Former Lebanese PM Salim Al-Hoss passes at 94

Shafaq News/ Former Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Al-Hoss passed away on Sunday at the age of 94, according to a statement from current Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who described Al-Hoss as the "conscience of Lebanon."

"At a time when Lebanon most needs its conscience, national and Arab sense, and his wisdom and sound management of public affairs, Salim Al-Hoss has departed," Mikati said in his statement.

Lebanon, currently mired in a severe economic crisis, is also experiencing a political deadlock. Disputes between the Hezbollah-aligned faction, backed by Iran, and its opponents have prevented the election of a new president. The presidency has been vacant for over two years.

Meanwhile, the violence between Hezbollah and Israel in the south, spurred by the ongoing conflict in Gaza, threatens to escalate into a wider regional war.

Al-Hoss led several governments during critical periods of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), particularly in the late 1980s when the presidency was also vacant. An economist by training, Al-Hoss was considered a technocrat and often stated that he entered politics "by chance."

Throughout his career, he remained committed to state institutions and governance.

Born in 1929 to a Sunni bourgeois family in Beirut, Al-Hoss lost his parents at a young age. He earned a Ph.D. in Economics and Business Administration from Indiana University in the United States.

In Lebanon, the political system mandates that the president be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of parliament a Shia Muslim.