29 Facts About Abdallah El-Yafi

Abdallah El-Yafi was the prime minister of Lebanon serving twelve times between 1938 and 1969.

Abdallah El-Yafi was considered one of the principle instigators of the collapse of Intra Bank in the 1960s.

Abdallah El-Yafi was refused a personal loan by founder Yousef Beidas and the decision not to intervene was to have drastically averse collateral impact on Lebanon's other banks, as local depositors withdrew their money to open up accounts in US banks.

Abdallah El-Yafi was at the forefront of the struggle to give women the right to vote, which was achieved during the prime ministry of Khaled Chehab in 1952.

Abdallah El-Yafi was born in Beirut, Ottoman Lebanon on 7 September 1901 into a Sunni Muslim family to parents Aref El-Yafi and Jamila Ostwani, a Damascene.

Abdallah El-Yafi pursued his advanced studies in law at the "Peres Jesuites" and earned a Juris Doctor.

In 1923, Abdallah El-Yafi enrolled in a PhD program at La Sorbonne University in Paris, France from which he graduated in 1926.

Abdallah El-Yafi was President of the Arab Students Association, and was militating in France against the French Mandate which was then in place in Lebanon.

Abdallah El-Yafi was known for organizing political demonstrations and giving fiery speeches, which once led to his arrest by the French Authorities only to be released a couple of days later.

Abdallah El-Yafi is the first Arab to receive a PhD from the Sorbonne University, where he wrote his thesis about women's rights in Islam.

Abdallah El-Yafi was known to be a man of strong and correct principles, who believed that the empowerment of women was crucial for building a stronger society, equality providing a steadier base.

On 1 August 1937, in Damascus, Abdallah El-Yafi married Hind El-Azm, a Damascene from one of the most prominent political families in Syria.

Abdallah El-Yafi's uncle was Prime Minister of Syria Jamil Mardam Bey.

In 1933, for the first time, Abdallah El-Yafi ran for parliamentary elections in Beirut.

Abdallah El-Yafi waded through the process because a good friend of his, Khayreddin al-Ahdab, was aiming for the same position.

Abdallah El-Yafi eventually went on to become Prime Minister of Lebanon twelve times.

Abdallah El-Yafi was appointed prime minister in the government of every Lebanese president with the exception of Fouad Chehab because Abdallah El-Yafi was opposed to the idea of appointing a military general to the post of president.

In 1947, Abdallah El-Yafi was appointed, alongside future president of the Republic Camille Chamoun, to the Lebanese delegation to the UN that voted against the division of Palestine.

Abdallah El-Yafi resigned along with oil minister Saeb Salam on 16 November 1958 in protest against Chamoun's refusal to do so.

Abdallah El-Yafi was appointed again as prime minister by Charles Helou in 1966, but was forced to resign in the wake of the Intra Bank scandal.

In 1974, President of Lebanon Suleiman Frangieh asked Abdallah El-Yafi to be the prime minister, he refused.

Abdallah El-Yafi was the Minister of Finance four times: in 1954,1966,1968 and from 1968 to 1969.

Abdallah El-Yafi was the main politician who lobbied for women's suffrage in Lebanon.

In 1952, the cabinet of Abdallah El-Yafi voted for a new policy that allowed voting rights to women with an elementary education and a minimum voting age of 21.

Abdallah El-Yafi was a young lawyer in October 1938, when then Lebanese President Emile Edde asked him to form a new government.

Abdallah El-Yafi's wife tried to console him for losing his premiership position.

Abdallah El-Yafi told his wife "You either throw him out of my house now, or I will throw him down the stairs myself".

Abdallah El-Yafi was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at an old age.

Abdallah El-Yafi died in Beirut, in his home, on 4 November 1986.