According to many observers, former minister Jihad Azour, who is officially a candidate in the presidential electoral session Wednesday, could be “the man for the job.”

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Jihad Azour may not yet receive unanimous support on the Lebanese political scene, as some actors prefer candidates closer to their line, or who share a greater resemblance with them. But those who know this former Minister of Finance, and current Director for the Middle East and Central Asia at the International Monetary Fund, or who follow his professional career, realize that he possesses many assets enabling him to “save” the country of its various problems, starting with the socio-economic crisis.

On Wednesday, June 14, Jihad Azour will face Sleiman Frangieh, in the 12th parliamentary session devoted to the election of a President of the Republic. His name, put forward by Walid Joumblatt in February, among a list of three consensual candidates proposed to Hezbollah, came back in force two weeks ago. Indeed, the sovereignist opposition and the Free Patriotic Movement have “converged” on endorsing Jihad Azour’s candidacy. The Progressive Socialist Party, as well as several Change and independent MPs, have also announced their support for his candidacy.

“Honesty and Integrity”

According to many observers, there is no doubt: Jihad Azour is the man for the job.

His career in the public sector (Minister of Finance from 2005 to 2008) and private sector (consultant at MacKenzie and Booz Allen Hamilton, before launching his own consulting and investment company), also working within a major international institution (the IMF, since 2017), clearly distinguishes him from other candidates.

“If he is elected, he will be an excellent president, the only one capable of saving Lebanon,” underlines Sami Haddad, Minister of Economy from 2005 to 2008 in the Cabinet led by Fouad Siniora, and in which Jihad Azour was at the head of the Ministry of Finance. “He is honest, a hard worker, and a man of principles and dialogue,” adds Mr. Haddad.

According to him, Lebanon faces three main problems: the presence of Syrian refugees, Hezbollah’s weapons and the financial and economic crisis. “While the issues of refugees and arms have a critical regional dimension, and cannot be solved by the Lebanese among themselves, the financial and economic crisis, which is destroying this country, is a hundred percent a Lebanese problem, which can only be solved by the Lebanese themselves,” says Haddad. “And the person best suited for this is Jihad Azour. He is an expert on the matter, and he occupies a very important position at the IMF, without which there will be no solution in Lebanon,” he affirms.

“Three Great Qualities”

Ahmed Fatfat, who had also held a ministerial position in the same cabinet, is “convinced that Jihad Azour is ideal for the presidency of the Republic, because of his scientific, economic and political knowledge”. Mr. Fatfat acknowledges that his opinion is “tainted with positive preconceptions,” because he knew Jihad Azour as a child, and has always been very close to him, being both from the village of Sir el-Denniyé, in northern Lebanon.

According to Ahmed Fatfat, Jihad Azour “has at least three main qualities: “He is very educated and an expert in economic and financial matters in general, and in what relates to the country in particular. He has the advantage of being politicized, having practiced politics and being from a political family. Finally, and above all, he is very honest.” Mr. Azour is the nephew of the former minister and deputy Jean Obeid.

Mr. Fatfat stresses that the position currently occupied by the former Minister of Finance is prestigious. “By virtue of his functions, he has influential contacts at the World Bank, but also throughout the region, where he meets heads of state and finance ministers,” he notes.

Azour and Siniora

If Walid Joumblatt proposed the name of Jihad Azour as a consensual candidate, it is because he is not attached to any political group.

However, his detractors accuse him of being Fouad Siniora’s man, and of being close to “Harirism”. However, it was not Fouad Siniora, but the former Minister of Finance and economist Georges Corm, (who certainly cannot be accused of “Harirism”), who was the first to introduce Jihad Azour into the Lebanese political world, as a consultant to the ministry. He had probably been impressed by her degrees and abilities.

Indeed, after a master’s degree in economics from Paris Dauphine University, Jihad Azour obtained a doctorate with honorable mention in international finance from the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po). While completing his PhD, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Economics at Harvard University, where he studied the integration of emerging economies in world economy.

When Fouad Siniora succeeded Georges Corm as head of the finance ministry, Jihad Azour tendered his resignation to the new minister. He studied his background and proposed to Azour to work with him. Not really being on the same political side, Jihad Azour first hesitated, then accepted. The two men then collaborated, and when Fouad Siniora was appointed Prime Minister in 2005, he offered him the post of Minister of Finance, which he accepted.

“He has an independent spirit, and makes his decisions according to his convictions,” underlines Ahmed Fatfat, who remembers that in the Council of Ministers, Azour often stood up to Siniora.

Lebanese style

Some observers believe that Mr. Azour fulfills all the criteria defined by the majority of Lebanese and foreign players concerning the presidency of the Republic. He is young, educated, competent, consensual, reformist, has a strong political and economic experience, and is able to initiate dialogue with all local, regional and international parties.

The election of Jihad Azour would be very significant, if it were to happen. “If there is a political agreement and a regional and international decision to save Lebanon, he is the best fit for this mission. I will be very happy if he is elected, because that would mean that we are bottoming out,” says Ahmed Fatfat.

However, he believes that it would be risky to advance the candidacy of Jihad Azour in the absence of a regional and international agreement. Ahmed Fatfat adds: “He is a man of great value, and I would not want him to lose his position at the IMF for nothing, because of the ‘Lebanese way’ politics.”