| Fuad Ricardo Char Abdala | |
|---|---|
| Senator of Colombia | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 20 July 2010 |
|
| In office 20 July 1998 – 20 July 2006 |
|
| In office 20 July 1990 – 20 April 1995 |
|
| 21st Colombia Ambassador to Portugal | |
| In office 30 September 2008 – 5 June 2009 |
|
| President | Álvaro Uribe Vélez |
| Preceded by | Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza |
| Succeeded by | Arturo Sarabia Better |
| 14th Colombian Minister of Economic Development | |
| In office 1987–1988 |
|
| President | Virgilio Barco Vargas |
| Preceded by | Miguel Merino Gordillo |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Arturo Marulanda Ramírez |
| 48th Governor of Atlántico | |
| In office 1984–1987 |
|
| President | Belisario Betancur Cuartas |
| Preceded by | Abel Francisco Carbonell |
| Succeeded by | Gerardo Certain |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 October 1937 Santa Cruz de Lorica, Córdoba, Colombia |
| Nationality | Colombian |
| Political party | Radical Change |
| Other political affiliations |
Liberal |
| Spouse(s) | Adela Chaljub Char (1994) |
| Children | Arturo Char Chaljub Alejandro Char Chaljub Antonio Char Chaljub |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Fuad Ricardo Char Abdala (born 5 October 1937) is a Senator of Colombia serving his fifth term in Congress, albeit not all consecutively.
Fuad was the son of Ricardo Char Zaslawy, a Syrian immigrant who arrived in Colombia in 1926, and Erlinda Abdala a daughter of Syrian immigrants; the eldest out of seven kids, his other siblings were Habib, Farid, Simón, Ricardo, Mary and Mike.[1] His uncle, Nicólas had started a business that quickly grew profitable, and the family moved to Barranquilla in 1952, where they started what would become Olímpica S. A, a regional drugstore chain that would make his family one of the most influential in the Colombian Caribbean Coast. It grew into a conglomerate that included, the radio station Olímpica Stéreo, and the ownership of Junior Barranquilla. Fuad, married his first cousin Adela Chaljub Char, daughter of Antonio Chaljub, an immigrant from Lebanon and Rosa Char Zaslawy, his aunt from Syria. Together they had three sons: Antonio, Arturo, and Alejandro. After becoming a widower in 1994, he remarried in 1996 to Marina Díaz Pérez.[2]