Elias Hrawi
Elias Hrawi (Arabic: الياس الهراوي, 4 September 1926 - 7 July 2006) was a President of Lebanon, whose term of office ran from 1989 to 1998.
Early life and education
Hrawi was born in Hawch Al Umara, Zahlé, to a wealthy landowning Maronite family in the Bekaa Valley on 4 September 1926. He was the son of Khalil Hrawi and Helena Harb. He obtained a diploma in commerce at the Sagesse Institute in 1947. He enrolled at St Joseph University, Faculty of Law but did not complete his studies there.
Business activities
Hrawi dealt with agriculture until he became a member of Lebanon Parliament in 1972. A successful businessman, Hrawi started a vegetable export business, dealing with major Swiss companies. He also headed the Beqaa sugarbeet cooperative. When his export business was destroyed by the civil war that raged from 1975 to 1990, he switched his line of business to oil importing.
Career
The scion of a politically prominent family, Hrawi followed his brothers Georges and Joseph when he was elected to the National Assembly in 1972. From 1980 to 1982, he served in the cabinet as minister of public works under President Elias Sarkis and Prime Minister Shafik Wazzan. He concentrated on building bridges and highways to link all parts of the country.