Salim Haidar

Salim Haidar
Minister of Agriculture
In office
16 September 1953 – 17 September 1955
Prime MinisterSami Solh
Minister of Telegraph and Telephone
In office
16 September 1953 – 17 September 1955
Prime MinisterSami Solh
Minister of Defense
In office
30 September 1952 – 6 February 1953
Prime MinisterKhaled Chehab
Personal details
BornMay 1911
Baalbek, Beqaa, Lebanon
Died3 October 1980 (aged 68–69)
SpouseSamiha Suleiman Haidar
Children3
Alma materSorbonne University

Salim Haidar (1911–1980) was a Lebanese jurist and politician who held several cabinet posts during the 1950s, including minister of defense. He was also a member of the Lebanese Parliament.

Early life and education

Haidar hailed from a Shiite family based in Baalbek, Beqaa.[1] His family was among the leading landlords of the region.[2] He was born in Baalbek in May 1911.[2][3] His father was Najib Haidar.[3]

He was a graduate of Lycée Française and then obtained a PhD in law from Sorbonne University.[2][3][4]

Career and activities

Following his graduation Haidar returned to Lebanon and became a public prosecutor in 1938 and an investigative judge in 1943.[3] He began to serve as an advisor at the Court of Appeal from 1945.[3] He was named as the ambassador of Lebanon to Iran in 1946.[3]

Haidar was appointed minister of defense to the cabinet led by Prime Minister Khaled Chehab on 30 September 1952.[5][6] Haidar's term lasted until 6 February 1953 when he resigned from the post.[7] He was first elected to the Parliament from his hometown in the 1953 elections ousting his cousin Ibrahim Haidar who had been serving at the Parliament for thirty years.[8] Following his election as a deputy Salim Haidar involved in drafting the Lebanon's first anti-corruption law in 1953.[4] On 16 September 1953 he was appointed minister of agriculture and minister of telegraph and telephone to the cabinet headed by Prime Minister Sami Solh.[3] Haidar's term lasted until 17 September 1955.[3]

During the turmoil in Lebanon in 1958 Haidar was part of the anti-government coalition.[1] He was appointed ambassador of Lebanon to Morocco in 1958 and to the Soviet Union in 1963.[3] In 1968 he was again elected as a deputy.[3]

Personal life and death

In addition to his political activities Haidar also published books on Arabic literature and poetry.[2] He was married to Samiha Suleiman Haidar with whom he had three children: Hayyan Haidar, a civil engineer,[4] Hassan and Hammad.[3] Salim Haidar died on 3 October 1980.[3][4]

References

  1. ^ a b R. Hrair Dekmejian (1975). Patterns of Political Leadership: Egypt, Israel, Lebanon. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-4384-0076-1.
  2. ^ a b c d Jalal Zuwiyya (1972). The Parliamentary Election of Lebanon 1968. Leiden: Brill. p. 47. ISBN 978-90-04-03460-0.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Salim Haidar (1911-1980). A Preacher of Reform and Development" (PDF). The Monthly. No. 159. October 2015. p. 27. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Tom Perry; Imad Creidi (27 August 2020). "From golden age to war and ruin: Lebanon in turmoil as it hits 100". Reuters. Beirut. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  5. ^ Irene L. Gendzier (2019). Notes From The Minefield: United States Intervention In Lebanon And The Middle East, 1945-1958. London; New York: Routledge. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-429-71129-9.
  6. ^ "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, The Near and Middle East". Office of the Historian. 26 January 1953. Retrieved 6 July 2022. Volume IX; Part 1 Document 549
  7. ^ Elie Salem (Autumn 1967). "Cabinet Politics in Lebanon". Middle East Journal. 21 (4): 494. JSTOR 4324201.
  8. ^ Clyde G. Hess, Jr.; Herbert L. Bodman, Jr. (Winter 1954). "Confessionalism and Feudality in Lebanese Politics". Middle East Journal. 8 (1): 21. JSTOR 4322562.