Wiam Wahhab
Leader of the Arab Unification Party
Assumed office
26 May 2006
Preceded byParty established
Minister of Environment
In office
26 October 2004 – 19 April 2005
Prime MinisterOmar Karami
Preceded byFarès Boueiz
Succeeded byTarek Mitri
Personal details
Born (1964-10-11) 11 October 1964
Jahliyeh, Lebanon
Political partyArab Unification Party

Wiam Maher Najib Wahhab (Arabic: وئام وهاب; born on 11 October 1964) is a Lebanese Druze politician and journalist from Jahlieh, Chouf District, and the founder of the Arab Unification Party.

Biography

He ran for parliamentary elections in 1996 and won 12,000 votes but lost the elections.

He heads the Arab Unification Party that he founded on 26 May 2006,[1] and whose principles are based on cross-border: secularism, sects, doctrines and narrow fanaticism, and his rejection of all forms of injustice, exploitation, feudalism, deprivation and sanctification of public freedoms and human rights.[2]

Wahhab was the target of assassination attempts in the Hasbaya District in 2006 and in the town of Kfar Him, Chouf District in 2008 for rejecting the feudal reality in the Druze community.[3]

Wahhab was in the 2018 parliamentary elections against the March 8 and March 14 alliances, and the slogan of his battle was the war on corruption, and the list that led by a number of independent candidates for March 8 and 14. He received 13,000 votes and defeated candidate Marwan Hamadeh by preferential votes, with 7,391 votes against 7,266 yet still lost the elections since his list failed to reach the required electoral quotient.

In the 2022 parliamentary elections Wahhab formed an electoral alliance with FPM and Talal Arslan yet lost the elections once again.[4]

Controversy

During a television interview, Wahhab made disparaging comments about the Niqab which Saudi women wear. Sunni Muslim groups protested. Wahhab apologized to Saudi women for the niqab remarks.[5]

Wahhab commented on Turkey's warnings to Syria during the 2011 uprising by claiming that Syria and Bashar al-Assad were prepared to launch 100,000 rockets at Turkey if it tried to invade.[6][7]

The US has placed financial sanctions on Wahhab.[8]

Personal life

Wahhab's daughter, Rida, played for the Lebanon national football team.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "THE DAILY STAR :: News :: Local News :: Beirutis voice mixed reactions over French niqab ban". April 15, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-04-15.
  2. ↑ "مبادئ الحزب".
  3. ↑ "Wahhab Reveals Details of His Assassination Attempt". alahednews.com. 2012.
  4. ↑ "Lebanon: Shouf-Aley District to Turn into Electoral Battleground". aawsat.com. 7 March 2018.
  5. ↑ "Lebanon ex-MP apologizes for anti-Saudi slurs". March 19, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-03-19.
  6. ↑ "Wahhab slams Mikati, praises Rai's positions". Nowlebanon.com. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  7. ↑ "Lübnanlı bakan Esat'ın Türkiye planını anlattı - Dünya Haberleri". Sabah.com.tr. 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  8. ↑ "sanctions list search". Office of Foreign Assets Control.
  9. ↑ "ابنة وئام وهاب قائدة منتخب لبنان للشابات دون 18 عاماً (صور)". LBCI Lebanon (in Arabic). Retrieved 2021-04-09.
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