Ziad Hawat

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Ziad Hawat, August 2020.

Ziad Hawat (Arabic: زياد الحواط; born February 23, 1977) is a Lebanese politician and MP of the Lebanese Forces,^[1][2] who became the youngest mayor of Byblos.^[3]

Biography[]

Ziad was born in Byblos, Lebanon which is considered the oldest inhabited city in the world, to parents Halim Hawat and May Abi Saab originally Mazraat Bani Saab (Bcharri). He grew up in the city with his brother, Nabil and sister Zeina.

Ziad graduated from College des Freres Maristes and went on to major in Business Administration at (USEK) the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik. After his graduation in 1998, he went on to work with his father in the family business, Hawat Trading, a wood products importer and exporter in Lebanon and the Middle East, where he gained experience in discipline, business administration and relations.

A few years into his work, he saw an opportunity to travel around in Iraq and Saudi Arabia where he could grow the family business and truly place it on the map. He then started mapping out a plan for him to be more involved in the public sector. He came back from his travels to a supportive family and to a booming business. At the young age of 33, Ziad submitted his name to run for Mayor of Byblos.

He was running against people who had been in the municipality for decades; who have won more votes than he would ever hope to get. He was considered to be inexperienced and too young for the position. However, along with a group of young hopefuls like himself, he ran a long and tough campaign. In May 2010, the elections came to an end and Ziad Hawat was elected as President of the Municipality of Byblos, gaining the highest number of votes in the history of Byblos's municipal elections. In 2010 he was sworn in as mayor of Byblos.^[4][5]

In the year 2009, he married Ms. Carine Abou Khaled with 3 children, Halim, Maria and Sophia. The new mayor took office with passion and determination; qualities that never withered throughout his long stay in office. He kept the city moving in the proper direction, identified the citizens' needs and developed several programs to satisfy those needs. He discovered a new world of national and international affairs and became the most loved mayor in the country. In 2013, Ziad Hawat was awarded the “Golden Medal of Merit” from the United Nations World Tourism Organization for outstanding achievements, with a certificate of distinction for Byblos as Best Arab Tourist City for the year 2013. Hawat has long been an aggressive advocate for the environment; In March 2013, he joined forces with local and international collaborators and implemented a waste sorting scheme to preserve the city’s environment and safeguard it from pollution. Taking it a step further, In March 2014, Hawat launched a €40 million project, partially financed by the republic of Italy, and aims at establishing a sewage system that covers the cities of Byblos, Amsheet, Blat, Edde, Kfarmashoun, Jeddayel and Hosryael.

A fighter for preserving the heritage of the city of Byblos, his outstanding perseverance acts in this sphere attracted the American Rockefeller Foundation which chose the city of Byblos as the 5th official member of the 100 resilient cities program, amongst 400 cities from the six continents that will be granted support in putting in place plans to protect and safeguard its heritage and archaeological sites.

In line with his presidency, Ziad remains chairman of Hawat Trading, an exporter of wood products in Lebanon and the Middle East, chairman of ABM and chairman of Zinaline Kitchen Factory. In parallel with all the above, Ziad is a member of AIMF (International Association of Francophone Mayors) and a member of the Lebanese Maronite Association.

During his presidency, Ziad launched and oversaw many projects, the most notable being: The new municipality building, reconstruction of the old souk facades, Public Park with a surface area of 12,000 m2 which was awarded the biggest park award in Lebanon, Sports City, Best Touristic City of 2016, Christmas trees (2013 – 2016) which got worldwide recognition

In 2016, Ziad Hawat was reelected as President of the Municipality of Byblos for his 2nd term with no opponent to beat. He resigned from his post in July 2017, in order to run for parliament in the 2018 Lebanese general election.^[6] and in May 2018, he finally gained a seat at the parliament.

He is the nephew of senior Byblos politician .^[5]

References[]