Fuad Char

Fuad Ricardo Char Abdala (born 5 October 1937) is a businessman and retired politician. He is the founder of Grupo Empresarial Olímpica [es]. He served in different terms as a senator, governor of Atlántico, and minister of Economic Development (position now fused into the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Char and the second or maternal family name is Abdala.

Fuad Char
Senator of Colombia
In office 20 July 2010 (2010-07-20) – 20 July 2014 (2014-07-20)
In office 20 July 1998 (1998-07-20) – 20 July 2006 (2006-07-20)
In office 20 July 1990 (1990-07-20) – 20 April 1995 (1995-04-20)
21st Colombia Ambassador to Portugal
In office 30 September 2008 (2008-09-30) – 5 June 2009 (2009-06-05)
President	Álvaro Uribe
Preceded by	Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza
Succeeded by	Arturo Sarabia
14th Minister of Economic Development
In office 1987–1988
President	Virgilio Barco
Preceded by	Miguel Merino Gordillo
Succeeded by	Carlos Arturo Marulanda
48th Governor of Atlántico
In office 1984–1987
President	Belisario Betancur
Preceded by	Abel Francisco Carbonell
Succeeded by	Gerardo Certain
Personal details
Born	Fuad Ricardo Char Abdala (1937-10-05) 5 October 1937 (age 86) Lorica, Córdoba, Colombia
Political party	Radical Change
Other political affiliations	Liberal
Spouse	Adela Chaljub Char (1994)
Children	Arturo Alejandro Antonia

Family

Fuad was the son of Ricardo Char, an immigrant from Damascus, Syria, who arrived in Colombia in 1926.^[1][2][3] He is the eldest out of seven children, his other siblings were Jabib, Farid, Simón, and, Ricardo.^[4]

His uncle Nicólas had started a business that quickly grew profitable, and the family moved to Barranquilla in 1952, where they started what would become Grupo Empresarial Olímpica [es], a conglomerate that would make his family one of the most influential in the Colombian Caribbean Coast. It grew into a conglomerate that included Supermercados Olimpicos, the radio station Olímpica Stéreo, and the ownership of Junior Barranquilla.

Fuad, married his first cousin Adela Chaljub Char, daughter of Antonio Chaljub, an immigrant from Lebanon and Rosa Char Zaslawy, his aunt from Syria. Together they had three children: Antonio, Arturo, and Alejandro. After becoming a widower in 1994, he remarried in 2004 to Maria Mercedes de la Espriella.^[5]

See also

• Roberto Gerlein Echeverría
• José Name Terán

References

1. Ricco, Massimo Di (2014). "Filling the gap: the Colombo arabes emergence as political actors in Barranquilla and the Caribbean region". Revista de Derecho (41): 211–241. ISSN 0121-8697.
2. Long, Gideon (29 October 2019). "Barranquilla mayor leaves office on a high". Financial Times. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
3. Semana (7 April 2019). "¿Quiénes son los Char?". Semana.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 December 2023.
4. "Murió la Mamá de los Char en Barranquilla" [The Mother of the Chars Died in Barranquilla]. El Tiempo (in Spanish). 29 November 1993. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
5. "En Bogotá". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 7 January 1996. Retrieved 26 October 2010.