Walid Eido

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Walid Eido (Arabic: وليد عيدو) (Beirut, 1942 - Beirut, June 13, 2007) was a Lebanese politician and member of the Current for the Future Lebanese political movement and an MP in the Lebanese Parliament. He was also a member of the March 14 Coalition. He was killed on June 13, 2007 by a bomb near the Beirut waterfront, along with his son and two bodyguards and six others. [1]

Contents

[edit] Background

Eido was born to a Sunni Muslim family in the Bachoura neighborhood of Beirut. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Lebanese University in 1966 and became a magistrate a year later. In the late 1990s he was north Lebanon's public prosecutor, from which he was forced to resign in 2000 after being accused of accepting bribes.[2] While on Rafik Hariri's list, a then-unknown Walid Eido was elected as a representative of Beirut's second constituency in 2000 and 2005. He was the head of the Defense Parliamentary Committee and a member of several others. Eido belonged to the Sunni Al-Murabitun militia during Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.

[edit] Personal life

Eido was married with three sons named Khaled, Zaher and Mazen. Eido was an avid swimmer and the bomb exploded outside his favorite Beirut beach resort, Sporting Club.

[edit] Political career

After Syria's withdrawal of Lebanon, Eido became a critic of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanese President Émile Lahoud. [3] On April 6, 2007 Eido asked Lebanon’s prime minister Fouad Siniora to end the current standoff and replace the resigned Ministers. Eido said "it is time to end this resignation mockery by replacing the resigned ministers in accordance with the constitution so that the government can go back to work."

Eido was a supporter of the tribunal and a close friend of Rafik Hariri. Following the 2006 Lebanon War, Eido reportedly said: “We will sell our blood to buy weapons and confront [Hezbollah]. We will never let them control the country." [4]

[edit] Assassination

A parked Mitsubishi Pajero four wheel vehicle packed with 80 kg (177 lbs) of explosives blew up as Eido's car was driving away from a Beirut beach club. [5] His son Khaled was killed along with his father while his second son Mazen was injured in the explosion and taken to the American University Hospital in Beirut. [6]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Blast rocks Beirut's waterfront", BBC News, BBC, 2007-06-13. 
  2. ^ "Walid Eido", The Guardian, The Guardian, 2006-06-18. 
  3. ^ "Lebanese lawmaker killed in Beirut blast", CNN World, CNN, 2007-06-13. 
  4. ^ "Chilling Echo for Lebanon, Mirror of Regional Tension", New York Times, New York Times, 2006-11-27. 
  5. ^ "Lebanon MP assassination condemned worldwide, but Syria silent", Ya Libnan, Ya Libnan, 2007-06-14. 
  6. ^ "Lebanon MP Walid Eido was the assassination target", Ya Libnan, Ya Libnan, 2007-06-13.