Saeb Salam - Exile and Charity Activities

Exile and Charity Activities

In 1985, Salam went into exile in Geneva, Switzerland, after surviving two assassination attempts. He had angered the Syrian government and hardline Muslim groups with the conciliatory stands he had taken at peace conferences held at Geneva and Lausanne the year before, and he did not feel safe to return to Lebanon until 1994. From exile, however, he played a key role in the negotiations that led to the Taif Agreement of 1989, which eventually led to the end of the civil war. A noted philanthropist, Salam headed the Makassed foundation, an educational and healthcare charity, from 1957 to 1982, when he was succeeded by his son Tammam.

Read more about this topic:  Saeb Salam

Famous quotes containing the words exile, charity and/or activities:

    “Ha, banishment? Be merciful, say “death”;
    For exile hath more terror in his look,
    Much more than death. Do not say “banishment!””
    —William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    “Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.”
    —Bible: New Testament St. Paul, in 1 Corinthians, 8:1-2.

    “...I have never known a “movement” in the theater that did not work direct and serious harm. Indeed, I have sometimes felt that the very people associated with various “uplifting” activities in the theater are people who are astoundingly lacking in idealism.”
    —Minnie Maddern Fiske (1865–1932)