Hassan Diab

For the Canadian sociologist who was accused of involvement in a Paris synagogue bombing, see Hassan Diab (sociologist).

Hassan Diab
حسان دياب
Diab in 2020
36th Prime Minister of Lebanon
In office 21 January 2020 – 10 September 2021
President	Michel Aoun
Deputy	Zeina Akar
Preceded by	Saad Hariri
Succeeded by	Najib Mikati
Minister of Education and Higher Education of Lebanon
In office 13 June 2011 – 15 February 2014
President	Michel Suleiman
Prime Minister	Najib Mikati
Preceded by	Hasan Mneimneh
Succeeded by	Elias Abou Saab
Personal details
Born	(1959-06-01) 1 June 1959 Beirut, Lebanon
Spouse	Nuwar Mawlawi
Children	3
Alma mater	Leeds Metropolitan University (BSc) University of Surrey (MSc) University of Bath (PhD)
Website	hassandiab.com

Hassan Diab (Template:Lang-ar; born 1 June 1959) is a Lebanese academic and engineer who served as the 37th prime minister of Lebanon from 21 January 2020 to 10 September 2021. He was appointed by President Michel Aoun in 2019 to succeed Saad Hariri. He submitted his resignation on 10 August 2020 in wake of the 2020 Beirut explosion and served as caretaker prime minister until Najib Mikati formed a new government on 10 September 2021. Prior to his premiership, he served as the Minister of Education from June 2011 to February 2014 under President Michel Suleiman.

Professor Hassan Diab was appointed President of the Council of Ministers (PCM) of Lebanon on 19 December 2019 after a nationwide protest led to the resignation of PM Saad Hariri two months prior to Dr. Diab’s appointment. He had served in office once before as minister of education and higher education, from 2011 to 2014, but had otherwise focused on his career in academia.

Professor Diab is among the very few Lebanese politicians that are independent and technocratic. He was the first Lebanese minister of education with a long professional background in education. As PM, he and his cabinet of experts were appointed the difficult task of “rescuing Lebanon” against a backdrop of civil unrest, economic collapse, and political tensions that resulted from decades of mismanagement, as well as a global pandemic that brought the biggest economies to their knees.

As an academic, Professor Diab pursued teaching, research, and administrative opportunities within academia. His interests within computer engineering —his area of expertise— include cryptography, embedded systems, reconfigurable computing, as well as simulation of parallel processing systems and parallel applications. After serving as minister of education and higher education, his interests broadened to include higher education in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as well as global issues in education.

Early life, education, and early career

Professor Diab was born on June 1, 1959, in Beirut to Bahaa Eddin Diab and Rifca Taji. He spent his formative and adolescent years in Lebanon, where he attended Brummana High School. In 1976, Dr. Diab moved to the United Kingdom (UK) to continue his education and escape the civil war back home. In the UK, he obtained his O-levels and A-levels, a bachelor’s degree in communications engineering (Leeds Beckett University), a master’s degree in systems engineering (University of Surrey), and a PhD in computer engineering (University of Bath).

In 1985, at the age of 26, Dr. Diab returned to Lebanon to work as an assistant professor at the American University of Beirut (AUB). He earned the rank of full professor in 1997, becoming the youngest full professor working there at the time. He spent 34 years at AUB, during which he also served as chairman of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and vice president for Regional External Programs (REP).

Professor Diab became a chartered engineer in the Engineering Council, UK, in 1988. Then, in 1991, he became a chartered professional engineer in the National Professional Engineers Register (NPER), Australia, replaced by NER in 2015. In 1992, he became a member of the Order of Engineers and Architects in Beirut, Lebanon. Moreover, he is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), USA, since 1993; a fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia (IEAust) since 1995; and a fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), UK, since 2002.

He is globally recognized for his efforts and is the recipient of 25 international and regional awards and scholarships, including a Fulbright research award in 1988 and the 1992 Young Arab Scientists Shuman Prize in Engineering. More recently, in 2018, he was included in Those Who Inspire LEBANON, a book by the international movement, Those Who Inspire Ltd., which aims to inspire youth everywhere.

Political career

1- Prime Minister of Lebanon (February 11, 2020 – August 10,2020)

• August 10, 2020 – September 10, 2021: Caretaker President of the Council of Ministers after announcing his resignation.
• February 11, 2020: Cabinet gains parliament’s vote of confidence.
• January 21, 2020: Cabinet of ministers is formed. First cabinet of 20 ministers in Lebanon.
• December 19, 2019: Appointed prime minister of Lebanon.
• June 2011 – December 2011: Chair of the Conference of Arab Ministers of Higher Education.
• June 13, 2011 – February 14, 2014: Minister of Education and Higher Education in the Lebanese government.

On 19 December 2019, Professor Hassan Diab was appointed prime minister after gaining the support of 69 out of 128 members of parliament (MPs). He succeeded Saad Hariri who resigned on 29 October following the nationwide protests that swept the country. On 21 January 2020, Professor Diab completed the formation of his cabinet of 20 ministers. On 11 February, his government gained the Lebanese parliament’s vote of confidence, receiving the votes of 63 out of 84 MPs that had completed the quorum. In a speech preceding the vote, Professor Diab described his cabinet members as a team of experts that want to work in the service of the Lebanese people. He also framed his government as one eager to take on the national duty of rescuing the country from its plight. However, the government took on its role during one of the most difficult times of Lebanon’s history in addition to the acute political divisions, later exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, in the wake of the Beirut port explosion, Professor Diab announced the resignation of his cabinet on 10 August 2020. He and his ministers are currently functioning in the capacity of a caretaker government.

The technocratic government headed by Dr. Hassan Diab assumed power in extremely challenging times in modern Lebanese history. Nonetheless, and despite the unprecedented economic crisis facing the country and the further challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the government was able to fulfill most of the goals it promised to achieve in its Ministerial Declaration during the 1st 100 days in office, as well as some of those promised beyond this timeframe.

This was made possible by the relentless energy and workaholic nature of the Prime Minster and cabinet ministers, and their high productivity resulting in 48 Cabinet Meetings held during the cabinet 6-month-term (i.e. 8 Meetings per month), and 540 Official Decisions taken (an average of 3 Decisions per Day).

Dr. Diab’s government introduced a number of reforms that include:

• Setting in place a forensic audit at the state level, starting with the central bank’s budget.
• Approving the national anti-corruption strategy: Enhancing transparency | Promoting accountability | Preventing impunity
• Issuance of the implementation decree of the Right to Access to Information Law
• Drafting a bill aimed at lifting bank secrecy.
• Approval of the Law on Illicit Enrichment
• Approval of immediate and urgent measures to combat corruption and restore looted funds: Promoting tax audit and data collection | Accounting audit | Ex post control of the Court of Audit | Enforcing Article 4 of the Law on Illicit Enrichment | Collecting information towards the enforcement of Article 12 of the Law on Illicit Enrichment | Promoting administrative self-control and accountability
• Reclaiming the telecom industry and preparing for global tender.
• Finalizing laws related to the independence and organization of the judiciary.
• Commencing with the stages of gas exploration in Lebanese waters.
• Preparing a draft law to open an additional 1.2 trillion LBP credit line allocated to addressing the pandemic, which was approved by parliament but was not implemented by the Central Bank.
• Implementation of the electricity plan and launch of negotiations to build power stations (from state to state)
• Appointing a new board of directors for the Electricity of Lebanon (EDL) after a fair selection and recruitment process.
• Assignment of a project to bring natural gas through public platforms for natural gas storage and regasification purposes
• Appointing the vice governors of the central bank, the Banking Control Commission of Lebanon (BCCL), and the government commissioner at the central bank.
• Making critical administrative appointments.
• Fighting smuggling across illegal border crossings.
• Installation of scanners at the border crossings
• Approving and overseeing a plan for the safe return of Syrian refugees to their home country.
• Cancelling some of the state’s unnecessary building lease agreements.
• Transferal of the management of "Zain" and "Orascom" companies to the state
• Activation of the role of the Judicial Inspection Authority
• Key administrative appointments (Head of the Civil Service Council, Governor of Beirut, Director General of the Ministry of Economy and Trade, Director General of Investment in the Ministry of Energy and Water)

Major Political decisions for Lebanon

DEBT DEFAULT

On 9 March 2020, the government defaulted on the payment of a $31 billion debt in the form of Eurobonds. Reasons for this include foreign currency reserves reaching an alarmingly low level in a country heavily dependent on foreign currency to conduct business and acquire basic necessities. PM Diab gave a speech on March 7 in anticipation of the default. He is often credited for acknowledging the gravity of the situation and for being direct in his assessment of it. In his address, he mentions, among other things, the need to restructure the debt and the banking sector, negotiate with creditors, and refigure the economic model that is based on borrowing and rentierism.

ECONOMIC-FINANCIAL RESCUE PLAN - Adoption of the Financial Recovery Plan

On 6 April 2020, an economic-financial rescue plan was presented before the Council of Ministers, which was approved that same month on April 30. The plan detailed enlisting the help of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), entering formal negotiations with creditors, and implementing overdue reforms. Set over a period of five years, the plan aimed to acquire over $10 billion in external financial support as well as CEDRE Conference funds. It also aimed to support the underprivileged sections of society and implement social programs. Other goals included restructuring Lebanon’s sovereign debt, distributing losses fairly, cutting public spending, and reducing the public debt to GDP ratio to under 100%.

IMF

On 1 May 2020, PM Hassan Diab and Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni sent a signed request to the IMF asking for assistance. The government had approved an economic rescue plan the day before and wanted to refer to it during negotiations. The PM was hopeful going into talks with the IMF, however, negotiations were hindered by internal parties that took issue with the government plan. The plan was met with pushback from the central bank, the banking association, and MPs who disagreed with the government’s allocation of losses on the finance sector. On July 1, a parliamentary committee found the losses to be at around half the amount allocated by the government. The IMF, meanwhile, found the government’s figure of LL241 trillion to be the more accurate. Negotiations were further hindered when political parties resisted any meaningful reform suggested by the government to meet IMF standards and help lift the country out of crisis.

1.1 ON THE SOCIAL LEVEL

• Launch of the Social Solidarity Program (a law aimed at opening an additional credit in the 2020 budget with a value of 1.2 trillion Lebanese pounds, for the purpose of distributing financial aid to the poorest families and to the industrial, agricultural and crafts sectors)
• Enhancement of the role of municipalities in local development and launch of the joint platform for the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities and the Ministry of Social Affairs
• Launch of the food basket by the Ministry of Economy and Trade
• Approval of the Ministry of Social Affairs plan for incentivizing craftsmen
• Approval of the Ministry of Social Affairs plan for the return of the displaced Syrians
• Conclusion of a loan agreement with the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development to contribute to the financing of the housing project

1.2 ON THE HEALTH LEVEL

COVID-19

The virus that was first detected in Lebanon on 21 February 2020 was initially contained after the successful implementation of a nationwide lockdown on March 15. Meanwhile, the government worked on strengthening its ability to respond to the pandemic, mainly hospital readiness to accept new patients and the capacity to conduct more tests. In April, the government started repatriating Lebanese expats and distributed cash assistance to the poorest families via the Lebanese army. In May, the government began the gradual reopening of the country. On July 1, the country’s airport was reopened for commercial flights with measures like polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing and quarantine put in place to contain the spread of the virus. Adherence to regulations during this time was lax and government resources limited, which led to spikes in case numbers.

• The formation of a health emergency committee to confront the COVID-19 outbreak
• Adoption of all precautionary measures and issuance of regulatory decisions to confront the COVID-19 pandemic
• Purchasing the services of specialists and supervisors to monitor the health situation

The real turning point, however, was the Beirut port explosion on August 4. The government had been walking a thin line between economic crisis and public health crisis, but the explosion threw things off balance. The healthcare system took a serious hit and civilians disregarded regulations like social distancing to take to the streets, either in protest or to help with the cleanup and rebuilding of Beirut. Hundreds of thousands were left homeless, worsening the situation. The result was that the number of cases reached new high levels in August that continued to climb moving into September. Dr. Diab’s cabinet resigned in the aftermath of the explosion but continued to manage the pandemic in the capacity of a caretaker government.

In October, the caretaker government opted to target red zones, or specific areas, streets, and neighborhoods where positive cases were high. However, adherence was once again a problem and logistical issues arose. On November 14, Lebanon went into a nationwide lockdown. On 8 January 2021, Lebanon entered another phase of full lockdown after registering record-breaking cases of infection. In the meantime, the caretaker government procured vaccines for the population and has planned a vaccination strategy, also creating a digital pre-registration form for the vaccine.

1.3 ON THE EDUCATIONAL LEVEL

• Approval of distance learning in coordination between the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the Ministry of Telecommunications
• Launching educational television programs in coordination between the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the Ministry of Information

2 - As a Care Taker Prime Minister: On August 10, 2020, the Prime Minister submitted his Government’s resignation on the effect of Beirut Port blast.

Despite submitting the resignation, the Prime Minister has not failed to fulfill his duties, but rather insisted on following up the citizen’s livelihood affairs and everything that would keep a continuum of public utility; fulfilling these duties has resulted in:

• Signing around 1000 decrees to facilitate all daily livelihood matters of citizens and public service, most notably the decree that resulted in the issuance of a Loan Agreement Law between the Lebanese Republic and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to implement the urgent project of Social Security Network support in response to COVID-19 pandemic and the Lebanese economic crisis, in addition to the Draft Decree which has been accompanied by his signature, concerning the amendment of Decree No. 6433 on 1/12/2011 (delimitation of the Lebanese exclusive economic zone) even if it hasn’t been issued. Furthermore, decrees related to accepting donations and assistance to overcome COVID-19 pandemic and Beirut Port blast repercussions that constituted the outstanding events have been signed, as well as decrees related to granting treasury advances to cover the expenses of the social plan aiming at assisting the poorest families and opening credits for COVID-19 vaccine procurement and exempting vaccines and medical supplies from customs duties.
• Granting 317 exceptional approvals in agreement with the President of the Republic, most notably granting exceptional approvals to the Ministry of Finance to borrow in foreign currency from the Central Bank, inform the Governor of the Central Bank to allow the bank to open documentary credits necessary to Électricité du Liban (EDL), declare general mobilization to face the spread of the coronavirus, a Draft Memorandum of Understanding between the Qatar Fund for Development and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education to reconstruct and rehabilitate the educational buildings affected by Beirut blast, Financial Cooperation Agreement (ACE) between Lebanon and the Federal Republic of Germany for 2018 containing a monetary donation of /35/ million euros, in the framework of supporting the project of the “educational program in Lebanon (schools construction) (20 million euros), water and sewerage program for refugee-hosting communities – South of Lebanon – third stage (15 million euros), exempt citizens from contact cost related to COVID, as well as working on the completion of the General Budget Draft for 2021 which contained a lot of livelihood and correctional articles, in addition to the preparations for the General Budget Draft for 2022, and approve and send the same to the Presidency of the Republic.
• Issuing 29 memorandums and circulars governing the work of public administrations, public institutions and municipalities at all levels.
• Form and preside over committees, meetings and national and foreign bodies to follow up citizens’ livelihood and daily crises, notable among these committees, a committee to develop the recommendations of the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities to address the matter of preventing the entrance of Lebanese agricultural products to Saudi Arabia, a committee to set a comprehensive plan to take the ultimate measures and tighten the application of counter-fraud, monopoly and price manipulation measures, especially food and basic needs of citizens and tighten control on border crossings to prevent smuggling.
• Launch a campaign to vaccinate public sector employees in coordination with the Ministry of Public Health and the Civil Service Council.
• The vigorous follow-up which resulted in the deportation of 59 containers including extremely hazardous substances that were found after August 4 blast in the port in conjunction with the German Company Combilift.
• Following up the Qaraoun Lake pollution case and address the causes belonging to chronic problems in Litani River.
• Following up oil leak in South of Lebanon and finding remedies.
• Addressing the existence of chemical substances in both oil refineries in Tripoli and Zahrani.
• Delegating the Minister of Public Works and Transport to negotiate with the World Bank to transfer an amount from the loan of Greater Beirut Public Transport Project (BRT) of 5 million American dollars in favor of projects related to providing emergency accommodations and public safety factors in order to regulate the work of Rafic Hariri International Airport – Beirut.
• Delegating the Minister of Public Works and Transport to negotiate with the World Bank to transfer an amount from the loan of Greater Beirut Public Transport Project (BRT) of 70 million American dollars in favor of the rehabilitation of international highways and the implementation of studies set in this regard so as to ensure all public safety factors.
• Granting to the Ministry of Industry the approval to set restrictions on the exportation of clinker and cement according to conditions set by the Ministry of Industry, in addition to giving necessary instructions to the security forces entrusted with controlling all vents to stricter smuggling prevention.
• Delegating the Minister of Finance to negotiate with Alvarez &Marsal Company on the amendments it suggested in the contract signed with the same in order to carry out the forensic audit tasks, sign these amendments and request him to have the opinion of the Committee of Legislation and Consultations about the draft of the new contract with a view to move forward in the forensic audit operation.
• His visit to the state of Qatar in which he discussed ways to assist Lebanon to overcome the crisis the country is going through.
• Communicate with the International Community, especially the Arab Community in order to provide assistance to Lebanon to help with mitigating livelihood and economic crisis, which has been reflected recently in the initiative of the Iraqi Government to provide Lebanon with a thousand tons of fuel.

3 - AS MINISTER OF EDUCATION

On 13 June 2011, Professor Diab was appointed minister of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) as part of Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s cabinet. He was the first education minister to have a long background in education and was an advocate of educational reform. He remained in office until 14 February 2014, but in the capacity of caretaker minister after 23 March 2013.

His ministry at the time was the largest in Lebanon, composed of major directorates and offices, such as the Directorate of Education, Directorate of Higher Education, Directorate of Vocational and Technical Education (VTE), etc. MEHE included around 60,000 employees across the country and controlled or oversaw around 3,000 schools, 50 higher education institutions, and 450 VTE institutes in both the public and private sectors, attending to over 1.3 million students. Professor Diab’s term as minister saw a number of accomplishments at MEHE that included producing an “ICT in Education” strategic plan. They also included setting a new law for K-9 compulsory education, thus making education for students between the ages of 6 and 15 compulsory. MEHE also passed a law requiring compulsory community service to all high school students, culminating in almost one million hours of community service per year. Other accomplishments include making major progress in vocational and technical education, replacing an outdated higher education law with a new one, and saving billions of Lebanese Lira through several ministerial decisions. In 2013, after almost two and a half years of reform in higher education, the World Economic Forum gave Lebanon the following ranks out of 144 countries in higher education: quality of schools of business (13th), quality of education (10th), and quality of teaching math and science (4th). Some of these numbers regressed after Dr. Diab’s term ended in 2014.

The Lebanese government was also the recipient of the GSMA 2014 Connected Government Award, which was the result of the Ministry of Telecommunications and MEHE actively encouraging the innovative use of mobile technologies that deliver long-term and sustainable socio-economic benefit and wellbeing for their citizens. Moreover, Professor Diab made valuable contributions to research on Human Rights Education (HRE) in the context of the work of the United Nations (UN) on HRE and how countries are attempting to focus on building a culture of human rights within their societies. Importantly, he conducted a study in Lebanon during the Syrian refugee crisis, as the country hosted a great number of refugees or saw them transitioning through it to Europe and beyond. The curricular reform that was done after the Lebanese Civil War had integrated HRE in one school subject, namely civics. Dr. Diab argued the need for another curricular reform to integrate HRE in Lebanese school systems in light of new developments over the years.

Academic career

• July 9, 2013 – February 2020: Resumed the positions of VP and Professor of Computer Engineering at the American University of Beirut (AUB) after serving as Lebanese Minister of Education and Higher Education.
• April 4, 2014 – November 24, 2014: Interim Chief Operating Officer (COO), AUB.
• October 1, 2006 – July 7, 2011: Vice President (VP) for Regional External Programs (REP), AUB.
• August 17, 2004 – September 30, 2013: Member of the Board of Trustees (BOT), Dhofar University (DU) , Salalah, Sultanate of Oman .
• August 17, 2004 – September 30, 2006: Founding President and Dean of the College of Engineering, DU. On secondment from AUB.
• November 2002 – December 2019: Associate, Center for Advanced Mathematical Sciences (CAMS), AUB.
• August 1, 1998 – August 31, 2001: Chairman, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), Faculty of Engineering and Architecture (FEA), AUB.
• July 2, 1997 – June 30, 2003: Founder and counselor of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Student Brach (IEEESB), AUB.
• July 1, 1997 – July 7, 2011: Full professor, ECE, FEA, AUB.
• September 3, 1991 – October 24, 1991: Visiting Fellow, Center for Educational Development and Academic Methods, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
• July 1, 1991 – June 30, 1997: Associate Professor, ECE, FEA, AUB.
• May 20, 1989 – June 20, 1989: Visiting professor, University of Sana’a, Sana’a, Yemen.
• December 1, 1985 – June 30, 1991: Assistant Professor, ECE, FEA, AUB, Beirut, Lebanon.

Professor Hassan Diab began his career as an academic at the American University of Beirut (AUB) shortly after acquiring his PhD in computer engineering. During his time there, he assumed the roles of educator, researcher, and administrator, and contributed to the university’s plans to impact higher education in the region and beyond. His career at the university lasted 34 years.

1 - OVERVIEW

He first joined AUB’s Faculty of Engineering and Architecture (FEA) as an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering in 1985. He was promoted to the rank of associate professor in 1991 and then to full professor in 1997. From 1998 to 2001, he chaired the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), which was the largest department at AUB. In 2004, he was seconded by AUB to be the Founding President of Dhofar University (DU) in Salalah, Sultanate of Oman, also serving as dean of DU’s College of Engineering until 2006 and as a member on their Board of Trustees until 2013. In 2006, he was chosen as Vice President (VP) for Regional External Programs (REP) at AUB and continued in this role until 2011, the year he was appointed minister of education. He resumed his work at AUB as VP for REP in 2013 after the cabinet signed a decree of resignation in March of that year. He left AUB in February 2020 after he successfully formed his cabinet of ministers, having been appointed Lebanon’s prime minister in December 2019.

2 - WORK & ACCOMPLISHMENTS During his time at the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) department at AUB, he prepared and taught over 20 courses, both graduate and undergraduate, of which nearly 70% were in his direct area of expertise in computer engineering. He also supervised/co-supervised 78 research projects, refereed over 300 papers, chaired several conferences, and served as member on over 50 organizing committees of international conferences. Additionally, he served as associate editor or member of advisory/editorial board on five international journals.

He was the only faculty member that had a bachelor in communications engineering and a PhD in computer engineering, Accordingly, he played a pivotal role in launching the Computer and Communications Engineering (CCE) program at AUB in 1986, which became one of the most sought-after undergraduate programs at AUB in terms of applicant numbers and has been replicated by dozens of universities in the region.

During his tenure as chairman of ECE, the department grew by 37% in terms of student numbers and 20% in terms of faculty members. During his term, the department restructured all of its programs, including two undergraduate programs to conform with ABET EC2000. It also introduced a new graduate program, added 16 new courses, proposed a new PhD program in computer engineering, and recommended a new multidisciplinary program in information systems and software engineering. He and an AUB team, as part of a REP project, played a critical role in the work that led to Dhofar University (DU) becoming the first private university in Oman to receive the initial phase of institutional accreditation. He was also able to secure an annual research budget for DU faculty of around $1 million while chairing DU’s research board. As VP for REP at AUB, he saw the successful implementation of hundreds of projects, with a fourfold increase in REP’s annual number of projects and geographic outreach. Implemented projects include establishing universities (e.g., American University of Sharjah) or assisting universities (e.g., Princess Noora University). This not only allowed AUB to leave a positive impact on higher education in the region, but also secured additional revenue streams and resulted in millions of dollars in endowments and fund-raising for the university.

3 - REREARCH INTERESTS

Professor Diab’s passion for research can be traced back to his university years where his work as a PhD student resulted in a parallel processing system that was successfully marketed by his university. His years in academia fanned his passion for research and his roles in public office expanded his areas of interest. As for research interests in his specialty of computer engineering, these include cryptography on high performance computer systems, modeling and simulation of parallel processing systems, embedded systems, reconfigurable computing, simulation of parallel applications, and system simulation using fuzzy logic control. Additionally, his interests were directly shaped by his experience as an educator and his role as education minister to include higher education in the region and global issues in education. Specific research areas of interest to him in education are the application of simulation to engineering education, educational development, educational planning with governments and institutions in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education, as well as entrepreneurship in education.

Community Contributor

• November 2019 – present: Member of the International Advisory Board (IAB) of the University of Business and Technology (UBT), Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• November 2019 – present: Member, the Global Leaders.
• October 2018 – present: Member of the Advisory Board of the Global Education Movement (GEM), Southern New Hampshire University, USA.
• September 2017 – present: Member of the Board of Advisors, Al Quds Academy for Scientific Research.
• September 2017 – present: Board member, the GHCF_ICDO Global Assembly Council.
• November 2015 – present: Board member, Lebanese Omani Business Council.
• June 2014 – present: Founder and President, Rifca Taji Charity Foundation (RTF).
• December 2012 – present: Member of Advisory Board, Institute of Cultural Diplomacy (ICD).
• February 2011 – present: Member of the Board of Trustees, Social Welfare Institutions (SWI), NGO.
• March 2016 – December 2019: Member, Financial and Administrative Committee of the Board of Trustees.
• January 2014 – December 2019: Chairman, IT Committee of the Board of Trustees.

Publications

Professor Hassan Diab has accumulated over 160 publications, including books, book chapters, papers in refereed journals, papers in conference proceedings, and other publications. He continued to publish and expand his bibliography even when he was appointed to senior administrative positions starting from 2004. During the time between 2004 and 2018, he managed to produce 46 publications, including 23 refereed conference papers, 14 refereed journal papers, eight books and book chapters, as well as one invited publication.

His publications have been cited in over 1000 articles from Scopus and Google Scholar. Additionally, research engines like ResearchGate (RG) indicate that his publications have over 5,000 reads, a hundred of which go to his recent publication from 2018, “A Call for Curriculum Reform to Combat Refugees Crisis: The Case of Lebanon,” based on the work he did as minister of education and higher education. Worth noting is that his RG Score reached over 23.6 (around 80th percentile of RG members).

BOOKS AND BOOK CHAPTERS Professor Hassan Diab has been involved in the publication of seven books, four of which he authored and three of which he edited/co-edited. He has also contributed four book chapters.

1- Authored Books

• 1.1 Scotland’s and Australia’s HRE Practices as Reform Tools in Lebanon (2017) Co-authored with Ghada Awada and Kawthar Faour, this book was published in March 2017 and studies Scotland’s and Australia’s successful integration of Human Rights Education (HRE) into many school subjects, the integration of technology in education as a promoter of HRE, and the Glogster model of online interactive education, to discuss curricular reform after the Lebanese Civil War.
• 1.2 Towards Modernization: Rescue Plan, Projects and Achievements of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education 2011-2013 (2013) This book was published towards the end of Dr. Diab’s term as minister of education in December 2013. It documents the major undertakings of the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) between 2011 and 2013. It was originally published in Arabic as على طريق الحداثة: خطة إنقاذية، مشاريع ومنجزات وزارة التربية والتعليم العالي ٢٠١١-٢٠١٣.
• 1.3 Documentary of Events During Minister Hassan Diab’s Term at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (2013) This book details the important moments of Dr. Hassan Diab’s term as minister. It was published in May 2013 and in Arabic as الكتاب التوثيقي لولاية الوزير حسان دياب في وزارة التربية والتعليم العالي.
• 1.4 Design and Implementation of a Flight Simulation System (1992) This book, published in 1992, details the design of a multicomputer system that will provide real-time flight simulation, addressing the computer hardware design aspects and software issues, as well as algorithms needed for the subsystem.

2- Edited Books

• 1. Dependable Computing Systems: Paradigms, Performance Issues, and Applications (2005) Co-edited with Albert Y. Zomaya and published in 2005, this book is described as a “unique resource,” where researchers and organizations “find the tools needed to identify and engage state-of-the-art approaches used for the specification, design, and assessment of dependable computer system.”
• 2. Proceedings of the Second LAAS International Conference on Computer Simulation (1997) The conference was held at the American University of Beirut (AUB) between September 1 and 4, 1997, two years after the first one. The 602-page proceedings were edited by Dr. Diab. The proceedings are available at AUB’s Jafet library. Check the table of contents.
• 3. Proceedings of the First LAAS International Conference on Computer Simulation (1995) The conference was held at AUB between September 1 and 4, 1995. The 535-page proceedings were edited by Dr. Diab. The proceedings can be found at AUB’s Jafet. Check the table of contents.

Premiership

See also: Cabinet of Hassan Diab

Diab was designated as the next Prime Minister of Lebanon succeeding Saad Hariri on 19 December 2019, amidst the 2019–20 Lebanese protests that had caused Hariri's resignation. Diab's candidacy won the support of 69 members out of 128 of the Lebanese parliament; his support came from parties that co-form the March 8 Alliance, namely the Hezbollah-allied parliamentary blocs, but did not receive the backing of parties from his own Sunni community.

Diab is an independent, not vocally supporting any political group, and had a low public profile at the time of his appointment.

Lebanon's new government was formed on 21 January 2020 after Diab and Speaker Nabih Berri met with President Michel Aoun. Diab then announced the new twenty-member cabinet made up of technocrats saying they would work on new election law, seeking an independent judiciary and the return of looted public funds. During the first session of the new cabinet, Diab announced that his first official visits would be to countries "in the Arab region, especially the Gulf". He said nothing about abiding by the reforms promised by Hariri and chose to maintain the Ministry of Information, which Hariri had promised to abolish. On 3 February, Diab signed the 2020 state budget, reducing spending by $700 million and on 6 February the cabinet approved a financial rescue plan to present to the parliament.

On 7 March 2020, Diab announced Lebanon would default on a sovereign debt for the first time in its history.

On 10 August 2020, Diab resigned in the aftermath of the Beirut explosion due to mounting political pressure and anger at the Lebanese government for their failure to prevent the disaster, exacerbated by existing political tensions and upheavals within the country. He requested President Aoun to call for early parliamentary elections.

Personal life

Diab is married to Nuwar Mawlawi and has three children. He is a Sunni Muslim.

Selected publications

• Diab, H. B.; Demashkieh, I. (1991). "A computer-aided teaching package for microprocessor systems education". IEEE Transactions on Education. 34 (2): 179–183. Bibcode:1991ITEdu..34..179D. doi:10.1109/13.81598.
• Saade, J. J.; Diab, H. B. (2000). "Defuzzification techniques for fuzzy controllers". IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Part B (Cybernetics). 30 (1). IEEE: 223–229. doi:10.1109/3477.826965. PMID 18244747.
• Damaj, Issam; Diab, Hassan (2003). "Performance analysis of linear algebraic functions using reconfigurable computing". The Journal of Supercomputing. 24 (1): 91–107. arXiv:1904.08233. doi:10.1023/A:1020993510939. S2CID 29082745.
• Diab, Hassan (2003). "Standardization Related to Arabic Language Use in ICT" (Document). United Nations.
• Diab, Hassan B.; Zomaya, Albert Y. (2005). Dependable Computing Systems: Paradigms, Performance Issues, and Applications (PDF). Wiley. S2CID 53833099. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2020.
• Ghaith, Ghazi; Diab, Hassan (2008). "Determinants of EFL achievement among Arab college-bound learners". Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues. 1 (4): 278–286. doi:10.1108/17537980810929993.
• Awada, Ghada; Diab, Hassan (2016). "Lebanon's 2011 ICT education reform strategy and action plan: Curriculum success or abeyance". Cogent Education. 3 (1). doi:10.1080/2331186x.2016.1245086.
• Awada, Ghada; Diab, Hassan B. (2018). "The Effect of Google Earth and Wiki Models on Oral Presentation Skills of University EFL Learners". International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. 30 (1): 36–46.

External links

• Media related to Hassan Diab at Wikimedia Commons