In line with Prime Minister Hoss’s position and in coordination with him, then Banque du Liban Governor Riad Salameh secured Joseph Torbey’s nomination for the presidency of the Union. Torbey was elected by near-unanimous vote in April 2001. At the time, Salameh informed those concerned within the Union that they had to either accept Torbey’s nomination for the presidency, without the majority of its members objecting to his Christian faith, or Lebanon would withdraw its membership from the Union. Following Salameh’s decisive stance, apologies were offered to Torbey one after another, and opposition to his candidacy within the Union came to an end.
