Fuad Char

Fuad Ricardo Char Abdala (born 5 October 1937) is a Senator of Colombia serving his fifth term in Congress, albeit not all consecutively. He is the founder of Grupo Empresarial Olímpica.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Char and the second or maternal family name is Abdala.
Fuad Char
Senator of Colombia
In office
20 July 2010 (2010-07-20) – 20 July 2014 (2014-07-20)
In office
20 July 1998 (1998-07-20) – 20 July 2006 (2006-07-20)
In office
20 July 1990 (1990-07-20) – 20 April 1995 (1995-04-20)
21st Colombia Ambassador to Portugal
In office
30 September 2008 (2008-09-30) – 5 June 2009 (2009-06-05)
PresidentÁlvaro Uribe
Preceded byPlinio Apuleyo Mendoza
Succeeded byArturo Sarabia
14th Minister of Economic Development
In office
1987–1988
PresidentVirgilio Barco
Preceded byMiguel Merino Gordillo
Succeeded byCarlos Arturo Marulanda
48th Governor of Atlántico
In office
1984–1987
PresidentBelisario Betancur
Preceded byAbel Francisco Carbonell
Succeeded byGerardo Certain
Personal details
Born
Fuad Ricardo Char Abdala

(1937-10-05) 5 October 1937
Lorica, Córdoba, Colombia
Political partyRadical Change
Other political
affiliations		Liberal
SpouseAdela Chaljub Char (1994)
Children

Family

Fuad was the son of Ricardo Char Zaslawy, an immigrant from Lebanon who arrived in Colombia in 1926, and Erlinda Abdala a daughter of Lebanese immigrants.[1][2] He is the eldest out of seven children, his other siblings were Jabib, Farid, Simón, and, Ricardo[3]

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.[4]

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
  1. Howard, Elizabeth (2015). Retailing in Emerging Markets: A policy and strategy perspective. Routledge. p. 162. ISBN 9781317911180.
  2. "Una historia de novela". Dinero.com. 1997.
  3. "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.
  4. "En Bogotá". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 7 January 1996. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.