Tawfiq Assaf was a distinguished Lebanese businessman and a top-tier politician.
Assaf, a native of the town of Aitat, born in 1915, emigrated to Venezuela where he spent 13 years before returning to Lebanon to establish a branch of the international “Pepsi-Cola” company in 1951. It was the first Lebanese joint-stock company founded by a Druze.
In 1956, he founded the Beirut and Arab Countries Bank, and contributed to the Lebanese economic renaissance of those years.
He founded other companies in various fields, such as plastic industries and insurance, in addition to venturing into real estate, media, and other sectors.
In politics, he was elected as a deputy for Aley and was the founder of the Ministry of Industry and Petroleum. Assaf contributed to drafting and approving the Taif Agreement, in his capacity as the sole Druze representative at that historic conference.
He passed away in 1996 after a career full of contributions.
Reference: Book “The Druze Monotheists: Culture, History, and Message” – Abbas Halabi
