Ziad Hawat (; born February 23, 1977) is a Lebanese politician and MP of the

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 ...

since 2018, who became the youngest mayor of

Byblos Byblos ( ; ), also known as Jebeil, Jbeil or Jubayl (, Lebanese Arabic, locally ), is an ancient city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. The area is believed to have been first settled between 8800 and 7000BC and continuously inhabited ...

. He initiated a €40 million project with partial Italian funding to fix the sewage system of multiple cities. Whilst he was mayor, Bybols was selected as a member of the top 100 resilient cities program of the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

. As mayor, a major park was built as well as restoration projects carried out in Byblos.

Early life

Ziad was born in

, Lebanon which is considered the oldest inhabited city in the world, to parents Halim Hawat and May Abi Saab originally from Mazraat Bani Saab (Bcharri). He grew up in the city with his brother, Nabil and sister Zeina.

Education

Ziad graduated from College des Freres Maristes and went on to major in Business Administration at the Holy Spirit University of

Kaslik Kaslik () is a town in the Keserwan District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate in Lebanon. The town is home to a variety of 18th-century limestone houses, and a number of historic churches. However, the area was also subject to the rampant deve ...

(USEK). After his graduation in 1998, he went on to work with his father in the family business, Hawat Trading, a wood products importer and exporter in Lebanon and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

Career

At the age of 33, Ziad submitted his name to run for Mayor of Byblos. In May 2010, the elections came to an end and Ziad Hawat was elected as President of the Municipality of

, gaining the highest number of votes in the history of Byblos's municipal elections. In 2010 he was sworn in as mayor of

. In the year 2009, he married Miss Carine Abou Khaled with 3 children, Halim, Maria and Sophia. In 2013, Ziad Hawat was awarded the “Golden Medal of Merit” from the United Nations World Tourism Organization for outstanding achievements, with a certificate of distinction for Byblos as Best Arab Tourist City for the year 2013. In March 2013, Hawat joined forces with local and international collaborators and implemented a waste sorting scheme to preserve the city’s environment and safeguard it from pollution. Taking it a step further, In March 2014, Hawat launched a €40 million project, partially financed by the republic of Italy, and aims at establishing a sewage system that covers the cities of Byblos,

Amsheet Amsheet (, '; also spelled Amchit) is a seaside town and municipality in the Byblos District of Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, Lebanon, about 40 km north of Beirut. The town's average elevation is 140 meters above sea level and its total land a ...

, Blat, Edde, Kfarmashoun,

Jeddayel Jeddayel (; also spelled ''Geddayel'' or ''Jadayel'') is a town in the Byblos District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, Lebanon. It is located 4 km north of Byblos. Its inhabitants are predominantly Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, Greek Or ...

and Hosryael. During his time in the Municipality, the American

chose the city of Byblos as the 5th official member of the 100 resilient cities program, amongst 400 cities from the six continents that will be granted support in putting in place plans to protect and safeguard its heritage and archaeological sites. In line with his presidency, Ziad remains chairman of Hawat Trading, an exporter of wood products in Lebanon and the Middle East, chairman of ABM and chairman of Zinaline Kitchen Factory. In parallel with all the above, Ziad is a member of AIMF (International Association of Francophone Mayors) and a member of the Lebanese Maronite Association. During his presidency, Ziad launched and oversaw projects, such as: the new municipality building, reconstruction of the old souk facades, Public Park with a surface area of 12,000 m2 which was awarded the biggest park award in Lebanon, Sports City, Best Touristic City of 2016, Christmas trees (2013 – 2016) which got worldwide recognition In 2016, Ziad Hawat was reelected as President of the Municipality of Byblos for his 2nd term with no opponent to beat. He resigned from his post in July 2017, in order to run for parliament in the

2018 Lebanese general election General elections were held in Lebanon on 6 May 2018. Although originally scheduled for 2013, the election was postponed three times in 2013, 2014 and 2017 for various reasons, including the security situation, the failure of the Parliament to ...

and in May 2018, he finally gained a seat at the parliament.

Personal life

He is the nephew of senior Byblos politician Jean Hawat.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawat, Ziad 1977 births People from Byblos Holy Spirit University of Kaslik alumni Living people Lebanese Forces politicians Lebanese Maronites