Riad Al Solh

Riad Al Solh, also written Riad el Solh or Riad Solh, was born in Sidon, on 17 August 1894. He was born to Sunni Muslim parents; His father, Reda Al Solh, was Vice-governor in Nabatiyyah and in Sidon and a leading nationalist Arab leader. In 1915 Reda Al Solh was tried by Ottoman forces and went into exile in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire. He also served as Minister of the Interior in Emir Faisal's government in Damascus. Riad Al Solh studied law and political science at the University of Paris. He spent most of his youth in Istanbul, as his father was a deputy in the Ottoman Parliament. == Career ==

Solh served as prime minister of Lebanon twice. His first term was just after the Lebanon's independence (25 September 1943 – 10 January 1945). Solh was chosen by president Bishara Al Khouri to be his first Prime Minister. Solh and Khouri achieved and implemented the National Pact (al Mithaq al Watani) in November 1943 that provided an official framework to accommodate the confessional differences in Lebanon. The National Pact was an unwritten gentleman's agreement. The Pact stated that president, prime minister and Speaker of the Parliament in Lebanon should be allocated to three major confessional groups based on the 1932 census, namely the Maronite Christians, the Sunni Muslims and the Shiite Muslims, respectively. and the minister of supplies and reserves from 3 July 1944 to 9 January 1945. Solh held premiership again from 14 December 1946 to 14 February 1951 again under the presidency of Bishara Al Khouri. Solh was critical of King Abdullah and played a significant role in granting the blessing of the Arab League's political committee to the All-Palestine Government during his second term. == Assassination ==

Solh escaped unhurt from an assassination attempt in March 1950. It was perpetrated by a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP). == Personal life ==

He secretly converted to Shia Islam since, compared to Sunni Islam, its inheritance laws meant that his daughters, his only children, could inherit a greater share of his wealth. Al Solh was married to Fayza Al Jabiri. They had five daughters; Alia, Lamia, Mona, Bahija, Fadia, Leila; and a son, Reda, who died in infancy. Her children are Moulay Hicham, Moulay Ismail and a daughter Lalla Zineb. Mona (1938–2025) was formerly married to the Saudi Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz. She is the mother of Princes Al Waleed bin Talal, Prince Khalid bin Talal, and Princess Reema bint Talal. Bahija is married to Said Al Assad who is the former Lebanese ambassador to Switzerland and a former member of parliament. They have two sons and two daughters. Leila was appointed one of the first two female ministers in Lebanon, serving in Prime Minister Omar Karami's government. == Legacy ==

Patrick Seale's book The Struggle for Arab Independence (2011) deals with the history of the Middle East from the final years of the Ottoman Empire up to the 1950s and focuses on the influential career and personality of Solh. A square in downtown Beirut, Riad al-Solh Square, is named after him. == See also ==