Ibrahim Abd El Al (1908 – 1959)

1917:                     He attended the German Protestant School
1919-1925:          He graduated from the Patriarcal School in Beirut
1925-1928:          He graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at St Joseph  

                                University and delivered the valedictory of his class.
1928:                     He specialized in Electrical Engineering, at SUPELEC, Paris.
1929:                     He specialized in Hydraulics, at the University of Grenoble (France).
1932:                     He worked in Lebanon in the “Régie Générale du Haut Commissariat
                                pour l’Eau et l’Electricité”, (a joint Institution for Water and
                                Electricity established by the French Mandate.). He made several
                                hydrological studies on the rivers of the region.
1936:                     He was appointed Chief of the Hydrological Studies Section in the
                                Ministry of Public Works
1949:                     He was appointed Director General of the Ministry of Public Works.
1951:                     He was given additional responsibilities as Director General of the
                                "Bureau de Contrôle des Sociétés Concessionnaires" and as
                               Chairman of the Board of Directors of the "Office des Eaux de
                               Beyrouth." was also Chairman of the Board of several public
                               institutions.
1955-1959:          Upon his request, the General Directorate of the Ministry of Public
                                Works was divided into two sections: one for Roads and
                                Construction, and the second for Water and Electricity. He was
                                appointed Director General for Water and Electrical Affairs in
                                addition to the control of Concessionary Companies.
1958:                     He was elected President of the Fourth Conference of Arab
                                Engineers, in Cairo.

He was granted several decorations from both the Lebanese and the French governments

                - Officier Supérieur de l'Ordre des Cèdres
                - Mérite de l'Instruction Publique Libanaise
                - Médaille d'Or du Mérite Libanais
                - Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur Française
                - Mérite de l'Instruction Publique Française

He believed in Education and the necessity of preparing the future generations to bare their national responsibilities:

1937-1954:      He taught Mathematics at Makassed High School
1946 -1959:     He taught Agricultural and Urban Hydrology at the Faculty of
                            Engineering at the St. Joseph University.
1953-1954:      He represented Lebanon in the Arab League Committee who was
                            assigned to elaborate an Arab Project for the exploitation of the
                            Jordan River and its tributaries (in the context of the Johnston’s
                            project). He defended the right of Lebanon for its share in the
                            Hasbani-Wazzani River - (a tributary of the Jordan River) based on his
                            scientific report. In the report he proved the need of water for
                            population growth as well as the potable, agricultural and energy
                            needs. Moreover, he visited along with the Arab representatives, the
                            Jordan River Basin to collect exact data necessary for the elaboration
                            of the Final Arab Report.

His Achievements

- Establishment and supervision on the publishing of the Climatological Bulletin.
- Equipment of the Lebanese rivers with monitoring stations.
- Establishment and publishing, on a yearly basis, of the pluviometric maps.
- Establishment of the geological maps with the cooperation of French experts.
- He had the leading role in nationalizing the projects related to Beirut Water and  
   Energy, and other projects in several Lebanese regions.
- Supervision on the studies of the American "Point 4" on the Lebanese rivers.
- Establishment and execution of the Master Plan for the potable water in Lebanon.
- Establishement of the Master Plan for Energy and Irrigation in Lebanon.
- Execution of 2 pilot projects for Waste Water plants.
- Execution of 3 artificial ponds for irrigation.
- Execution of a pilot project for artificial recharge of groundwater.

The Litani River

He realized the economical and social potential of the Litani River, the only pure-Lebanese river. He made ,on a personal initiative, a study on this river that lasted 15 years, and was culminated in 1948 in publishing of his book entitled “Le Litani: Etude hydrologique”.

This study was the base for the execution of the Litani project. He supervised the detailed
technical studies of the” Point 4”, and succeeded in getting financing from the World Bank
for the execution of the Litani River Project.

He worked on the establishment of the Litani River Authority, in 1954.

- In addition to his scientific work, he had a passion for literature and had written
   a play entitled "Al-Hajjaj". Abd El Al's personal library held more than 5000 books,
   1500 of them being scientific works.
- He spoke and wrote fluently Arabic, French, English, German and Turkish.
- His house was like a museum of civilizations with rooms dedicated to
   different styles: Andalusian, Arabesque, Persian, Islamic and Ancient
   Egyptian.