The Emile Bitar Foundation was formed in April 1988 by a group of fourty two
friends of Emile Bitar, either his colleagues at the Hotel Dieu de France and the French Faculty of Medicine, or those who
shared his political struggle for a free, independent, modern Lebanon.
Phares Zoghbi is a prominent lawyer and writer. He is the author of "Liban,
Le salut par la culture" and "A livres ouverts". He has long been the legal advisor of newspapers An Nahar
and L'Orient Le Jour and of the Casino du Liban.
The Foundation's Treasurer is Dr Issam Assi.
In addition to the above mentioned persons, the Bureau of the Foundation includes
professor Fouad N. Boustany, former president of the Medical Order, professor Edgar Gedeon, former minister Dr Assaad
Rizk, Culture Ministry advisor Afifa Dirani Arsanios, and Attorney Boutros Arsanios.
The Emile Bitar Foundation's objective is to perpetuate his memory, disseminate
his thougths, and pursue by various means (conferences, publications, awards...) the fight for a decent health care system
and the struggle for democracy in Lebanon.
