{"id":411254,"date":"2026-06-02T09:54:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T12:54:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=411254"},"modified":"2026-06-02T09:55:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T12:55:49","slug":"former-arab-chamber-president-walid-yazigi-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/former-arab-chamber-president-walid-yazigi-dies\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Arab Chamber President Walid Yazigi dies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 One of the leading figures in strengthening ties between Brazil and the Arab world, Brazilian engineer and businessman Walid Yazigi, died on Monday (1) at the age of 91. Of Syrian descent, Yazigi was a key force behind the development of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce<\/strong> (ABCC<\/a>), where he served three terms as president in the 1980s and 1990s, as vice president in the 1990s, and as chairman of the Superior Administrative Council for nearly two decades. He was currently a member of the organization\u2019s Board of Guidance and Deliberation and an inspiration to the new generation of leaders who followed him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe received with deep sadness the news of Dr. Yazigi\u2019s passing. His trajectory at the ABCC was marked by leadership, integrity, and dedication, leaving an invaluable contribution to all who had the privilege of working with him. His legacy will remain alive in our history, our values, and in the people he inspired throughout his journey,\u201d said Arab Chamber President William Adib Dib Jr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was always very active and deeply committed to the ABCC and to fulfilling our mission. He was also very engaged with the Arab community, took great pride in being Arab and Syrian, and cared deeply about his homeland,\u201d ABCC Vice President of International Relations and Secretary-General Mohamad Orra Mourad told ANBA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The son of one of the ABCC\u2019s founders, Yazigi played a key role in shaping the institution\u2019s history. He led the ABCC\u2019s first business mission to the Arab world, helped establish its financial strength, and championed the move of its headquarters to a new address on Paulista Avenue in S\u00e3o Paulo. His commitment also inspired the continuation of his family\u2019s involvement with the institution, with his daughter, engineer Claudia Yazigi Haddad, currently serving on the Board of Directors and chairing the WAHI \u2013 Women Who Inspire committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only son among five sisters, and with a father active in the textile industry, Walid chose to pursue a career in civil engineering, earning recognition through the company he founded, Yazigi Construction Company. He authored the book The Technique of Building<\/em> as well as two other works on immigration and gastronomy. In recent years, he was no longer involved in the company\u2019s day-to-day operations, which had been taken over by his descendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volunteer work was a hallmark of the Yazigi family in Brazil and had already been embraced by his parents, Jos\u00e9 and Helena. He followed in their footsteps. In addition to his work at the ABCC, he volunteered with the Syrian Sports Club, the Heart Hospital (HCor), and the Orthodox Cathedral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only son among five sisters, and with a father active in the textile industry, Yazigi chose to pursue a career in civil engineering, earning recognition through the company he founded, Yazigi Construction Company. He authored the book A t\u00e9cnica de edificar <\/em>[The Technique of Building] as well as two other works on immigration and gastronomy. In recent years, he was no longer involved in the company\u2019s day-to-day operations, which had been taken over by his descendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to his daughter Claudia in an ANBA profile published about three years ago, Yazigi was a caring and fair father to his daughters. \u201cI overcome my shortcomings through work and effort,\u201d he said at the time while reflecting on his life journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Walid was more than a hardworking man. He stood out at the educational institutions he attended, was passionate about sports, proud of his daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and was known for his good humor and talkative nature. A gifted conversationalist and speaker, he left a lasting impression wherever he went.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walid Yazigi is survived by his wife, Arlete, three daughters (he also had a son who died at a young age), grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walid Yazigi\u2019s wake will be held on Wednesday (3) from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Funeral Home \u2013 Roma Room, located at 376 S\u00e3o Carlos do Pinhal Street, in the Bela Vista district of S\u00e3o Paulo. The burial will take place the same day at 2 p.m. at S\u00e3o Paulo Cemetery, located at 1250 Cardeal Arcoverde Street, in Pinheiros, also in S\u00e3o Paulo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read also<\/em>:
Walid Yazigi, a pioneer in missions to the Arab world<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translated by Guilherme Miranda<\/strong><\/p>\n

Arab-Brazilian Chamber<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Civil engineer and businessman Walid Yazigi died on Monday (1) in S\u00e3o Paulo at the age of 91. President of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in the 1980s and 1990s, he was one of the pioneers of Brazilian business missions to Arab countries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1455,"featured_media":411244,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46537],"tags":[16353,48478,4639,16006,48303,31273,52733,56871,20209,48310,56872],"class_list":{"0":"post-411254","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arab-brazilian-chamber","8":"tag-abcc","9":"tag-arab-brazilian-chamber-of-commerce-2","10":"tag-camara-arabe-en","11":"tag-ccab-en-2","12":"tag-construtora-yazigi-en","13":"tag-falecimento-en","14":"tag-obituary","15":"tag-passing-2","16":"tag-walid-yazigi-en","17":"tag-yazigi-en","18":"tag-yazigi-construction-company-2"},"wps_subtitle":"Civil engineer and businessman Walid Yazigi died on Monday (1) in S\u00e3o Paulo at the age of 91. President of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in the 1980s and 1990s, he was one of the pioneers of Brazilian business missions to Arab countries.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1455"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411254"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":411256,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411254\/revisions\/411256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/411244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}