By Editor in Chief
Visitors sitting in the office of Major General Hassan Shakir, director of the General Security, will find little room for idle theorizing.
At this institution, where political, security, and administrative service lines intersect, one feels part of an ongoing workshop managed by a 'man of institutions' mindset that refuses to surrender to the logic of Lebanon's collapse.
Amidst the financial breakdown and administrative structures crumbling under the weight of an overwhelming economic crisis, the General Security, led by Major General Shakir, rises as an island of order in a sea of chaos. Shakir's equation is nearly miraculous in the current Lebanese reality:
How do you develop a system, modernize its management, secure its biometric documents, and uphold the dignity of both soldiers and citizens alike with almost non-existent budgets?
The answer lies in 'courageous administrative vision.' Major General Shakir did not wait for blessings from the heavens nor did he yield to the cries of financial incapacity. He understood early that security is not just about weapons; it is primarily about administrative competence, institutional trust, and dignity starting with providing passports and not ending at border controls and maintaining public peace.
With a calm style and far from loud media displays, Major General Shakir initiated a broad revival movement within the directorate. He restructured administrative sectors, activated mechanization, dismantled broker lines, thus restoring the lost reverence to the public facility.
But the most prominent feature of Shakir's current experience is his absolute bias toward human resources. Coming from a background of discipline and loyalty to the institution, Major General Shakir knows that a hungry soldier cannot protect a nation. Therefore, the new leadership prioritized medical care files, social assistance, and moral and material incentives for administrators, inspectors, and officers. It is a process of 'restoring dignity' for soldiers standing on the front lines of daily crises.
Hassan Shakir is not content with just managing the crisis. He is transforming deficit into an excess of power. Under his supervision, the directorate has proven to be an indispensable partner in shaping regional and international security, through dismantling espionage and terrorism networks, without losing its role as the highest link between the state and its citizens for a single moment.
When documenting Lebanon’s transition from collapse to survival, observers will pause at the General Security's experience. They will discover that when willpower is coupled with clean hands and modern administrative vision, miracles are possible. Hassan Shakir proves daily that the state is not dead as long as there are those who believe that public service is an honor and security is the last refuge for the idea of Lebanon.