BEIRUT: Nassib Lahoud, a former Maronite lawmaker and minister hailed by his supporters and admirers as a statesman, a moderate politician and an outspoken critic of Syria’s role in Lebanon, died at dawn Thursday at Hotel Dieu Hospital in Ashrafieh after a long battle with cancer. He was 68.Lahoud, head of the Democratic Renewal Movement and a leading figure in the March 14 coalition, resumed his political activity last August after returning to Lebanon following a long absence in France, where he received medical treatment.

“Nassib Lahoud, a statesman, a man of moderation and principles, passed away. The man who had added to politics its noble meaning and to the [political] practice commitment to values, intellectual and material integrity, the language of elevation and the ethics of dialogue has left us,” the DRM said in a statement announcing his death.

It said that Lahoud, a businessman turned politician, had resorted only to his conscience when addressing major Lebanese issues.

“He fought battles only for the sake of the freedom of his people, the independence of his country and the sovereignty of his state. If he said something, he matched his words with deeds. If he promised, he honored his promise. He showed moderation during [political] rivalry,” the DRM said. It added that the Lebanese have been dreaming of a state along Lahoud’s pattern.

“The Arab democrats have lost a pioneer in civil action, committed to modernity and human rights. Palestine and its people have lost a fully faithful friend,” the DRM said. “Nassib Lahoud was a man committed to the values of freedom, modernity and renewal. He was an example to the values,” it added.

A veteran parliamentarian, Lahoud had stopped all his own businesses in Lebanon when he served in public office, setting a pattern that separated private and public jobs, the movement said.

“The Democratic Renewal Movement, which has lost its founder and head, announces the death of Nassib Lahoud to all the Lebanese and to all the democrats and liberals in Lebanon and the Arab world. It renews to them commitment to continuing the struggle on the road to freedom, democracy, civil action and modernity as a value, policy and conduct,” it added.

Born in Baabdat, Metn in 1944, he earned a degree in electrical engineering from the United Kingdom in 1968 and founded “Lahoud Engineering Co. Ltd.” in 1972.

A harsh critic of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Lahoud was appointed an MP for a Maronite seat in Metn in 1991 in line with the Taif Accord and was elected MP in 1992 in the country’s first postwar parliamentary elections.

He was re-elected MP in 1996 and 2000 on an opposition list and fought fierce political and electoral battles against repression, corruption and exploitation of power and in defense of the Constitution, freedoms and the democratic system.

Lahoud also served as Lebanon’s ambassador to the U.S. in 1990.

Lahoud opposed all amendments made to Article 49 of the Constitution, which relates to presidential elections, and, thus, was the only MP who voted against these amendments three consecutive times in 1995, 1998 and 2004.

In 2001, he founded and headed the Democratic Renewal Movement along with politicians, businessmen, academics as well as public sector and civil society activists from various sects. He also participated in the establishment of the Qornet Shehwan gathering, a mainly Christian coalition of politicians, intellectuals, and businessmen opposed to the Syrian military presence in Lebanon.

He also played a key role in bringing together the various political parties that formed the Bristol Gathering, a movement opposed to Syria’s domination of Lebanon’s internal politics, in September 2004.

Likewise, Lahoud was a leading figure in the Cedar Revolution of 2005, which erupted following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, later serving as a minister of state. Lahoud announced his candidacy for president in 2007.

Lahoud leaves behind a wife, Abla Fostoq, and two children, Salim and Joumana.

Funeral services will be held Saturday at the Saint George Cathedral in Downtown Beirut before burial in his hometown of Baabdat.