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Hassan Diab… an Academic Who Will Become Prime Minister With Support of the ‘Resistance’

Hassan Diab… an Academic Who Will Become Prime Minister With Support of the ‘Resistance’
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Hassan Diab… an Academic Who Will Become Prime Minister With Support of the ‘Resistance’

Hassan Diab… an Academic Who Will Become Prime Minister With Support of the ‘Resistance’

There is no doubt that Dr. Hassan Diab, who received the backing of the majority of parliamentarians to form a government, has the qualities of a technocrat. He is a prominent academic whose achievements led to his appointment as the vice-president of the American University of Beirut. However, he is not independent of the political class. Indeed, he was a member of this class during his tenure as Minister of Education in Najib Mikati’s government, which has been described as a “one-sided government” and a “March 8 government”, a government which was formed in accordance with the aspirations of Hezbollah. Today, he is close to heading a government backed by the axis of resistance.

Dr. Diab has the needed requisites to qualify for the primary Sunni position in Lebanon (prime minister). Born on the 6th of January 1959, Diab hails from a prominent Beirut family and is married with three children. He has been working at the AUB since 1985, briefly leaving his position from time to time before returning to it, like he did between 2011 and 2014 when he was appointed minister of education.

The appointed Prime Minister holds a bachelor’s degree (with Honors) in Communications Engineering, a master’s degree (with distinction) in Systems Engineering, and a doctorate in Computer Engineering. He is a Professor of Computer Engineering at the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture in AUB and has contributed to over 100 internationally refereed journals and conferences. Also, he has held many prominent academic positions; most notably, he was appointed Founding Dean of the College of Engineering and Founding President at Dhofar University in Oman in 2004 and Vice President of regional foreign programs at the American University of Beirut since 2006.

Politically, politicians loyal to the Shiite duo (Hezbollah and Amal) and President Michel Aoun, find in him the ideal candidate because, alongside his distinguished career, “he is not part of the corrupt political class”. This alliance rushed to spread the word about his merits and positive qualities. The most eye-catching Tweet came courtesy of Nemat Frem who recently left the “Strong Lebanon” block led by Gebran Bassil: “The word of justice must be said about the man who accompanied me in university as a professor and whom I later developed a relationship that was warm and respectful”.

He added: “Hassan Diab is trustworthy, independent, qualified, and honest; these are the needed qualities for this crucial period. Now we have to see the shape the government will take and the program it will adopt”.

However, Diab did not go unscathed, with claims that he has been chosen beforehand by the Shiite duo, with Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, with whom he has a longstanding relationship, naming him. Diab had visited President Aoun several times already at the Presidential Palace, and there had been reports that arrangements were being made for him to form a government days before Hariri stepped aside.

Many activists took to social media to decry the appointment. The most noticeable of these was a post by Dr. Hamam Kadara, who said that Hassan Diab had visited his office and his him to give his son a job, saying “give him a job and I’ll pay his salary”, ending the post say “good luck to daddy on leading the anti-corruption government”. Activists also attacked his record as Education Minister, accusing him of “documenting his achievements in a book that cost 70 million Liras (around 50 thousand dollars)”. They also referred to the fact that he replaced the name of a major public school in Beirut with his mother’s name, and said that he was the only education minister to raise the tuition of the Lebanese University. He doubled tuition, from 200,000 Liras to 400,000 (around 280 dollars) without making any improvements to the university.

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Damascus’ Mazzeh 86 Neighborhood, Witness of The Two-Assad Era

Members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent stand near the wreckage of a car after what the Syrian state television said was a "guided missile attack" on the car in the Mazzeh area of Damascus, Syria October 21, 2024. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi
Members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent stand near the wreckage of a car after what the Syrian state television said was a "guided missile attack" on the car in the Mazzeh area of Damascus, Syria October 21, 2024. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi
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Damascus’ Mazzeh 86 Neighborhood, Witness of The Two-Assad Era

Members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent stand near the wreckage of a car after what the Syrian state television said was a "guided missile attack" on the car in the Mazzeh area of Damascus, Syria October 21, 2024. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi
Members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent stand near the wreckage of a car after what the Syrian state television said was a "guided missile attack" on the car in the Mazzeh area of Damascus, Syria October 21, 2024. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi

In the Mazzeh 86 neighborhood, west of the Syrian capital Damascus, the names of many shops, grocery stores, and public squares still serve as a reminder of the era of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his late father, Hafez al-Assad.

This is evident in landmarks like the “Al-Hafez Restaurant,” one of the prominent features of this area. Squares such as “Al-Areen,” “Officers,” and “Bride of the Mountain” evoke memories of the buildings surrounding them, which once housed influential officials and high-ranking officers in intelligence and security agencies. These individuals instilled fear in Syrians for five decades until their historic escape on the night of the regime’s collapse last month.

In this neighborhood, the effects of Israeli bombing are clearly visible, as it was targeted multiple times. Meanwhile, its narrow streets and alleys were strewn with military uniforms abandoned by leaders who fled before military operations arrived and liberated the area from their grip on December 8 of last year.

Here, stark contradictions come to light during a tour by Asharq Al-Awsat in a district that, until recently, was largely loyal to the former president. Muaz, a 42-year-old resident of the area, recounts how most officers and security personnel shed their military uniforms and discarded them in the streets on the night of Assad’s escape.

He said: “Many of them brought down their weapons and military ranks in the streets and fled to their hometowns along the Syrian coast.”

Administratively part of Damascus, Mazzeh 86 consists of concrete blocks randomly built between the Mazzeh Western Villas area, the Mazzeh Highway, and the well-known Sheikh Saad commercial district. Its ownership originally belonged to the residents of the Mazzeh area in Damascus. The region was once agricultural land and rocky mountain terrain. The peaks extending toward Mount Qasioun were previously seized by the Ministry of Defense, which instructed security and army personnel to build homes there without requiring property ownership documents.

Suleiman, a 30-year-old shop owner, who sells white meat and chicken, hails from the city of Jableh in the coastal province of Latakia. His father moved to this neighborhood in the 1970s to work as an army assistant.

Suleiman says he hears the sound of gunfire every evening, while General Security patrols roam the streets “searching for remnants of the former regime and wanted individuals who refuse to surrender their weapons. We fear reprisals and just want to live in peace.”

He mentioned that prices before December 8 were exorbitant and beyond the purchasing power of Syrians, with the price of a kilogram of chicken exceeding 60,000 Syrian pounds and a carton of eggs reaching 75,000.

“A single egg was sold for 2,500 pounds, which is far beyond the purchasing power of any employee in the public or private sector,” due to low salaries and the deteriorating living conditions across the country,” Suleiman added.

On the sides of the roads, pictures of the fugitive president and his father, Hafez al-Assad, were torn down, while military vehicles were parked, awaiting instructions.

Maram, 46, who previously worked as a civilian employee in the Ministry of Defense, says she is waiting for the resolution of employment statuses for workers in army institutions. She stated: “So far, there are no instructions regarding our situation. The army forces and security personnel have been given the opportunity for settlement, but there is no talk about us.”

The neighborhood, in its current form, dates back to the 1980s when Rifaat al-Assad, the younger brother of former President Hafez al-Assad, was allowed to construct the “Defense Palace,” which was referred to as “Brigade 86.” Its location is the same area now known as Mazzeh Jabal 86.

The area is divided into two parts: Mazzeh Madrasa (School) and Mazzeh Khazan (Tank). The first takes its name from the first school built and opened in the area, while the second is named after the water tank that supplies the entire Mazzeh region.

Two sources from the Mazzeh Municipality and the Mukhtar’s office estimate the neighborhood’s current population at approximately 200,000, down from over 300,000 before Assad’s fall. Most residents originate from Syria’s coastal regions, followed by those from interior provinces like Homs and Hama. There was also a portion of Kurds who had moved from the Jazira region in northeastern Syria to live there, but most returned to their areas due to the security grip and after the “Crisis Cell” bombing that killed senior security officials in mid-2012.

Along the main street connecting Al-Huda Square to Al-Sahla Pharmacy, torn images of President Hafez al-Assad are visible for the first time in this area in five decades. On balconies and walls, traces of Bashar al-Assad’s posters remain, bearing witness to his 24-year era.