11 Facts About Hussein el-Husseini

Sayyid Hussein el-Husseini was a Lebanese statesman who served as speaker of the Lebanese parliament, and whose efforts in brokering and fathering the Taif Agreement led to the end of the Lebanese Civil War in 1990.

Hussein el-Husseini was widely respected for his integrity and was considered to be a wise and fair leader who always prioritized the higher interests of his country.

Hussein el-Husseini was a member of the parliamentary financial and budgetary commission.

Hussein el-Husseini was the closest associate of al-Sadr in the leadership of Amal, serving as head of its political wing, as well as in the Supreme Islamic Shia Council, which he had become a founding member of in 1967.

Hussein el-Husseini resigned from this post on 17 June 1980, following a failed assassination attempt on his life by PLO militants and after resisting pressure from Syria to engage Amal in the Lebanese Civil War.

Hussein el-Husseini's resignation was followed by the resignation of most of Amal's founding members, Nabih Berri's Syrian-backed appointment to the leadership of Amal, and the movement's subsequent entry in the war.

In 1989, while in office, el-Husseini orchestrated and presided over the Taif Agreement, held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which led to the end of the Lebanese Civil War.

Hussein el-Husseini is known to be the father of the agreement.

Hussein el-Husseini was buried in his hometown of Shmustar in a state funeral, with thousands of mourners, including much of the political class and cabinet, in attendance.

Hussein el-Husseini enjoyed wide respect for his integrity and for being one of very few politicians in Lebanon not involved in the country's endemic corruption.

Hussein el-Husseini had a low, or rather, soft voice, and an amazing physiognomy that he undoubtedly inherited from his ancestor [the Prophet Muhammad].