About the authors
The book was written by Roger Nasnas In cooperation with : Ghazi Wazni, Kamal Hamdan, Mazen Soueid, Nasser Hoteit, Samir Nasr, Roger Melki, Mounir Kharma, Roger Khayat, Samih Geha and the contribution of : Ghassan Moukheiber, Antoine Messarra, Ziad Baroud, Shadi Karam, Fadi Comair, Ziad El Hayek, Samir Abillama, Toufic Gaspard, Marwan Iskandar, Maroun Chammas, Haytham Omar, Lea Bou Khater, Ziad El Sayegh, Nancy Nabil Kanbar
Roger Nasnas
Chairman of the Economic and Social Council, Vice President of the League of Arab Economic and Social Councils, is the Chairman and CEO of AXA – Middle East SAL; Chairman of Globemed Lebanon, and member of Globemed Ltd. He is one of the founders of the Rassemblement des Chefs d’Entreprises Libanais (RDCL) and its Chairman for four terms. He was Member of the Board of the Beirut and Mount-Lebanon Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture. He contributed to several studies, among which: Emerging Lebanon – Towards an Economic & Social Vision (Dar AN-NAHAR, January 2007), “Le Livre Blanc sur l’économie libanaise”, “Le Chantier de l’entreprise; retrouver la competitive et la productivité”, as well as to social policies, namely “The Pension Fund Project”.
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Samir Abillama
Attorney at Law since 1965; former President of the Beirut Bar Association; Member of the Committee for the Modernization of Lebanese Law at the Ministry of Justice (1992); President of the Lebanese Arbitration Association (1995); National President for the Lawyers International Federation; Member of the Board of Trustees of the Human Rights Institute at the Beirut Bar Association; Member of the Economic and Social Council.
Ziad Baroud
Attorney at Law and Lecturer at Université Saint-Joseph (USJ), he was appointed Minister of Interior and Municipalities in the Cabinet of PM Fouad Siniora (2008). He was reappointed to the same portfolio in the Cabinet of PM Saad Al-Hariri (until 2011). With him at the helm of the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, his steering earned it the UN Award for Public Service (2010). In 2012 he was appointed as the Chairman of a special commission in charge of drafting a law on Administrative Decentralization, a project which was eventually launched by then-President of the Republic Michel Sleiman in April 2014.
Lea Bou Khater
Senior Researcher at the Consultation and Research Institute (CRI) since 2009. She contributed to several studies and projects of assessment and research concerning various social and economic subjects, notably on the labor market and the education sector in Lebanon. She is also pursuing a PhD in Developmental Studies at London University – College of Eastern and African Studies.
Maroun Chammas
Chairman of the Board and Managing Director of Berytech, the technology pole affiliated with St Joseph University of Beirut, is a serial entrepreneur with activities ranging from Oil and Gas to Telecom. He obtained an Engineering degree in 1984, an MBA in 1986 from Boston University, and joined his family’s group of companies, one of the regional leaders in Petroleum trade and distribution. In 1995 he acquired an important stake in Data Management that later became a leading ISP provider. He is currently Chairman and CEO of most companies of the Group. In August 2015 he was elected President of the Association of Petroleum Importing Companies of Lebanon (APIC) for a three years’ term.
Fadi Georges Comair
PhD in Civil Engineering, Hydraulics and Energy from University of Claude Bernard de Lyon I in France and Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris. Member of UNESCO’s Water International Consultancy Committee. Member of the French Water Academy, as part of its Committee of Qualified Personalities. Currently, Honorary President of the Mediterranean Network for Basin Organizations (MENBO). Awarded the honorary title of Diplomat, Water Resources Engineer (DWRE) by the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers (AAWRE). University Lecturing Professor. Authored many works that deal with the subject of water at the national, regional, and international levels.
Ziad El Hayek
Secretary General of the Higher Council for Privatization; Chairman of Alephbet Foundation; Member of the Board of Trustees of USEK University; Member of the Board of several corporations and philanthropic organizations; Representative of Carlos Slim Foundation in Lebanon; Former General Manager at Citibank, Solomon Brothers, Bear Stearns, in New York and London. Master’s degree in International Management from Texas University at Dallas.
Ziad El Sayegh
Expert on Public Policies: A researcher on the Palestinian Refugees’ issue in Lebanon and the Middle East Peace Process, on Syrian Refugees, and on Labor Policies and Social Protection; Policy and Communication Strategies Advisor of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (2006-2009); Policy Advisor and Team Leader to the Lebanese Minister of Labor (January 2010 - June 2011); and the National Policy Advisor to the ILO (September 2011 – June 2013).
Toufic Gaspard
D. Phil. in Economics from Sussex University, UK. Formerly: Chief Economic Advisor to the Lebanese Minister of Finance, Economic Expert at IMF in Washington. Banking Expert in New York, Brussels, and Beirut. Lecturer at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and Université Saint-Joseph (USJ). Authored “A Political Economy of Lebanon, 1948-2002: The Limits of Laissez-faire”, published by Brill. The book was published in Arabic by Dar AN-NAHAR.
Samih Geha
Actuarial Expert in the fields of insurance and pension at the Commission for Monitoring Insurance Organizations in Lebanon, and at a number of insurance firms and pension funds in Lebanon and across the Arab world. He works since 2008 on draft laws relative to old age insurance and comprehensive health insurance in Lebanon, together with several international and official organizations, namely the Lebanese Parliament, the Lebanese Ministry of Labor, the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the World Bank (WB). He also contributes to economic studies about insurance risks through his consultancy work at the Commission for Monitoring Insurance Organizations in Lebanon.
Kamal Hamdan
Executive Director at the Consultation and Research Institute (CRI). He carried out consultancy missions for UNDP, the World Bank, UNICEF, UNESCO, ESCWA, and ILO, in addition to public and private organizations in Lebanon and abroad. Participated in economic committees that the Council of Ministers had formed for tackling such subjects as the currency collapse (early 1990s), the size of the public sector (on the eve of the Paris 2 Conference), and the thorny case file of Salary and Wage Corrections. He published numerous books and study contributions. He is a founding member of the Economic Research Forum (ERF) in Cairo, and in the Arabic Society for Economic Research (Egypt).
Nasser Hoteit
Former rotating President of the Lebanese Petroleum Administration (LPA); former expert at the Atomic Power Agency pertinent to OECD; holder of a PhD from the Polytechnique University in France, and a Master’s in Business Administration and Economics from HEC Paris. He worked for over 3 years in the fields of fossil fuels energy and nuclear power in Europe and North America. He is a published author, and his credentials include numerous scientific papers in energy sciences.
Marwan Iskandar
D. Phil. In Economics, Oxford University, UK, and graduate in Law, is the head of the Bureau for Economic Studies since 1968. He has contributed within two commissions to the rehabilitation of the Lebanese economy in 1986 and 1992. He established an Arab bank in Paris (1977). His publications include: “Lost Opportunity, Lebanon and the 21st Century Challenges”, Riad Al-Rayes Publications, 2000; and “Rafic Al-Hariri and the Fate of Lebanon”, al-Saqi, 2006, in addition to ten other books and 25 annual reports on the Lebanese economy (1981-2005).
Nancy Nabil Kanbar
PhD in Environmental Sciences and Public Policy (USA). Assistant Professor at the Lebanese University. National Coordinator of EU projects (RUCAS, CLIMASP). Contributed to Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (UN). Developed Environmental Economics for Development Policy course for the World Bank (Washington, DC). Author in Arab Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (UNEP). Consulted with the Ministry of Environment, and OMSAR. National expert for GEF: Governance and Knowledge Generation / Socio-Economic Evaluation of Maritime Activities (Plan Bleu). Research in Environmental Economics, Public Policy, and Development.
Shadi A. Karam
has occupied the posts of Chairman and CEO of various companies (textile, finance, defense industries, hotels and real estate development) in Europe and the USA. He is credited with the successful turn-around of several companies, among which BLC Bank S.A.L. which he managed as Chairman and CEO. Advisor to the President of the Republic of Lebanon, General Michel Sleiman, during his entire six-year term which ended in May 2014, he has since been Senior Advisor to the President of the Council of Ministers, Mr. Tammam Salam. He sits on the board of various companies and is the Vice-President of ICC – Lebanon.
Mounir Kharma
Chairman and CEO of Globemed Group, the largest healthcare benefits management firm in the Middle East. He is a graduate in Industrial Engineering from Oklahoma University, USA; Fellow with the grade of Lecturer at Life Management Institute, Atlanta, USA; Member of the American Society for Insurance Research; Member of the Order of Engineers, and of Rassemblement des Chefs d’Entreprises Libanais (RDCL). Recipient of several honorary awards in recognition of his achievements, namely his inclusion in the Top 50 influential figures in the MENA insurance sector for 2015.
Roger Khayat
Economic and Business Consultant. Economic Advisor to the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount-Lebanon. Former Chairman of the Commission on Economic Policies at the Economic and Social Council. Member of: The Society of Consultants in Administration and Development, the Association of Lebanese Industrialists, the Lebanese Economics Association (LEA), and the Lebanese Political Science Association. Author of studies and publications in economic policies, foreign trade, investment, SMEs, and in monetary and fiscal policies.
Roger Melki
Economic Consultant. Contributed to, and supervised a number of economic and social studies; Advisor at UNDP to Ministers of Finance and Economy; Participated in several programs on developing the relations between the public and private sectors, and in setting action plans and programs for supporting the production enterprises in the areas of investment and export. University Lecturing Professor.
Antoine Messarra
Member of the Constitutional Council. Professor at the Lebanese University. President of “UNESCO’s Chair for Comparative Religion Studies, Arbitration, and Dialogue” at Université Saint-Joseph (USJ). Some of his writings: The General Theory in the Lebanese Constitutional System (Comparative research in participative systems), Beirut, Oriental Library, 2005; The Roots of the National Concord Document – Taif Accord, Beirut, Oriental Library, 2006; The Legal Theory in Diversity Parliamentarian Systems, Beirut, Oriental Library, due end 2016; La culture citoyenne dans une société multicommunautaire, Le Liban en perspective comparée, Beyrouth, Librairie Orientale, 2013, 600 p.; iné addition to many researches in legal and social sciences. Recipient of President Elias Hraoui Commemorative Award for 2007.
Ghassan Moukheiber
Attorney at Law. MP since 2002. Secretary General of the Parliamentary Human Rights Committee. Member of the Parliamentary Committees: Administration and Justice; Environment. Co-Founder of the organization ‘Arab Parliamentarians Against Corruption’ and President of the ‘Lebanese Parliamentarians Against Corruption Group’. Co-Founder of ‘Lebanese Transparency Society – No Corruption’ and Member of its Consultative Committee. BA in Law from Université Saint-Joseph (USJ), and holder of LLM degree from Harvard Law School, USA. Researcher and University Professor. Lectured and published in his fields of commitment across all relevant topics, namely Fighting Corruption, Evolving the Democratic Process and Parliamentary Work, Humans Rights Protection, and Conflict Resolution. Founding Member of a number of organizations relative to those, and other, issues.
Samir Nasr
PhD in Economics from Paris University, and Master’s degree in Economics from the American University of Beirut (AUB), in addition to High Diploma in Finance Studies (Paris). Expert at OECD, Paris. University Professor, Head of the Economic Sciences Department at the Lebanese University until 1983. Founder and Managing Director of ECE Consultancy and Financial Group since 1983. Chairman of the Board of the National Investment Guarantee Institution since 1993. Authored numerous published work on the Lebanese and Arab economy.
Haytham Omar
Holder of a BS in Mechanical Engineering and an MA in Economics from the American University of Beirut (AUB); Director of the Economic and Social Development Fund in Lebanon since 2002; Founding Member of the Arab SMEs Federation – League of Arab Nations – and Lebanon’s representative at the Federation’s Board. Awarded Man of the Year 2011 in the area of distinguished accomplishments at the level of the Arab world by the Arab League’s Arab Organization for Administrative Development and Tatweej Academy for Distinction and Quality; Lecturer at many international conferences.
Mazen Soueid
Born in Beirut in 1974, he holds a PhD in Economics from Brown University, USA. Worked as Consultant to Deutsche Bank Group in London and New York, then as Economist at IMF in Washington for six years before returning to Beirut to assume the post of Research Director/Chief Economist at Bankmed. Taught Economics at Brown University and at the American University of Beirut (AUB). Advisor for Economic Affairs to former PM Fouad Siniora since 2008. Founding Member and Member of the Board at the Lebanese Economics Association (LEA).
Ghazi Wazni
PhD in “Economic and Financial Performance” from Paris iX Dauphine. Director of the Financial and Economic Bureau (FEB), Beirut. Advisor to the Parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee. Former Associate Professor of Finance and Economics. Former banker; Contributed to the founding of a number of banks. Former Economic and Financial Affairs Researcher at CREFI Research and Financial Studies Center, Paris.