17 Facts About Bassel Fleihan

Bassel Fleihan was a Lebanese legislator and Minister of Economy and Trade.

Bassel Fleihan died from injuries sustained when a massive bomb exploded on the Beirut seafront as he passed by in former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri's motorcade on 14 February 2005.

Bassel Fleihan attended the International College, a non-profit private school in Beirut.

Bassel Fleihan received a bachelor of arts degree in economics from the American University of Beirut in 1984.

Bassel Fleihan held a PhD in economics from Columbia University in 1990.

From 1988 to 1993, Fleihan worked at the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC.

Bassel Fleihan worked there as an advisor and then senior advisor to the Saudi executive director.

Bassel Fleihan was first elected to the Parliament of Lebanon in 2000, winning the Protestant seat in Beirut's first electoral district and becoming the only Protestant member of the Parliament.

Bassel Fleihan ran as a member of Hariri's "Dignity of Beirut" electoral list.

Bassel Fleihan held this position until 2003, and was replaced by Marwan Hamadeh.

Bassel Fleihan played a role in the development of Lebanon's economic reform program, which was presented by Hariri to international donors at a Paris conference in November 2002.

Bassel Fleihan was a Protestant and a member of the National Evangelical Church of Beirut.

Bassel Fleihan would go and visit them every time he could.

In 2013, both of Bassel Fleihan's children composed poems in his memory.

The day before the Hariri assassination, Bassel Fleihan was in Geneva, Switzerland.

Bassel Fleihan was first taken to the intensive care unit of the American University Hospital.

Bassel Fleihan's body was taken to Lebanon and funeral service was held at a Protestant church in Beirut.