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Akram Ojjeh
Akram Ojjeh
Born	Akram Ojjeh; 21 April 1918; Damascus, Occupied Enemy Territory Administration
Died	28 October 1991 (aged 73); France
Nationality	Saudi Arabian
Occupation	Businessman
Spouse(s)	Irene, Renate & Nahed
Children	Nadia ; Salma ; Laila ; Mansour ; Aziz ; Karim ; Sultan ; Akram Jr

Akram Ojjeh (Arabic: أَكْرَم عُجَّة, romanized: ʾAkram ʿUjjah; 21 April 1918 – 28 October 1991) was a Syrian businessman.^[1] Ojjeh was an intermediary in deals between Saudi Arabia and France, particularly arms sales. Ojjeh founded Techniques d'Avant Garde, an investment company focused on advanced technologies.

Techniques d'Avant Garde, (TAG)

Ojjeh founded Techniques d'Avant Garde, an investment company focused on advanced technologies.^[2]

TAG Group (Holdings) S.A. generates revenue through its various subsidiaries that offer products and services in the business aviation, motorsports, hospitality, consumer products and real estate industries.

TAG was formed in 1977 and was led by Akram's son Mansour^[3] until his death in 2021.

In 1985, TAG Group (Holdings) S.A. purchased Swiss watchmaker Heuer. TAG Group combined the TAG and Heuer brands to create the TAG Heuer brand and also gave its newly acquired watchmaking subsidiary the combined TAG Heuer name. Under TAG Group's ownership, TAG Heuer modernised its product line and significantly increased worldwide sales. LVMH purchased the TAG Heuer subsidiary in 1999 for US$740 million.^[4]

TAG Group is now primarily a holding company for Ojjeh shareholdings in TAG Aviation and MTG.

Al-Yamamah arms deal

Ojjeh was involved in the marketing of the French Mirage 2000 fighter jet to Saudi Arabia in competition with the British Tornado. Adnan Khashoggi said in 1994 that Ojjeh was persuaded by the British sales team to "drop his role as 'fixer' for the French."^[5] British Aerospace went on to win what became the Al-Yamamah arms deal.

SS France liner

Akram Ojjeh purchased the ocean liner SS France in October 24, 1977, for 80 million francs. On June 25, 1979, he sold her to Knut Kloster, the owner of Norwegian Caribbean Line, for 77 million francs.

Personal life

Ojjeh is of Damascene origin.^[6]

He married four times. He was first married to a French woman with whom he had five children, including Mansour and Aziz.^[7]^[8] He later married Nahed Tlass (born 1958), who is the daughter of former Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass.^[9]^[6]

Awards

In the 1970s, the French awarded Ojjeh with one of their highest state orders, Commander of the Legion of Honor.^[6]^[10]

References

^ "Tages-ordnung", Die New-Yorker Staatliche Besserungsanstalt zu Elmira, De Gruyter, pp. 38–41, 1890-12-31, retrieved 2023-12-08
^ "The McLaren Group". www.mclaren.com. McLaren Group. 2007. Archived from the original on 16 April 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2007.
^ Business Week 2012.
^ CNN Money 1999.
^ Colvin, Marie (16 October 1994). "Chasing the truth with AK the arms dealer". Sunday Times. Times Newspapers.
^ ^a ^b ^c Dagher, Sam (2019). Assad or we burn the country : how one family's lust for power destroyed Syria (First ed.). New York. ISBN 978-0-316-55672-9. OCLC 1101180175.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ "Mansour Ojjeh". F1 News. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
^ Padfield, R. Randall (19 May 2012). "EBACE 2011: TAG Aviation Focusing on Growth in Europe and Asia". AIN. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
^ "Defection of Syrian general 'significant': US". AFP. 6 July 2012. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
^ "Les dîners de madame Ojjeh". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2006-10-02. Retrieved 2022-03-17.

"Company Overview of TAG Group (Holdings) S.A." investing.businessweek.com. Bloomberg L.P. 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-06-02. Retrieved 2012-05-22. TAG Group (Holdings) S.A. was founded in 1977 and is based in Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
"TAG accepts LVMH bid". money.cnn.com. Cable News Network. 1999-09-13. Archived from the original on 2012-02-06. Retrieved 2012-05-22. ...TAG Heuer...said it would recommend a $740 million cash offer for all its shares by the French luxury goods company LVMH Moet Hennessy.