Fuad Char | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Senator of Colombia | |
| In office 20 July 2010 – 20 July 2014 | |
| In office 20 July 1998 – 20 July 2006 | |
| In office 20 July 1990 – 20 April 1995 | |
| 21st Colombia Ambassador to Portugal | |
| In office 30 September 2008 – 5 June 2009 | |
| President | Álvaro Uribe |
| Preceded by | Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza |
| Succeeded by | Arturo Sarabia |
| 14th Minister of Economic Development | |
| In office 1987–1988 | |
| President | Virgilio Barco |
| Preceded by | Miguel Merino Gordillo |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Arturo Marulanda |
| 48th Governor of Atlántico | |
| In office 1984–1987 | |
| President | Belisario Betancur |
| Preceded by | Abel Francisco Carbonell |
| Succeeded by | Gerardo Certain |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Fuad Ricardo Char Abdala 5 October 1937 Lorica, Córdoba, Colombia |
| Political party | Radical Change |
| Other political affiliations | Liberal |
| Spouse | Adela Chaljub Char (1994) |
| Children | |
Fuad Ricardo Char Abdala (born 5 October 1937) is a businessman and retired politician. He is the founder of Grupo Empresarial Olímpica. He served in different terms as a senator, governor of Atlántico, and minister of Economic Development (position now fused into the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism)
Family
Fuad was the son of Ricardo Char Zaslawy, an immigrant from Damascus, Syria, who arrived in Colombia in 1926.[1][2][3] He is the eldest out of seven children, his other siblings were Jabib, Farid, Simón, and, Ricardo[4]
His uncle, Nicólas had started a business that quickly grew profitable, and the family moved to Barranquilla in 1952, where they started what would become Grupo Empresarial Olímpica, a conglomerate that would make his family one of the most influential in the Colombian Caribbean Coast. It grew into a conglomerate that included Supermercados Olimpicos, the radio station Olímpica Stéreo, and the ownership of Junior Barranquilla.
Fuad, married his first cousin Adela Chaljub Char, daughter of Antonio Chaljub, an immigrant from Lebanon and Rosa Char Zaslawy, his aunt from Syria. Together they had three children: Antonio, Arturo, and Alejandro. After becoming a widower in 1994, he remarried in 2004 to Maria Mercedes de la Espriella.[5]
Currently, the Char family is considered one of the most influential families in Colombia, with Alejandro (Fuad's son) being mayor of Barranquilla in two non-consecutive times, and Arturo being Senator of Colombia during the period 2018-2022. Nevertheless, The Char family has been accused multiple times of corruption acts that involve all types of electoral crimes. Recently, the Char family was on the public eye as Aida Merlano (Former senator and Fugitive), affirmed that the Char family arranged her cinematographic escape from jail and her posterior attempt of murder.
See also
References
- ↑ Ricco, Massimo Di (2014). "Filling the gap: the Colombo arabes emergence as political actors in Barranquilla and the Caribbean region". Revista de Derecho (41): 211–241. ISSN 0121-8697.
- ↑ Long, Gideon (29 October 2019). "Barranquilla mayor leaves office on a high". Financial Times. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
- ↑ Semana (7 April 2019). "¿Quiénes son los Char?". Semana.com Últimas Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 December 2023.
- ↑ "Murió la Mamá de los Char en Barranquilla" [The Mother of the Chars Died in Barranquilla]. El Tiempo (in Spanish). 29 November 1993. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
- ↑ "En Bogotá". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 7 January 1996. Retrieved 26 October 2010.