Victor Kassir

Victor Kassir
Deputy Prime Minister
In office
April 1984 – September 1988
Prime Minister
Minister of Industry and Economy
In office
April 1984 – September 1988
Prime Minister
  • Rashid Karami
  • Selim Hoss
Personal details
Born1910
Beirut, Ottoman Empire
Died13 October 1997 (aged 86–87)
SpouseBert Merhej
Alma materSaint Joseph University
OccupationBusinessman

Victor Kassir (Arabic: فكتور قصير; 1910–1997) was a Lebanese businessman and politician who was the deputy prime minister and minister of industry and economy between 1984 and 1988. Before entering government, he was a prominent figure in Beirut's merchant community and a long-serving president of the Beirut Traders Association.[1]

Early life and education

Kassir was born in Beirut in 1910.[2] He descended from a Greek Orthodox family.[3] He received a bachelor's degree in commercial sciences in 1930 from Saint Joseph University in Beirut.[2]

Career

Following his graduation Kassir began to involve in business.[2] In 1958 he was elected as a member of the Orthodox Finance Council.[2] He headed the merchants association from 1972 to 1994.[4] He was a member of the advisory committee of the Banque du Liban, a member of the Beirut Club, and a board member of the Banque Libano-Francaise.[2] In fact, Kassir was one of the owners of the latter together with Farid Raphael and the Kassar brothers, Adnan and Nadim.[5]

Kassir was the deputy prime minister and the minister of economy and industry in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Rashid Karami in the period 29 April 1984 – 22 September 1988.[6][7]

Personal life and death

Kassir was married to Bert Merhej, and they had four children.[2] He died on 13 October 1997.[2]

Awards

Kassir was the recipient of the following:

References

  1. ↑ Baroudi, Sami E. (2000). "Sectarianism and Business Associations in Postwar Lebanon". Arab Studies Quarterly. 22 (4): 81–107. ISSN 0271-3519.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "آل قصير" (in Arabic). Ya Beyrouth. Retrieved 6 February 2022. Citing Lebanese Ministerial Dictionary, p. 315
  3. ↑ Thomas L. Friedman (1 May 1984). "Unity cabinet is named in Lebanon". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  4. ↑ S. Baroudi (2001). "Conflict and Co-operation within Lebanon's Business Community: Relations between Merchant's and Industrialists' Associations". Middle Eastern Studies. 37 (4): 78. doi:10.1080/714004420. S2CID 154229674.
  5. ↑ Najib Hourani (2015). "Capitalists in Conflict: The Lebanese Civil War Reconsidered". Middle East Critique. 24 (2): 150. doi:10.1080/19436149.2015.1012842. S2CID 144769983.
  6. ↑ "Former Ministers" (in Arabic). Ministry of Industry. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  7. ↑ David B. Ottaway (1 May 1984). "Cabinet Proposed In Lebanon". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 February 2022.