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The International Association of Lions Clubs – District 351 was
founded in 1952 in the Land of Peace, Lebanon, when one of its
members, Mr. Michel Al Abd who emigrated to Mexico, visited Lebanon.
He met with his close friend William Mitri and other notables in the
country. Convinced by the noble principles and objectives of the
Association, they responded to the call and formed the first club in
the area that same year: Beirut Lions Club.
By appointment from the International Headquarters, Dr. Fouad
Sarrouf was the first District Governor for 1954/55, and his term
was renewed for two more consecutive years.
He was then called Provisional Governor. In 1957/58, Fayez Bek El
Khoury (Prime Minister of Syria) was appointed Governor.Due to his
official Public Office, Mr. Maamun Kouzbari was designated as
Governor.
In 1966, during the International Convention held in
Atlanta-Georgia, PDG Fawzi Azar was elected International Director.
In 1997 PDG Salim Moussan was elected International Director Jan
1997 till 1999.
After Beirut Lions Club, a second Club was founded in Tripoli,
followed by a Club in Saida then Zahle.
A district is considered complete when at least 1250 members operate
in 32 clubs.
District 351 was complete the first time in 1970. But at the
aftermath of the 1967 war six clubs were lost, namely the Lions
Clubs of Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bethlehem Amman etc..
During 1973/74, the district was again complete including countries
like Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Lybia.
Later, North Africa was separated and Lions activities stopped in
countries which witnessed coup d’etat or revolutions, namely Egypt,
Syria, Iraq and Palestine.
Lions in Jordan remained and are still very active and developing.
A major change occurred in Lions International in the mid seventies:
that of introducing women and creating Leo Clubs.
However, the Lioness Program ( Lions Female Clubs ) was cancelled in
the nineties, giving women the choice of either creating Lions clubs
of their own or joining their sponsoring club in a mix. |
