Charles Rizk

Early life and education

Rizk was born on 20 July 1935. He studied at the prestigious Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, and received a PhD in law.

Career

Rizk was a faculty member at Lebanese University until he joined politics. He began his political career as an aide to President Fuad Chehab. He was Lebanon's representative at the Francophonie. Then he became director general of the information ministry in 1967. From 1978 to 1983 he served as the headof the state television station Tele Liban.

At the beginning of 2005, Rizk was appointed information minister. In July 2005, then Prime Minister Fouad Siniora controversially appointed Rizk as justice minister, a post claimed by Michel Aoun and also by Saad Hariri. The appointment of Rizk, a man close to president Lahoud, was opposed as it was felt that the investigation into the murder of Rafik Hariri would be unlikely to be pursued vigorously by a pro-Lahoud minister. Rizk silenced critics by giving the investigation under UNIIIC-Commissioner Detlev Mehlis his full support while later on he became an outspoken critic of Mehlis' successor Serge Brammertz because of his alleged inactivity in the ongoing investigation.

Rizk's term as justice minister lasted until July 2008. He was not appointed to the national unity government headed by Fouad Siniora and was replaced by Ibrahim Najjar.

Rizk was one the candidates for the Lebanese presidency in 2007.