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Born in Zghorta on 17th of April 1925.
Graduated from St Joseph University (USJ) Law School in 1947.
Married Nayla Négib Issa El Khoury in 1965.
Children: Rima born in 1966, and Michel born in 1972.
Entered the political arena in 1951.
Elected Member of the Lebanese Parliament for the first time in 1957.
Relected in all the following Parliamentary Assemblies in 1960, 1964, 1968 and 1972. (With no legislative elections held from 1972 till 1990, René Moawad served continuously in the Parliament for 42 years!)
Minister of Post and Télécommunication in President Rachid Karamé's cabinet from October 1961 till February 1964, during President Fouad Chéhab's mandate.
Minister of Public Work and Transportation in President Rachid Karamé's cabinet from January till November 1969, during President Charles Hélou's mandate.
Minister of Education in President Chafic Wazzan's cabinet from October 1980 till September 1982, during President Elias Sarkis's mandate.
Elected President of the Lebanese Republic on the 5th of November 1989, following the Taef agreement signed by all the Lebanese factions aiming to end the war and rebuild the country.
Assassinated 17 days later on the 22nd of November 1989, the Lebanese Independance Day.
October 1989:
With President Husseini, in Taef
November 1989:
With Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, in Zghorta.
22 November 1989:
With the President of the National Assembly, President Husseini, and
Prime Minister, President Hoss, on the day of his assassination.
November 1989:
Official visit to an army casern.
5 November 1989:
Presidential Oath, upon being elected President of the Lebanese Republic.
Early November 1989:
Official meeting with President Hoss.
October 1989:
With King Hassan II of Morocco, in Taef.
October 1989:
With King Fahed Bin Abdel Aziz of Saudi Arabia, in Taef.
November 1989:
With President Suleiman Frangié and
Mr. Suleiman Toni Frangié, in Zghorta.
1986:Official parliamentary visit to the Vatican,
and blessings from Pope John Paul II.
The 1960s:Special envoy of President Fouad Chéhab to
Egyptian President Jamal Abd El Nasser on a couple of occasions.
The 1960s:
Member of Parliament, with the President of the Lebanese Assembly,
Sabri Hamade and Druze leader, Kamal Joumblat
Late 1970s:
Minister with President of the Republic Elias Sarkis.
President Rene Mouawad
Historical Fact: The Assassination of Rene Moawad
President Moawad was assassinated on November 22, 1989, by a bomb that exploded as his motorcade was returning from Lebanese independence day ceremonies. 550lb (250kg) of remote controlled explosives destroyed the president's Mercedes in the heart of Syrian held west Beirut. The enormous amount of explosives used, were placed over a period of some days, inside a sweet shop on the road along which the car would pass. The explosives were detonated as the car passed the shop and it has been suggested that the device used also triggered a secondary bomb hidden inside the car. The occupants were vaporized, the rear section of the vehicle was tossed onto the roof of a local building with the front half being thrown 200 yards away into a parking lot. No investigation was carried out into the murder.
Those killed with the President were:
George Khouand
Assad Anwar Mouawad
René Kadou Mouawad
Yacoub Sakkal Mouawad
Yousef Antoun Mouawad
Sayed Elias Moura
Joseph Ramia