Sam Hamad

Sam Hamad (born June 17, 1958 in Damascus, Syria) is a Syrian-born Quebec politician. He is the current Member of National Assembly (MNA) for the riding of Louis-Hebert in the Quebec City region. Member of the Quebec Liberal Party, he is the Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity.

Born in Syria, Hamad would move to Quebec and studied civil engineering at Université Laval where he had both a bachelor's and master's degree. He would also studied at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières where he obtained a master's degree in management.

He would be an administration member for the Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec for nine years, while he was also a lecturer at Université Laval and the Université du Québec à Rimouski and the President of the Quebec Board of Trade and Industry.

He was also involved in the community, being the vice-president of Centraide-Quebec a board member of the Laval Hospital Fondation. He was also part of several associations promoting development in the region including the GATIQ which promoted advance technologies and innovations for the region.

Hamad entered politics in 2003, where he became the MNA for Louis-Hebert as the Liberals led by Jean Charest defeated the Parti Quebecois. He would be named Minister of Wildlife, Natural Resources and Parks and the Minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale (Quebec) region. He was removed from Cabinet in 2005 after he was criticized in regards to a project which would have added a new thermo plant in the Suroit region.

Hamad was narrowly re-elected in 2007. Initially, it was thought that the Action Démocratique du Québec won the seat but late ballots pushed Hamad to a late-victory and no recounts were made. As he was only one of two Liberal MNAs elected in the Quebec City region (the other being Philippe Couillard), Hamad was named the Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity.

External link

• Biography of Sam Hamad (French)

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