Elias Hraoui

On November 24, 1989, Elias Hraoui was elected President of the Lebanese Republic under extremely difficult security conditions, after the assassination of President Rene Mouawad. In 1995, his presidency was extended for a term of three years.

President Elias Hraoui was a model of courage and endeavor in Lebanon's emergence from war to civil peace. He faced crisis, with patience and tenacity, and worked relentlessly during 9 years to anchor national unity, restore vitality to Lebanese life, rebuild the Republic, launch the process of reconstruction and liberation, and establish sovereignty on all Lebanese territory.

Elias Hraoui was born in 1926 in Hawsh Al-Umara, Zahle. He came from a venerable Lebanese family, which relocated from Baskinta in Mount Lebanon to the Bekaa region at the start of the nineteenth century. His father Khalil Elias Hraoui grew up in Zahle and married Helena Nakhle Harb from Baskinta. They had six children, three girls and three boys. Their youngest was Elias, who carries his grandfather’s name, given name of the family’s firstborn who died at ten months of age.

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