Riad Al Solh

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Riad Al Solh
رياض الصلح
Riadh elsolh.jpg
Prime Minister of Lebanon
In office
25 September 1943 – 10 January 1945
President Bishara Al Khouri
Preceded by Office established
Succeeded by Abdul Hamid Karami
In office
14 December 1946 – 14 February 1951
President Bishara Al Khouri
Preceded by Saadi Al Munla
Succeeded by Hussein Al Oweini
Personal details
Born 1894
Sidon, Lebanon
Died July 17, 1951 (aged 56-57)
Amman, Jordan
Political party Committee of Union and Progress
(1916–1920)
Independent
(1920–1934)
Constitutional Bloc
(1934–1951)
Spouse(s) Fayza Al Jabiri
Children Five daughters
One son
Alma mater Sorbonne University
Profession Lawyer
Religion Islam

Riad Al Solh (1894 – 17 July 1951) (Arabic: رياض الصلح‎‎) was the first prime minister of Lebanon after the country's independence.[1][2]

Biography

Early life

File:Fatat Members outside of Damascus.jpg
The members of al-Fatat at a resort near Damascus. Riad Al Solh is standing in the top row, third person from the left

Riad Al Solh also written Riad el Solh and Riad Solh was born in Sidon in 1894.[1] His family was a prominent Sunni land-owning family from south Lebanon, Sidon.[3][4] His father was Reda Al Solh, a reformist sub-governor in Nabatiyyah and in Saida and a leading nationalist Arab leader.[5] Reda Al Solh was tried by Ottoman forces in 1915 and went to exile in Smyrna in Ottoman Empire.[5] Then he served as an Ottoman governor in Salonica.[5] He also served as minister of interior in Emir Faisal’s government in Damascus.[6]

Riad Al Solh studied law and political science at the Sorbonne University.[1] He spent most of his life in Istanbul during his youth since his father was a deputy in the Ottoman Parliament.[6]

Career

A statue of Riad Al Solh stands in Beirut's Downtown district

Solh served as prime minister of Lebanon twice. His first term was just after the Lebanon's independence (25 September 1943 – 10 January 1945).[7] Solh was chosen by president Bishara Al Khouri to be his first Prime Minister.[8] Solh and Khouri achieved and implemented the National Pact (al Mithaq al Watani) in November 1943 that provided an official framework to accommodate the confessional differences in Lebanon.[9][10][11] The National Pact was an unwritten gentleman's agreement.[12] The Pact stated that president, prime minister and Speaker of the Parliament in Lebanon should be allocated to three major confessional groups based on the 1932 census, namely the Maronite Christians, the Sunni Muslims and the Shiite Muslims, respectively.[12] During his first term, Solh also served as the minister of supplies and reserves from 3 July 1944 to 9 January 1945.[13]

Solh held premiership again from 14 December 1946 to 14 February 1951[14] again under the presidency of Bishara Al Khouri.[15] Solh was critical of King Abdullah and played a significant role in granting the blessing of the Arab League's political committee to the All-Palestine Government during his second term.[16]

Assassination

Solh escaped an assassination attempt unhurt in March 1950.[5][17] It was perpetrated by a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.[5]

However, several months after leaving office, he was gunned down on 17 July 1951 at Marka Airport in Amman by the members of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.[3][14] The attack was perpetrated by three gunmen, who killed him in revenge for the execution of Anton Saadeh, one of the party's founding leaders.[18][19][20]

Personal life

Al Solh married to Fayza Al Jabiri and had five daughters and a son, Reda, who died in infancy.[5] His eldest daughter, Aliya (1935–2007), continued in her father's path in the struggle for a free and secure Lebanon. Aliya propagated the rich cultural heritage of Lebanon abroad until her death in Paris.

Lamia Al Solh (born 1937) married late Prince Moulay Abdallah of Morocco, King Mohammed VI's uncle.[21] Her children are Moulay Hicham, Moulay Ismail and a daughter Lalla Zineb.

Mona Al Solh formerly married to Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz.[22][23] She is the mother of Waleed bin Talal, Khalid bin Talal and Reema bint Talal.[22][24]

Bahija Al Solh Assad is married to Said Al Assad who is former Lebanese ambassador to Switzerland and former member of parliament. They have two sons and two daughters.

His youngest daughter Leila Al Solh Hamade was appointed as one of the first two female ministers in Omar Karami's government.[25]

Legacy

Patrick Seale's book The Struggle for Arab Independence (2011) deals with the history of the Middle East from the final years of the Ottoman Empire up to the 1950s and focuses on the influential career and personality of Solh.[6] A square in downtown Beirut, Riad Al Solh square, was named after him.[26]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  – via Questia (subscription required)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Kamil Dib, "Warlords and Merchants, The Lebanese Business and Political Establishment", p. 89
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Political offices
Preceded by
—
 Prime Minister of Lebanon
1943–1945		 Succeeded by
Abdul Hamid Karami
Preceded by Prime Minister of Lebanon
1946–1951		 Succeeded by
Hussein Al Oweini


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