On Wednesday, January 11, 2022, Lebanese Shiite politician Hussein Al Husseini passed away. He was the former parliament speaker who was an architect of the peace agreement ending the 1975-90 civil war. The news has surfaced all over the internet and has saddened many people who knew him by any means. Tributary posts and RIP messages have seemed to flood the internet ever since the saddening piece of news was announced. Here, check out who was he and what happened to him along with finding out about his cause of death and more.
Al Husseini, who served as a speaker from 1984 to 1992, was instrumental in securing a more prominent position for the Shiite community, which at the time was primarily oppressed. He did this, among other things, by working with Imam Moussa Sadr to form the Shiite Amal Movement in the 1970s. Al Husseini took over as the leader of Amal when Sadr vanished during a trip to Libya in 1978 and never surfaced again. When Nabih Berri took over as movement leader in 1980, he resigned. Since the movement has been led by Berri.
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A native of the Bekaa Valley village of Chmistar, Al Husseini, collaborated with Rafik al-Hariri, a former prime minister and prominent Sunni Muslim figure who was assassinated in 2005, to play a significant part in the Taif peace accord, which was mediated in Saudi Arabia in 1989. Husseini was an MP until 2008, when he abruptly resigned, claiming that a political agreement reached by Lebanese lawmakers in Doha, Qatar to resolve a problem that had briefly caused a conflict had breached the constitution.
On Wednesday, groups from all political stances lamented his passing. According to Berri, Lebanon had lost a significant national figure. Amal has been surpassed as Lebanon’s most dominant Shiite movement by Hezbollah, an armed organization supported by Iran that was created in 1982. Hezbollah also “expressed its regret.” Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati remarked, “Today Lebanon lost an authentic national and constitutional figure. Flags will fly at half-mast for the duration of the three days of official mourning, which he declared.
Husseini was a key player in negotiating the Taif Agreement, which put an end to the Lebanese Civil War in 1990. He was also one of the founding members of the Amal Movement. In 1972, he was elected as a member of parliament for Baalbek-Hermel. He was chosen as Speaker in 1984 and held the position through 1992. Speaker Nabih Berri postponed a parliamentary session to pick a new president that was set for Thursday until January 19 in response to Husseini’s passing. Stay tuned with Social Telecast for more updates.
