Walid Eido
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Walid Eido (; 2 April 1942 – 13 June 2007) was a member of the
Future Movement The Future Movement () is a Lebanese political party affiliated with the Sunni sect. The party was founded as a coalition in 1995 led by Rafic Hariri which was known as the Hariri Bloc but was officially founded in 2007. The party is led by Saad ...
, Lebanese
political movement A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some t ...
and 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 ...
. He was also a member of the
March 14 Coalition The March 14 Alliance (), named after the date of the Cedar Revolution, was a coalition of political party, political parties and independents in Lebanon formed in 2005 that were united by their anti-Ba'athist Syria, Assad stance and by their opp ...
.


Early life and education

Eido was born on 2 April 1942 to a
Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...
family in the Bachoura neighborhood of Beirut. He graduated from
Lebanese University The Lebanese University (LU; ) is the only state-funded public university in Lebanon. It was established in 1951. The university's main campus was originally located in Beirut, but a few satellite campuses were opened due to travel restriction ...
with a degree in law in 1966, and became a magistrate in 1967.


Career and activities

Eido was a member of the Sunni Murabetoun militia during Lebanon's 1975-1990
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. In the late 1990s, he was north Lebanon's public prosecutor, but he had to resign for being able to go into politics and run for elections with
Rafic 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, prime minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 to 2004. Hariri headed fi ...
. He was later named as President of the Beirut Court of Appeal, a role from which he resigned in 2000 to be a candidate to the parliamentary elections on the same year. While on Rafik Hariri's list, a then-unknown Walid Eido was elected as a representative of Beirut's second constituency in 2000 and in
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
. After Syria's withdrawal of Lebanon, Eido became a critic of Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...
and Lebanese 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. ...
. He was the head of the defense committee and a member of several others in the parliament. On 6 April 2007, Eido asked Lebanon's prime 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 ...
to end the current standoff and replace the resigned ministers. Eido said "it is time to end this resignation mockery by replacing the resigned ministers in accordance with the constitution so that the government can go back to work." Eido was a supporter of the tribunal and a close friend 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 ...
. Following the
2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day armed conflict in Lebanon, fought between Hezbollah and Israel. The war started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect in the morning on 14 August 2006, thoug ...
, Eido reportedly said: “We will sell our blood to buy weapons and confront ezbollah We will never let them control the country."


Assassination

A parked Mitsubishi Pajero four-wheel vehicle packed with 80kg (177lbs) of explosives blew up as Eido's car was driving away from a Beirut beach club on 13 June 2007, murdering him and six other people. His eldest son Khaled was also killed in the blast. Eido was 65 years old. Several citizens were also killed, two of whom were Nejmeh footballers, Hussein Naeem and Hussein Dokmak. The explosion occurred at the Manara district of western Beirut late afternoon. The bomb detonated around 5:30 pm on a side street between the Nejmeh Football Club and the Luna Park amusement center along Beirut's Corniche, a seaside road dotted with tourist and family destinations such as beach resorts, hotels, and cafés. Eido was assassinated just three days after the UN Security Council Resolution 1757 came into effect, mandating the establishment of a hybrid Lebanese-international tribunal to investigate suspects of the Hariri assassination and other similar attacks. He was the seventh anti-Syrian politician and third member of the Lebanese parliament killed since the assassination of Rafik Hariri on 14 February 2005. According to sources, his assassination among others are linked to
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 ...
, executing Hezbollah's policy. The death of Walid Eido reduced then March 14 alliance's parliamentary majority to 68 out of 126 MPs total. The assassination was condemned by the UN Security Council.


Personal life

Eido was married and a father of three sons, Khaled, Zaher and Mazen. Eido was an avid swimmer. His late eldest son Khaled was a lawyer.


See also

*
List of assassinated Lebanese politicians This is a list of assassinations in Lebanon and nearby countries. Pre-1970s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s See also * Assassinations linked to the Cedar Revolution * Lebanese Civil War * Unit 121 References ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eido, Walid 20th-century Lebanese people 21st-century Lebanese politicians 1942 births 2007 deaths Assassinated Lebanese politicians Future Movement politicians Lebanese Sunni politicians Lebanese University alumni Members of the Parliament of Lebanon Politicians from Beirut People murdered in Lebanon Asian politicians assassinated in the 2000s Politicians assassinated in 2007