Bahij Tabbara

Bahij Tabbara (born 1929) is a Lebanese jurist and politician who held various cabinet posts and was a member the parliament of Lebanon. He was among the close allies of Rafik Hariri.

Bahij Tabbara
Minister of Justice
In office 2003–2004
Prime Minister	Rafik Hariri
Minister of State for Administrative Reform
In office 2001–2003
Prime Minister	Rafik Hariri
Minister of Justice
In office 31 October 1992 – December 1998
Prime Minister	Rafik Hariri
Minister of Economy and Commerce
In office April 1973 – June 1973
Prime Minister	Amin Al Hafez
Preceded by	Anwar Sabbah
Personal details
Born	1929 (age 95–96) Beirut, Lebanon
Political party	Future Movement
Spouse	Hoda Kyriakos Saad
Children	3
Alma mater	Saint Joseph University University of Grenoble

Early life and education

Tabbara was born in Beirut in 1929.^[1][2] He received a degree in law from Saint Joseph University in Beirut and a PhD in law from the University of Grenoble in France.^[2]

Career

Following his graduation Tabbara began to work as a lawyer from 1954.^[1] He was also the private lawyer and legal adviser of future Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.^[3][4] He taught at Lebanese University and Saint Joseph University in Beirut.^[1]

Between April and June 1973, Tabbara was the minister of economy and commerce in the cabinet led by the prime minister, Amin Al Hafez.^[5] The appointment of Tabbara and another Sunni Zakariya Nsouli caused controversy in the general public and they were forced to resign.^[5] They both resigned from the office together with Al Hafez.^[5] Tabbara was involved in drafting the election law of Lebanon in the 1990s.^[6] On 31 October 1992, he was named as the minister of justice in the first cabinet of Rafik Hariri.^[7] Tabbara held the post in the subsequent cabinets of Hariri until December 1998.^[2] He was the minister of state for administrative reform between 2001 and 2003.^[2] He was again appointed minister of justice in 2003^[8] and held the post for one year.^[2]

In 2005, Tabbara was elected to parliament from the Future Movement.^[1] The same year, after the assassination of Rafic Hariri, he was cited as one of the potential candidates for the premiership.^[9] In May 2019, he was also proposed as the prime minister following the resignation of the Lebanese government led by Saad Hariri, but he declined the offer.^[10]

In addition to his academic and political activities Tabbara was one of the shareholders of the companies, mostly real estate companies, owned by Rafik Hariri.^[3][11]

Personal life and work

Tabbara married Hoda Kyriakos Saad, a lawyer, and they have three children.^[1][2] He is the author of several books and articles on legal topics.^[1]

References

1. Who's Who in Lebanon 2007-2008 (19th ed.). Beirut: Publitec Publications. 2007. pp. 328–329. doi:10.1515/9783110945904.328. ISBN 9783110945904.
2. "Dr. Bahij Tabbara". OMSAR. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
3. Reinoud Leenders (2004). "Nobody Having too much to Answer for: Laissez-faire, networks, and postwar reconstruction in Lebanon". In Steven Heydemann (ed.). Networks of Privilege in the Middle East: The Politics of Economic Reform Revisited. New York; Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 197. ISBN 978-1-4039-8214-8.
4. Hannes Baumann (2012). Citizen Hariri and neoliberal politics in postwar Lebanon (PhD thesis). SOAS, University of London. p. 125. doi:10.25501/SOAS.00014240.
5. "The Government of Amin Al-Hafez: Confidence Session Not Convened". The Monthly. 9 April 2014. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
6. "Lebanese Women Seek Stronger Representation in Parliament". Peace Women. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2022. Reporting from Al Shorfa
7. Ward Vloeberghs (2015). Architecture, Power and Religion in Lebanon. Rafiq Hariri and the politics of sacred space in Beirut. Vol. 114. Leiden; Boston: Brill. pp. 381–382. doi:10.1163/9789004307056_010. ISBN 9789004307056.
8. "30-minister government formed in Lebanon". KUNA. 17 April 2003. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
9. "Parliament re-elects pro-Syrian Nabih Berri as speaker". Associated Press. 28 June 2005. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
10. Farah Al Faraj (12 May 2019). "Samir Al-Khatib likely to take over Lebanese gov't". KUNA. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
11. Hisham Ashkar (2018). "The role of laws and regulations in shaping gentrification. The view from Beirut". City. 22 (3): 349. doi:10.1080/13604813.2018.1484641. S2CID 149478478.