Foremost collectors and researchers, bo ...

(RNS), a learned society and charity based in London, United Kingdom whose patron as of 2014 was

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. On September 18, 2014, upon the request of the Lebanese Prime Minister

Tammam Salam Tammam Saeb Salam (, ; born 13 May 1945) is a Lebanese politician who was the Prime Minister of Lebanon from February 2014 until December 2016. He also served as the acting President of Lebanon from May 2014 until October 2016 in his capacity as ...

, he was honored by a minute of silence by the Lebanese Council of Ministers at the start of the cabinet meeting.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaroudi, Saeb N. 1929 births 2014 deaths University of California, Berkeley alumni Columbia University alumni Academic staff of the American University of Beirut Economy and Trade ministers of Lebanon Industry ministers of Lebanon Tourism ministers of Lebanon Politicians from Beirut