“Medicines should not be more bitter than diseases”

-Emile Bitar, 1971

Once upon a time in Lebanon (7)

The current suffering of Lebanese people, from the lack of medication to the surge of prices, prompts us to recall Emile Bitar, the Doctor and Health Minister who resigned from his position after losing his battle against the pharmaceutical mafia and its supporters. His resignation made him the unique statesman of all times.

Birth

Emile Bitar was born in the town of Kfifan in the Qada’a of Batroun in 1931. He was the son of Youwakim Bitar, former Head of the North Lebanon Bar Association and a Member of Parliament who represented Batroun from 1937 until September 1939, when World War II broke out and Parliament was dissolved.

Education

He studied at the Collège des Frères, Trablous, before moving to the Jesuit Fathers School in Beirut. He later pursued a career in medicine at Montpellier University, France, and became a rheumatologist.

Bitar was appointed Minister of Public Health in the Youth Cabinet (consisting of young experts and specialists) formed by Saeb Salam under President Sleiman Frangieh. Considering that “medicines should not be more bitter than diseases”, he made the improvement of health sector, namely the provision of medicine and the reduction of monopoly, his main objective. He thus developed a plan to provide medication.

Resignation

Disappointed at the Cabinet’s refusal to endorse the draft law authorizing him to withdraw the drug importation licenses, only when absolutely necessary, in order to provide the drugs, Minister Emile Bitar tendered his resignation on December 24 and the government delegated the ministerial functions to Minister Henry Tarabay.

Below are excerpts of the formal resignation text he submitted to the President of the Republic:

“I regret to confirm to Your Excellency the oral resignation I announced during the ministerial session held on Wednesday, December 22nd, on the heels of the Cabinet’s disapproval of my suggested draft law entitling the Minister of Public Health to withdraw the licenses from drug importers, when absolutely necessary, in order to guarantee the provision of drugs and to prevent everything that could sabotage the public health. This proposal has received unanimous consent in Parliament during the session held on December 14, 1971 but there was not an official vote of confidence at the time for reasons that You Excellency knows full well. 

I would like to reiterate that my policy has always been inspired by the ministerial statement, which prioritized the organization of the free economy, based on which our government has obtained confidence. Here, I take the opportunity to express my admiration for your integrity and political wisdom as well as your impartiality in addressing national issues. I would also like to thank you sincerely for the confidence you have vested in me during our period of cooperation, thus facilitating the realization of my projects during my ministerial tenure.”

Death

Dr. Emile Bitar passed away on February 8, 1988 at the age of 57.