Today, Monday, former minister Brigadier General Sami Mankara passed away at the age of 85. His body will be prayed over and laid to rest at the Rahmeh cemetery in Abi Samra today, after the noon prayer. The deceased was appointed Minister of Tourism but declined to take the position, and later became Minister of Education. He was also elected as the mayor of Tripoli.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati mourned Mankara, stating in a statement: "Today we bid farewell to the departure of Minister Sami Mankara, a national figure and a prominent Tripolitan who left a distinctive mark in all aspects. The deceased was, in every responsibility he held—whether in security, ministerial, civilian, educational, or municipal—a model of a statesman who believed in national, religious, and humanitarian values."
He added: "Tripoli will miss him as a great support and ally, who lived the city's concerns and accompanied them with diligent work and pure love. May God have mercy on him."
Additionally, the head of the "Karamah Movement," MP Faisal Karami, also mourned the late minister, saying: "Today, Lebanon and Tripoli lose a significant national and scientific figure, and I have lost a brother, friend, and a school of loyalty and integrity. He was someone I knew as a friend of my father, President Omar Karami, and then we worked together to continue Omar Karami’s mission of preserving and protecting the work of institutions in the most difficult circumstances."
He concluded: "My condolences and heartfelt feelings go out to the honorable Mankara family and the late one's family."
