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Selim Ahmed El-Hoss (spelled "Salim El-Hoss" on his website, Arabic: سليم أحمد الحص) (born 1929) is a veteran Lebanese politician. He was a Prime Minister of Lebanon and a longtime Member of Parliament representing his hometown, Beirut.
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El-Hoss received his undergraduate degree in Economics from the American University of Beirut and a PhD in business and economics from Indiana University in the United States. He is known as a technocrat.
El-Hoss, a Sunni Muslim, served as prime minister of Lebanon four times. The first was from 1976 until 1980 during the first years of the Lebanese Civil War. His second, and most controversial term, was from 1987 until 1989, when in 1988 he unconstitutionally nominated himself as prime minister but was recognized by many nations and statesmen of the international community. El-Hoss was chosen a third time to serve as prime minister by President Elias Hrawi from November 1989 until December 1990. He served as prime minister again from December 1998 to October 2000.
After losing his parliamentary seat to a previously unknown candidate running with former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in the Parliamentary elections of 2000, a frail Al-Hoss resigned as Prime Minister declaring an end to his political career.
In March 2005, he was considered as a candidate to form a new government following the resignation of Omar Karami (Prime Minister again), but he reportedly refused to accept the position for health reasons, and Najib Mikati was subsequently appointed.
During his last two terms as prime minister, he was also foreign minister.
He is a member of the anti-imperalist conference Axis for Peace.
Salem al-Hoss is a strong opponent of capital punishment, and during his term as Prime Minister he refused to sign any execution warrants which put a temporary halt to executions in Lebanon, which remain rare. [1]
From January to September 1988, he boycotted meetings of his own Cabinet, in protest against the policies of President, Amine Gemayel. On 22 September of that year, he refused to accept his dismissal in favour of General Michel Aoun, a Maronite Christian. The crisis was precipitated by the failure of the National Assembly to elect a new president (a post traditionally reserved for a Maronite).
Since the Lebanese constitution states that in such a situation, the outgoing president appoints a temporary prime minister to act as president during the course of a presidential vacancy, outgoing president Gemayel decided to appoint Maronite army commander Michel Aoun to that office, notwithstanding the tradition of reserving it for a Sunni Muslim. Al-Hoss refused to concede the prime minister's post to Aoun so the two ended up heading rival administrations; with Aoun occupying the presidential palace at Baabda, al-Hoss set up his own office in Muslim-dominated West Beirut.
Lebanon was thus left with no President and two rival governments: one constitutional and one not but recognized by many states. However, although Syria, at the time occupying much of Lebanon, supported Al-Hoss, and although Al-Hoss's government was already established and in operation, most of the international community dealt with administrations on both sides of the Green Line and recognized both as Lebanon's prime ministers even though, constitutionally speaking, Aoun was the lawfully appointed prime minister and acting president of Lebanon.
The rival Prime Ministers soon came into violent conflict over the refusal of Michel Aoun to accept the presence of Syrian troops in Lebanon. Al-Hoss served as acting president (competing with Aoun's constitutional government) from 1988 until November 5, 1989, when René Moawad took office. When Moawad was assassinated only seventeen days later, Al-Hoss served as acting president again for two days, until Elias Hrawi was elected to succeed Moawad.
In 1990, the civil war ended when Aoun was forced to surrender following an attack on the presidential palace, where he was still holding out, by Syrian and Lebanese military forces. Al-Hoss subsequently resigned as Prime Minister, in favour of Omar Karami.
| Preceded by Rashid Karami |
Prime Minister of Lebanon 1976–1980 |
Succeeded by Takieddin as-Solh |
| Preceded by Rashid Karami |
Prime Minister of Lebanon (disputed) 1987–1990 |
Succeeded by Omar Karami |
| Preceded by Rafik Hariri |
Prime Minister of Lebanon 1998–2000 |
Succeeded by Rafik Hariri |