“Father of the Internet” in Lebanon dies at 65

The 2017 Internet Hall of Fame inductee, also known as the “father of the Internet” in Lebanon, Nabil Bukhalid, died on January 3, 2023, at age 65.

 

In the late 1980s, Bukhalid helped Lebanon forge the foundations of the Internet while the country faced social and political turmoil.

 

Throughout his career, he dedicated his work towards establishing better connectivity in the region and helped empower many communities by accessing information on the Internet.

 

Nabil attended the American University of Beirut (AUB), where he earned his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering and an EMBA.

 

Among his various contributions, he led the computing and networking team at AUB and was a co-founder and CEO of the Lebanese Internet Center.

 

As the founder of the Lebanese Academic and Research Network (LARN), Nabil established the Lebanese Domain Registry (LBDR) and was appointed administrator and registrar for the .LB ccTLD in 1993.

 

Nabil Bukhalid was also the co-founder of the Lebanese Broadband Manifesto Support Group (LBSG) and BeirutIX, the first Internet Exchange Point in Lebanon, and a co-founder of the Internet Society Lebanon Chapter, where he served for many years as president.