Lebanon bids farewell to Ghassan Tueini

A great journalist, politician, diplomat, publisher, and businessman passes

Veteran journalist Ghassan Tueni passed away on Friday at the age of 86.

Ghassan Tueini, son of Gebran Tueini founder of An Nahar, was editor in chief and chairman of the board of directors of An Nahar since 1948, and lately he was honorary president.

Born in 1926, Tueini studied at the American University of Beirut before he went on to pursue his studies in political science at Harvard University. Tueini returned to Lebanon in 1947, after the death of his father, to lead the newspaper at the age of 22.

Ghassan Tueini was a senior political and media figure.

Since 2000, Tueini had been president and general director of ‘Les Editions Dar An Nahar SAL’, the publisher of An Nahar and other publications.

He was also cofounder of the French daily L'Orient-Le Jour, which was born from the merger of L'Orient and Le Jour in 1971. He served as chairman of the French language publication from 1970 to 1972.

Tueini was also the founder, and former chairman, of the Press Cooperative SAL, an independent printing house. He also founded the Lebanese Company for Distribution of Periodicals.

In 1950, Tueini also took part in establishing the first Arabic Faculty of Law and Political Science at the Lebanese University. In 1988, he was among the founders of the University of Balamand. He had served as vice president of the National Heritage Foundation, and had been president of the board of the Ibrahim Sursock Museum since 1998.

Ghassan Tueni was elected a to Parliament in 1951, and became deputy speaker from 1953 to 1957. He served as deputy prime minister, and held several ministerial posts including information, education, tourism, social affairs, industry, and labor. He was a member of the Lebanese UN delegation in 1957. Between 1977 and 1982, he served as Lebanon’s UN ambassador.

Tueini was trustee emeritus of the AUB’s Board of Trustees. In 2005, he received an honorary doctorate from the AUB.

In 2009, President Michel Sleiman bestowed on Ghassan Tueni the Lebanese Order of Merit - First Grade, in appreciation of his national achievements.