The February 14 bombing that killed Rafik Hariri and turned Lebanon upside-down also threw a spotlight on the achievements of Basil Fuleihan, the quiet man behind the Paris I and II agreements as well as much of Hariri’s economic policies. Fuleihan had been sitting next to Hariri when the bomb exploded. Miraculously, and despite being horribly burned, he survived the blast. He was flown to France but, despite the best care available and the efforts of specialist Dr. Herve Carsin, Fuleihan succumbed to his injuries on April 18. The country has commemorated the first anniversary of his death. The Finance Ministry’s Finance and Economic Institute has been renamed in his honor, and the Prime Minister, Dr. Carsin, and many others joined in a candle-light march to dedicate a square near the Phoenicia hotel in his honor. His widow Yasma Fuleihan has stepped out from her private existence to head the Fuleihan Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to continuing Basil’s legacy. She took some time out from her hectic schedule to talk with us about their time together, his views, and his legacy.
E Tell me about when you first met Basil. Did he know when he moved back to Beirut that he would be there for good?
We first met in Washington, two months before he left to Beirut. When he decided to go back, the people at the IMF told him, “Any time you want to come back here, this is your place and you are welcome.” But he seized the opportunity.
Even back when he was young, he was always reading about history, thinking about how he could help his country. While he lived in the states, he followed the news, politically, economically, socially. It was always in his mind that he would return to Lebanon whenever he had the opportunity, to give the best he could offer.
I was in Geneva, I lived for many years there, and then I moved to Washington to continue my studies. And that’s where I met him, even though when we were kids we lived right near to each other.
Something happened when we met – there was a very strong chemistry, somehow we knew that we’d get to know each other and understand each other. We shared a kind of common philosophical way of understanding.
E How did he get to know Rafik Hariri? And when did he decide to make the transition into politics?
The relationship started with Mr. Hariri, in 1994, when Basil was the head of UNDP project at the Finance Ministry. Hariri got to know Basil because of his ability in negotiations, and the way that he could come up with solutions to complicated problems. Things that were perceived by others as problem, that other people approached in a complicated negative way, Basil was able to see as simple and approach in a simple way. Hariri found that by talking to Basil he would find that somehow the thing was not a problem, that the solution was there, the puzzle was not there.
They started to have a close relationship. Hariri would call him early in the morning and they would talk.
In 1998, the government changed, and since Basil was so close to Hariri, he didn’t want to stay. He taught a course at AUB, but he also started preparing. He was starting to think about Paris I, and about other projects, so that even if he personally didn’t come back, when Prime Minister Hariri came back he would have projects planned that he could work on.
I remember when Basil told me, when I was pregnant in London, that Prime Minister Hariri had asked him to be a deputy. At first, I told him, “no”. In Lebanon, it seems that every ten to fifteen years there is turbulence and instability. I wasn’t happy about him going into politics, because politics is not easy. You take a risk.
He had a very interesting job offer at an investment bank in London, and I was trying to convince him to accept it, but he was not interested. He didn’t feel that he could produce anything. He loved public service, and wanted to serve his country. Investment banking, sure he could have made a lot of money, but it wouldn’t have given him the same satisfaction.
He always used to say, “We’re Lebanese, and if we don’t give to our country, who’s going to give? If we’re not going to be part of reconstruction, who else is going to?”
E How did he approach the media, and public life in general?
It was very important to him to do the job, and to be productive. He was not into the media, he did not want to go on TV. There were a few times he went on TV to be interviewed, but that was because Hariri asked him to. He never talked in public about his achievements and what he achieved – of course we talked privately about everything that he did. Doing something effective was what gave him personal satisfaction.
E What was his philosophy in dealing with people?
He always treated people on a professional level and with respect. He used to believe in each person and in their human capacity. He used to say that everyone has a capacity and is able to do anything if he or she wants to. We each have something special we can give to society, but each one has to discover that for himself or herself. Basil was always natural, he was himself, he never tried to be somebody else. He had a fine sense of humor.
E Others have said that Basil had absolutely no prejudices, he was not sectarian at all.
When we got married, we had our marriage outdoors, and many of the guests didn’t know before the service what religion we were. Were we Muslims, or Druze? They didn’t know.
He used to say about Lebanon that we have this richness of different religions and cultures. We need to exchange our cultures, but not to treat these differences as negative, because at the end of the day we are human beings. We need to work on our exchange of culture and on accepting each other the way we are.
E How did he feel about returning from being an expatriate?
He loved New York, he loved Washington, but for him Beirut was a part of him. Basil used to admit that we have difficulties, as other countries have difficulties, and we need to try to find solutions. He used to advise people who wanted to come back not to have high expectations. Work hard, but never have high expectations of the outcomes. If you come in with low expectations and work hard, you’ll be surprised and pleased at what comes out.
It seems like he has gotten a lot more famous after he died than when he was alive.
He was a low profile person. I was surprised, too at the attention. I always knew how he used to think about things, his liberal way of thinking about every thing. It’s true, usually, that after someone dies, we (generally speaking) take notice of them. And he was not the type to talk about his achievements.
E Did you wish he would take more credit?
No. One of the things I told him when he ran for parliament was it is important that we keep our private lives the way they were, him and me and the children. I didn’t want us to be part of his public life. So all his public functions, receiving people as a deputy, took place in his office.
Somehow since this tragedy happened, things have been changed.
What he did at work and his achievements, he used to tell me his plans, that he was going to do this and this and this, very much excited. When he used to walk on the streets, he liked it. He liked it the way it is. With all the pollution, the noise, he liked Lebanon the way it is. Now, for me and the family, we feel like a part of us is here, because he’s here. And we are part of him.
E What did he want to leave as a legacy?
Before the tragedy, the problems he was working on for the last two years, after he was out of the government – he was always optimistic. He would say that “no, in only two or three months, once the elections are finished, we will be able to work on the economy, on social services.”
The Fuleihan Foundation will be a think tank dedicated to socio-economic development, to finding solutions through conferences, seminars, and so forth, and to following Basil’s liberal vision of society. We’ll be concentrating on the welfare of citizens. Instead of trying to decide on issues from on high, we’ll be studying the gaps in the needs of the citizens, and to find through discussions solutions to these problems.
Our first initiative will be a competition for students in all universities and vocational schools, between 18 and 30, rewarding the best research paper in IT and innovative government.
I can’t go into a lot more detail because we’re still learning. It will depend on what the research and discussions come up with, and what happens on the ground. But one thing we need to do is help our young people, who get educated in Lebanon, but then have to look for opportunities abroad. We’re trying to find a way for young people to explore their capabilities here, to have opportunities in the country so they can stay.
