Michel Chiha
| Michel Chiha | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1891 Mekkine, Ottoman Syria |
| Died | 29 December 1954 Beirut, Lebanon |
| Occupation | Banker, Politician, Writer and Journalist |
| Spouse(s) | Marguerite Philippe Pharaon |
| Children | 3 daughters: Micheline (d. 1940), Madeleine and Marie-Claire |
| Parent(s) |
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Michel Chiha (1891–1954) was a Lebanese banker, a politician, writer and journalist. Along with Charles Corm, Petro Trad and Omar Daouk, he is considered one of the fathers of the Lebanese Constitution. His ideas and actions have had an important influence on the shaping of the modern Lebanon.
Michel Chiha was born in 1891 in a Christian family of Mekkine, in the Aley District, in the Mount Lebanon Governorate. He hails from an Chaldean family which have migrated from modern day Iraq. His father, Antoine, was a banker who has founded in 1876 the Pharaon and Chiha Bank in Beirut, in modern-day Lebanon. His mother belonged to the rich Melkite family of Beirut, the Pharaons.
After completing his studies in the Université Saint-Joseph, he joined in 1907 the family business, the Banque Pharaon & Chiha in Beirut. With the outbreak of the First World War and the Ottoman occupation of the autonomous Mount Lebanon, Chiha left Beirut to settle in Cairo, Egypt in 1915. In addition to pursuing Law studies, he started there with a group of friends his political career and developed his political view about the future of Lebanon.
At the end of the war, he returned to Lebanon to lead the family bank. But soon afterwards, the French Mandate of Lebanon gave him the opportunity to put into practice his vision for his country Lebanon.
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