Profile    |   Autobiography

Economic Expert Dr. Louis Hobeika: Autobiography

I was born in Zahleh (Lebanon) on July 14, 1954. My father, George, was a businessman who became a prominent member of the business community and of the Bekaa Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture. My mother, Wadad, is a housewife. I did all my primary education at the Rassieh Saints-Coeurs College and my complementary education at the Oriental College in Zahleh. Then I went, as an intern, to the Saint-Joseph College in Aintoura to complete in 1972 my secondary education with honors. I was elected head of the student body which defends students' interests and organizes social and cultural activities. I did win too a couple of chess tournaments.

Studying Economics was on my mind since I started secondary education. In 1972, I was able to join Saint-Joseph University to begin the 4-year "licence" degree in Economics. Because of the Lebanese war which started in 1975, I completed successfully and with honors the licence at the University of Paris 2 (Assas) in France. Simultaneously, while in Beirut, I started at the American University a BA degree in Statistics which I did not complete because of the War. In Paris, I met Professor Robert Goffin who taught me Finance and became later a dear friend. He encouraged me to go to the USA for my graduate studies. I presented few applications and was accepted in the Economics PhD program of the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). It is a famous Ivy League institution and one of the best Universities in the world.

Needless to say that the presence of outstanding economics professors at Penn was the main reason for my decision to go there. I can name Professors Lawrence Klein who received later the Nobel Prize in Economics and Irwin Friend who was a senior professor at the Wharton School. I concentrated my electives on Econometrics and Finance which were, in my view, the fields of the future. My master thesis was more related to Econometrics, while my PhD dissertation concentrated on issues related to corporate finance.

The 4 years I spent at Penn affected my life significantly. Besides benefiting from an outstanding education, I met many interesting people and made few great friends. I developed too my tennis game and my taste for classical music due to the Philadelphia orchestra. The 3 years of teaching assistantship developed my permanent taste for teaching which I still do with great pleasure.

While finishing my PhD degree, I was interviewed for Professorship at many leading Universities in the USA. However a phone call from the Rector of Saint-Joseph University in Beirut, Father Jean Ducruet sj, changed my mind and made me return to Lebanon to become at 26 the youngest dean ever. I was appointed in December 1980 Professor and elected Dean of the Faculty of Economic Sciences at a major university in Lebanon.

I got married in 1986 to Joumana, and we have two daughters Hind (14) and Youmna (12). I really enjoyed my job as Dean until 1989, when the situation in Lebanon became unbearable. With the help of my friend from Penn Dr. Theophilos Priovolos, I was offered an Economist position at the World Bank in Washington. DC which I held until 1994. It was a tremendous learning experience as I had the opportunity to undertake interesting research, to lead missions to some developing countries and to supervise structural adjustment loans. In 1994, an interesting offer came from the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting "GOIC" in Qatar which made me leave the World Bank and get closer to my home country Lebanon.

Only few months into my job in Doha, I received a call from former Lebanese President Elias Hrawi who offered me the possibility of Chairing Sodetel, a leading telecommunications company in Lebanon. Sodetel is a Lebanese-French-Italian joint venture founded in 1968 and operates in the Lebanese market. In August 1994, I was elected Chairman and CEO of Sodetel and still hold this position. In 1996, I was elected Secretary General of the ICC-Lebanon, which is a local branch of the International Chamber of Commerce. I still hold this honorary position and do my work with dedication and pleasure.

Since 1977, I have been teaching in the USA and Lebanon almost without interruption. I teach now Economics and Finance, as an adjunct professor, at the American University of Beirut. I still teach with great joy. Fortunately, I find the time during nights and weekends to write my weekly articles on different topics of Economics. I have written so far about 700 articles and intend to continue. It's a great way to communicate to people especially during these difficult economic times for Lebanon and the whole Arab region.

I had the opportunity to travel around the world for tourism and business. I can name only few countries such as China, Korea, Malaysia, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Brazil. I did present several professional papers in the context of conferences in the USA, Bahrain, the UAE, Hungary and many others. Finally, I am happy to offer this website to the general public, and to researchers and students around the world. December 31, 2002