Hassan Diab | |
|---|---|
حَسَّان دِيَاب | |
.jpg) Diab in 2020 | |
| 51st Prime Minister of Lebanon | |
| In office 21 January 2020 – 10 September 2021 | |
| President | Michel Aoun |
| Deputy | Zeina Akar |
| Preceded by | Saad Hariri |
| Succeeded by | Najib Mikati |
| 8thMinister of Education and Higher Learning | |
| In office 13 June 2011 – 15 February 2014 | |
| President | Michel Suleiman |
| Prime Minister | Najib Mikati |
| Preceded by | Hasan Mneimneh |
| Succeeded by | Elias Abou Saab |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1959-06-01)1 June 1959 (age 66) |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse | Nuwar Mawlawi |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | |
| Website | hassandiab |
Hassan Diab (Arabic:حَسَّان دِيَاب,romanized: Hassân Diyâb; born 1 June 1959) is a Lebanese academic, engineer and politician who served as theprime minister of Lebanon from 21 January 2020 to 10 September 2021. He was appointed by PresidentMichel Aoun in 2019 to succeedSaad Hariri as prime minister.[1][2] He submitted his resignation on 10 August 2020 in wake of the2020 Beirut explosion and served ascaretaker prime minister untilNajib Mikati formed a new government on 10 September 2021. Prior to his premiership, he served as theminister of education from June 2011 to February 2014 under PresidentMichel Suleiman.
Diab was born inBeirut on 1 June 1959.[3] He has abachelor of science degree incommunications engineering, which he received fromLeeds Metropolitan University in 1981.[4][5] Then he obtained amaster's degree insystems engineering from theUniversity of Surrey in 1982,[4] and aPhD incomputer engineering from theUniversity of Bath in 1985.[5]
Diab was a career academic, joining theAmerican University of Beirut (AUB) as an electrical engineering professor in 1985.[3] He has published over 150 articles and papers in scientific journals and scientific conferences.[3] He called himself an advocate foreducational reform in Lebanon and authored books on the topic.[6] He also served as vice president for regional external programs at the AUB from October 2006 to June 2011.[7]
On 13 June 2011, Diab was appointed minister of education and higher education as part of Najib Mikati's cabinet, replacing Hasan Mneimneh in the post. Diab's term ended on 15 February 2014,[8] and Elias Abu Saab succeeded him in the post.
Diab was designated as the next prime minister succeeding Saad Hariri on 19 December 2019, amidst theprotests that had caused Hariri's resignation. Diab's candidacy won the support of 69 members out of 128 of theLebanese parliament, and his support came from parties that co-form theMarch 8 Alliance,[9] namely theHezbollah-allied parliamentary blocs, but did not receive the backing of parties from his ownSunni community.[6]
Diab is anindependent, not vocally supporting any political group, and had a low public profile at the time of his appointment.[6]
Lebanon's new government was formed on 21 January 2020 after Diab and Parliament SpeakerNabih Berri met with President Michel Aoun.[10][11] Diab then announced the new twenty-member cabinet made up oftechnocrats reporting that they would work on new election law, seeking anindependent judiciary and the return of looted public funds.[10] During the first session of the new cabinet, Diab announced that his first official visits would be to countries "in theArab region, especially the Gulf".[12] He said nothing about abiding by the reforms promised by Hariri and chose to maintain theministry of information, which Hariri had promised to abolish.[13] On 3 February, Diab signed thestate budget for 2020, reducing spending by $700 million[14][15] and on 6 February the cabinet approved afinancial rescue plan to present to the parliament.[16]
On 7 March 2020, Diab announced Lebanon would default on asovereign debt for the first time in itshistory.[17]
In the wake of theBeirut explosion, the Diab cabinet declared a two-week state of emergency in the Lebanese capital,[18] thus giving the Lebanese military full powers in the city. On Saturday, August 8, mass protests broke out against the government, dramatically escalating as protestors, angry at the Lebanese government for their failure to prevent the disaster (and the general crisis), seized multiple government buildings and clashed with the military.[19] In the evening, in a televised address, Diab declared that Lebanon could not get out of the crisis without early parliamentary elections, echoing the demands of the protestors, and added that on Monday, he would propose to his cabinet a bill to call for early parliamentary polls.[20] Before the Monday, August 10 meeting, five ministers out of the cabinet's twenty tendered their resignation, two less than the seven required by the Lebanese Constitution to force the whole cabinet's resignation, in what was later declared by politicians close to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and President Michel Aoun to have been a reaction to Diab's proposed bill. Due to Aoun's refusal to discuss the early elections bill, the meeting took place in the Grand Sérail instead of the Baabda Presidential Palace. Diab tendered his government's resignation that evening.[21]
Diab is married to Nuwar Mawlawi and has three children.[6] He is a Sunni Muslim.[22]
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Media related toHassan Diab at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Lebanon 2020–2021 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
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