Former five-time Lebanese prime minister Salim Hoss dies at 94
Lebanon' current premier says five-time former Prime Minister Salim Hoss has died at age 94
BEIRUT (AP) — Five-time former Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Hoss, who served during some of the most tumultuous years of his country’s modern history, died Sunday at age 94, the current premier said.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati described Hoss, who was also a former government minister and member of parliament, as the “conscience of Lebanon” in a statement announcing his death. He added that Hoss “passed away at the most difficult and delicate stage in which Lebanon needs its conscience.”
Mikati was referring to fears that Lebanon could be pulled into a full-on war with Israel. Lebanese militant group Hezbollah began attacking Israel a day after the start of the war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel. Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire almost daily since then, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.
Hoss “was a prominent economist and a role model for his expertise, ethics and knowledge,” Mikati said. “He placed the country’s supreme interest and the interest of citizens above all considerations.”
