Fuad Char


Fuad Ricardo Char Abdala is a Senator of Colombia serving his fifth term in Congress, albeit not all consecutively. He is the founder of :es:Grupo Empresarial Olímpica|Grupo Empresarial Olimpica, the second biggest company in the Colombian Caribbean coast after Reficar.

Family

Fuad was the son of Ricardo Char Zaslawy, an immigrant from Lebanon who arrived in Colombia in 1926, and Erlinda Abdala a daughter of Lebanese immigrants. He is the eldest out of seven kids, his other siblings were Habib, Farid, Simón, Ricardo, Mary and Mike.
His uncle, Nicólas had started a business that quickly grew profitable, and the family moved to Barranquilla in 1952, where they started what would become :es:Grupo Empresarial Olímpica|Grupo Empresarial Olímpica, a conglomerate that would make his family one of the most influential in the Colombian Caribbean Coast. It grew into a conglomerate that included Supermercados Olimpicos, the radio station Olímpica Stéreo, and the ownership of Junior Barranquilla.
Fuad, married his first cousin Adela Chaljub Char, daughter of Antonio Chaljub, an immigrant from Lebanon and Rosa Char Zaslawy, his aunt from Syria. Together they had three sons: Antonio, Arturo, and Alejandro. After becoming a widower in 1994, he remarried in 2004 to Maria Mercedes de la Espriella.