Post Taif Political Practice: The Failure of the Public Interest
The Taif agreement signed in Saudi Arabia on October 22, 1989 puts an end to the long armed ...
Prominent Lebanese Figure
Hikmat.
Born in 1981 in Beirut, his journey has been marked by a multi-sectoral business profile and a firm commitment to his country. Hikmat Abou Zeid has worn multiple hats throughout his dynamic career, showcasing his abilities as an entrepreneur/businessman, political and social militant, and insightful writer. He is a proud father of three children.
In high school at Lycée Franco-Libanais Beirut, he embraced French secular ideals, immersing himself in French history, literature, and values.
Growing up amidst the complexities of Syrian occupation in Lebanon, he couldn’t turn a blind eye to the political situation.
Fueled by a strong desire for change, he envisioned a better Lebanon, nurturing an unwavering sense of Lebanese citizenship. During this time, he and a group of friends founded a political debate club, reflecting his early inclination for expressing his contesting personality and sparking discussions for positive transformation.
The latter played a key role in mobilizing opposition to the Syrian military occupation at Lycee Franco Libanais, leading eventually to the formation of a united group of schools called ISM (Independent Student Movement), a national student movement, aiming at debating the Lebanese political reality, fed with a revolutionary sense of change.
This group brought together like-minded students from several prominent Beirut schools, all working together aiming to challenge the status quo, advocating for a free Lebanon.
Unyielding in his pursuit of change, he faced the iron grip of authorities after distributing forbidden political flyers advocating for independence and sovereignty in his homeland, Hikmat was caught by a security checkpoint in Wadi Chahrour where he spent 48 hours behind the walls of ‘Noura’ prison. This brief incarceration only fueled his determination.
Hikmat Abou Zeid was an active member of the Studentship resistance movement that first had the courage, in early 2000, to raise the Syrian occupation problematic as a prerequisite for any fight for equality, representativeness and sovereignty of a violated national independence.
2003-2004
Law Degree
Setting his academic foundation in 2004, Abou Zeid earned a law degree specializing in Lebanese private law from USEK Holy Spirit University, a testament to his commitment seeking to understand the fundamentals of his nation's legal landscape. This educational background served as the cornerstone for his later political engagement.
2006-2007
Masters in Management Studies
In 2006, Abou Zeid expanded his horizons by acquiring a Master's in Management Studies from "Institut Supérieur de Gestion" (ISG) in Paris, France, a member of the CGE (Conférence des Grandes Écoles). At that time, completing higher education abroad was a common practice for ambitious Lebanese youth to escape the dictatorship of the Syrian stranglehold over the country.
This step broadened his global perspective, and deepened his understanding of capital markets, laying the groundwork for his future influential presence in the financial realm.
AIG
Abou Zeid’s eager to this field sparked brightly in 2009, when he founded Ahli Investment Group (AIG) in Lebanon, a venture partnering with “Ahli International bank”, as a positive reaction to the impactful experience he has lived throughout the 2008 subprime crisis. AIG was empowered by the central bank’s endorsement, a prime brokerage financial institution, targeting local and Arab clients.
Astro-Bank
Driven by his passion for investments and growth, and in line with his Lebanon d-risking and diversification investment strategy, he lead a strategic investment in the banking arena, specifically in Cyprus, to become a member of the board of Cyprus’ fastest-growing Bank AstroBank, between 2017 & 2021, contributing to its strategic insights and growth dynamics.
Georgian-Lebanese Chamber of Commerce
With the intention of boosting the Lebanese economy and support small businesses, Hikmat Abou Zeid pioneered in establishing the Georgian-Lebanese Chamber of Commerce in 2019, fostering economic ties between Lebanon and Georgia through strategic collaborations and intra-trade events. Since that year, and despite global uncertainties (Covid19 crisis), Hikmat was able, with the help of all the members of the chamber, to organize two conventions, linking Georgian SMEs to Lebanese counterparts, in the service of Lebanon competitiveness promotion. These conventions aimed at putting together Lebanese and Georgian officials, signing inter-governmental MOU’s, in the service of Lebanon products (wine, food and beverage, general trade and tourism).
OMT SAL
Hikmat Abou Zeid's journey led him to be appointed as executive board member at OMT SAL. He orchestrated a transformative restructuring plan from 2009 to 2013, solidifying OMT's position as a pioneering market player in Lebanon's financial solutions landscape. He prominently defined a transformative strategy laid on three main vectors: launching “OMT” brand, expanding OMT’s network, and enlarging its portfolio of services, converting it from the provider of a sole “money transfer” service, to the provider of a wide range of financial solutions, dealing with the public as well as the private sector. This strategy allowed the creation of an intrinsic equity value for the company, gaining an imposable status of a growing national corporation where he occupies the position of Vice Chairman since 2019. He contributed and still to the digitization of OMT business model, adapting the company for the next decade challenges. Hikmat Abou Zeid leads the portfolio management family office of the Abou Zeid family since 2015, 50% owners of OMT SAL, overviewing multi sectors in Lebanon and abroad: waste management, mobile advertising, financial services, real estate, AI, natural energy, automotive and banking.
OPEL
He served as the Chairman of Opel, the reputable German car brand from 2013 to 2018. During his tenure, he played a pivotal role in overseeing the company's operations, marking one of the fastest growing automotive brands, notably, he was able to negotiate the sale of Opel Lebanon to Abou Khater Group, owners of the Japanese brand Mazda, marking a significant milestone in the automotive industry.
MADDICT
The Abou Zeid portfolio is also dynamic in local and international private equity strategic ventures. The most relevant being the launch of “Maddict”, a local Lebanese start-up, specialized in premium mobile advertising. The expansion of “Maddict” to UAE lead to the creation of a sales team wing, backed up by a cost efficient Local Lebanese operation, imposing itself as the follower on the Premium mobile advertising market in GCC countries. Abou Zeid served as the company’s chairman between 2012 and 2018.
Books
Beyond the realm of business, Abou Zeid’s engagement in Lebanese society took on a literary and poetry dimension. An accomplished essayist and author, he wrote the insightful book “La Révolution Institutionnelle au Liban,” or the “Institutional Revolution in Lebanon”, in collaboration with “Edition Antoine” in 2022, overviewed by the former minister of interior, Dr. Ziyad Baroud.
This essay tackled the corruptive political scene that governed over the past three decades, which Hikmat witnessed. The work advocates for administrative decentralization, mirroring his commitment to progressive change within his nation.
For Hikmat Abou Zeid, decentralizing the administrative skeleton of the Lebanese Institutions kills the confessional central monopole serving as a key performance indicator reaching social and economic equality.
His essay was admitted at several prestigious French libraries, as a testimony of its content’s relevance: Bullac, Institut du Monde Arabe, Matignon & Sorbonne.
يتناول هذا الكتاب المشهد السياسي الفاسد الذي حكم البلاد على مدى العقود الثلاثة الماضية، والذي عايشه حكمت عن كثب. ويدعو إلى اللامركزية الإدارية، بما يعكس التزامه بإحداث تغيير تقدّمي في وطنه.
بالنسبة إلى حكمت أبو زيد، فإن لامركزية الهيكلية الإدارية للمؤسسات اللبنانية تقضي على الاحتكار المركزي الطائفي، وتشكل مؤشراً أساسياً للأداء في سبيل تحقيق العدالة الاجتماعية والاقتصادية.
وقد أُدرج هذا الكتاب في عدد من المكتبات الفرنسية المرموقة، كشهادة على أهمية محتواه وراهنيته، منها: بولّاك (BULAC)، معهد العالم العربي، ماتينيون، والسوربون.
Recently, Hikmat’s passion for poetry and expression came to light with his first poetry book “Les Artères de L’instant,” again in collaboration with “Edition Antoine” where he wore a new hat as a poet, highlighting his inner passion for literature, publishing a set of poetry, written during his old days of Business school studentship in Paris (2002 – 2008), as well as more recently written ones between 2020 and 2022.
مؤخرًا، تجلّى شغف حكمت بالشعر والتعبير من خلال إصدار ديوانه الشعري الأول “شرايين اللحظة” وذلك مجددًا بالتعاون مع «دار نشر أنطوان»، حيث ارتدى قبعة جديدة كشاعر، مُبرزًا شغفه العميق بالأدب.
ويضمّ الديوان مجموعة من القصائد التي كتبها خلال سنوات دراسته في كلية إدارة الأعمال في باريس (2002 – 2008)، إلى جانب نصوص أحدث كتبها بين عامي 2020 و2022.
In June 2025, Hikmat Abou Zeid released his second poetry collection, L’Enfer Magique, a deeply personal work that explores the fragile beauty of the human soul. Blending past experiences with raw emotion, the book traces a journey through pain, memory, and renewal. With this collection, Abou Zeid affirms his voice as a poet unafraid to confront contradiction and vulnerability. L’Enfer Magique stands as a lyrical mirror to life’s most intimate struggles and transformations.
في حزيران 2025، أصدر حكمت أبو زيد مجموعته الشعرية الثانية «الجحيم السحري»، وهو عمل شخصي عميق يستكشف هشاشة وجمال الروح الإنسانية.
يمزج الكتاب بين تجارب الماضي والمشاعر الصادقة، متتبعًا رحلة عبر الألم والذاكرة والتجدّد. ومن خلال هذه المجموعة، يؤكد أبو زيد صوته كشاعر لا يخشى مواجهة التناقضات والهشاشة الإنسانية.
ويأتي «الجحيم السحري» كمرآة شعرية تعكس أكثر صراعات الحياة حميميةً وتحولاتها العميقة.
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