Walid Eido facts for kids

Walid Eido (Arabic: وليد عيدو; April 2, 1942 – June 13, 2007) was a Lebanese politician. He was a member of the Lebanese Parliament. He belonged to the political group called the Current for the Future. He was also part of the March 14 Coalition.

Early Life and Learning

Walid Eido was born on April 2, 1942. His family lived in the Bachoura area of Beirut, Lebanon. He studied law at Lebanese University. He finished his degree in 1966. After that, in 1967, he became a judge.

Public Service and Political Work

During the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), Walid Eido was part of a group called the Sunni Murabetoun militia. A militia is a group of citizens who are not regular soldiers but are trained to fight.

Later, in the 1990s, he worked as a public prosecutor in north Lebanon. A public prosecutor is a lawyer who works for the government. They bring legal cases against people accused of crimes. He left this job to enter politics. He wanted to run for elections with Rafik Hariri, who was a very important politician.

Walid Eido then became the President of the Beirut Court of Appeal. This is a high position in the court system. He resigned from this role in 2000. He did this so he could run for parliament that same year.

He was elected as a representative for Beirut in 2000. He was re-elected in the 2005 Lebanese general election. After Syria's military left Lebanon, Eido became a critic of Bashar al-Assad, who was the President of Syria. He also criticized Émile Lahoud, who was the President of Lebanon at the time.

In parliament, Walid Eido led the defense committee. He was also a member of several other committees. In April 2007, he asked the Prime Minister, Fouad Siniora, to find replacements for ministers who had resigned. He believed this would help the government work better.

Walid Eido strongly supported setting up a special court. This court would investigate the assassination of his close friend, Rafik Hariri.

Tragic Event

On June 13, 2007, a car bomb exploded in Beirut. The bomb was hidden in a parked vehicle. It blew up as Walid Eido's car was driving away from a beach club. Walid Eido was killed in the explosion. Six other people also died, including his oldest son, Khaled. Walid Eido was 65 years old.

The explosion happened in the Manara district of western Beirut. It was near the Nejmeh SC football club and an amusement park. Two footballers from Nejmeh, Hussein Naeem and Hussein Dokmak, were also among those killed.

Walid Eido's death happened just three days after a new United Nations resolution. This resolution, called United Nations Security Council Resolution 1757, created a special court. This court was set up to investigate the assassination of Rafik Hariri and other similar attacks. Walid Eido was the seventh anti-Syrian politician to be killed since Rafik Hariri's assassination in 2005. He was also the third member of the Lebanese parliament to be killed. His death reduced the number of members in the March 14 alliance in parliament. The United Nations Security Council spoke out against the assassination.

Family Life

Walid Eido was married. He had three sons named Khaled, Zaher, and Mazen. He enjoyed swimming. His eldest son, Khaled, who also died in the explosion, was a lawyer.

See also

• List of assassinated Lebanese politicians