security official

Ghazi Kanaan

غازي كنعان

Also known as: Abu Wael • the Viceroy of Lebanon

Journeys

Ghazi Kanaan: The Man Who Owned Lebanon

Kanaan operated out of the Syrian intelligence headquarters in Anjar, Bekaa Valley. Lebanese politicians, businessmen, and warlords were all required to pay tribute — financial and political. His network extracted enormous revenues from Lebanon. His death in October 2005, immediately after giving testimony to the UN, remains one of the unsolved mysteries of the Hariri investigation.

Biography

Ghazi Kanaan was Syria's intelligence chief in Lebanon from 1982 to 2002 — 20 years as the effective ruler of Lebanon from behind the scenes. An Alawite from Latakia, he built a vast personal patronage network across Lebanese politics, business, and security. He was later recalled to Syria as Interior Minister. He died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound in October 2005, days after giving testimony to UN investigators probing the Hariri assassination — a death many analysts considered suspicious.

Documentation Status

VerificationConfirmed

Journeys1

Key Facts

Born:1942

Place:Baqeen, Latakia, Syria

Died:2005-10-12

Nationality:Syrian