Abdulsalam A. Haykal

1916 – 2023

With profound sadness and a heavy heart, we share with you the passing of our beloved father, grandfather, and founder, business and community leader, Abdulsalam A. Haykal. Born to a trading family in Tartous, Syria, in 1916, Abdulsalam A. Haykal led a remarkable and impactful life during the Levant’s tumultuous 20th century. In a generation of nation-building pioneers, he stood out for his initiative, courage, resolve, and business acumen. He devoted his life to his family, trade, and community. Abdulsalam A. Haykal was active in the Scouts of Syria and Lebanon when the Syrian Republic was formed in 1932. In 1936, he founded the Tartous Scouts and later became the scout commissioner for the coastal region. It was a time when the Scouts were involved in Syria’s efforts to end the French Mandate. These formative years instilled a deep sense of public duty in him. His business career included diverse activities and two key milestones. The first was in 1939, when he started an olive oil and foodstuff processing and trading operation that grew to serve current day Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. By the mid 1950s, he was one of a handful of exporters in Syria, sending olive oil and peanuts abroad to Italy, England and Europe. The second was the shipping and logistics company he founded in 1968, and together with his son Mohamed, grew rapidly, helping turn the port city of Tartous into a prominent Mediterranean hub for containerships carrying cargo to Syria, Iraq, and the Gulf. In 1970, he founded the Tartous Chamber of Commerce and Industry and led it for 16 years, becoming its longest-serving president. He also served on the boards of the Syrian Federation of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Arab-Swiss Chamber of Commerce. Throughout his business career, Abdulsalam A. Haykal showed inspiring resilience and determination, rebuilding his business several times in the turbulent second half of the 20th century, including wars, political turmoil, and nationalisations. In his life and business, he touched the lives of many with his warm and graceful personality, and deep-rooted values of respect, kindness, humility, honesty, integrity, and optimism. He remained cheerful and curious until the end, and enjoyed passing down history and wisdom to the younger generation through his legendary storytelling along with short prose and verse. In the face of Syria’s and the Levant’s devastation and broken dreams, he remained steadfast in his belief and hope for justice and a better future. Abdulsalam A. Haykal was laid to rest on Friday, 17 March 2023, in Beirut, where he had lived for the last decade after leaving Damascus in 2012. He is survived by Dia Abu Samra, our mother, grandmother, and his beloved wife of 78 years; his son Mohamed A. Haykal and daughters Mona, Daad, Sahar, and Samar Haykal, and their spouses. He was an adored grandfather to 21 grandchildren and their spouses; and 38 great-grandchildren in eight countries around the world. His business legacy continues through the Haykal Group. We mourn his loss, celebrate his life, cherish his guiding memory, and strive to honour his name and values with a sense of pride and responsibility.