A file photo taken on August 12, 2008 shows Lebanon's veteran independent MP and former parliament speaker, Hussein Husseini, outside the parliament building in Beirut. Husseini passed away in the Lebanese capital at the age of 85 on January 11, 2023. (Credit: Anwar AMRO / AFP)
BEIRUT — Former Parliament Speaker Hussein Husseini — one of the main contributors to the 1989 Taif Agreement that ended the Lebanese Civil War in 1990 — passed away on Wednesday at the age of 85, his granddaughter confirmed to L'Orient-Le Jour.
Husseini was born in Shmestar in the Bekaa and was one of the founders of the Movement of the Deprived, which later gave birth to the Amal Movement.
Former Parliament Speaker Hussein Husseini. (Credit: L'Orient-Le Jour/File photo)
Amal was co-founded by Imam Musa al-Sadr and is currently headed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who succeeded Husseini in 1992.
Husseini was elected to Parliament in 1972 at age 35 after first serving as mayor of his hometown, Shmestar. In October 1984, he was elected Parliament Speaker and remained in the post until October 1992, after serving four consecutive two-year terms.
National mourning
The Lebanese government ordered three days of national mourning, beginning Wednesday. National flags will be flown at half-mast.
Current Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri postponed the parliamentary session on the presidential election scheduled for Thursday. A new session has been set for Jan. 19.
"Hussein Husseini marked the legislative field in Lebanon for many years," said caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who described the former Parliament speaker as an "authentic national constitutional figure."
"With his absence, a bright page of a political and parliamentary work folds," Mikati added.
In a statement, Berri said "the country has lost a man and an invaluable legislator."
"Hussein Husseini devoted his life to defend the country, its people and its national identity," the current Parliament speaker added.
"With his departure, Lebanon has lost one of the great men of the Taif Agreement, known for his moderation and his respect for dialogue and the Constitution," former Prime Minister Saad Hariri tweeted Wednesday.
The former head of government, Hassane Diab, also reacted in a statement, saying that with Husseini's death, "Lebanon has lost a man of dialogue and openness."
"[Husseini] paved the way for civil peace in Lebanon," Diab added.
Husseini "helped restore Lebanon's independence, unity and sovereignty" during the most difficult times, former prime minister Tammam Salam said in a statement. "He helped save Lebanon from civil war and lead it to a new constitution."
Reporting contributed by Hoda Chedid.
