On September 28, Sheikh Nabil Qaouk was eliminated in Beirut. Nabil Qaouk was a senior Hezbollah figure, a member of Hezbollah’s Central Council (Shura Council), and played a role in Hezbollah’s Preventive Security. Qaouk was born on May 20, 1964, and was originally from the village of Aba in the Nabatiyeh Province. He has a religious education from Iran.
Qaouk served as a representative of the Hezbollah leadership on various occasions in public.
Until 2016, he served as Hashem Safi al-Din’s deputy in the Executive Council but was removed from his position for unclear reasons. Today, the deputy of the head of the Executive Council, Hashem Safi al-Din, is Ali Dammoush.
The Central Council is responsible for all Hezbollah’s activity and outlines Hezbollah’s policy. The council was, of course, headed by the organization’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, until his death on September 27.
The main members of the Central Council are the heads of the councils responsible for Hezbollah’s main activity: the Executive Council (responsible for civilian activity), the Judicial Council (a Shiite tribunal for Hezbollah operatives), the Parliamentary Working Council (supervising Hezbollah’s parliamentary and political activity), and the Governmental-Political Council (responsible for governmental and political advice to the Shura Council and is responsible for relations with political bodies).
After Imad Mughniyeh’s elimination in 2008, it is unclear whether Nasrallah determined who would represent the Jihad Council in the Shura Council.
Hundreds of members of the organization’s “General Conference” elect the members of the Shura Council in turn from among the “preparatory committees” made up of members of all the organization’s bodies. One of the main functions of the Shura Council is to decide on the identity of the Supreme Leader and renew his term every three years. However, with Nasrallah’s election in 1992, the renewal of Nasrallah’s term became a purely technical matter.
Beyond the heads of the executive councils, some members of the Shura Council are given specific roles and powers within the framework of Hezbollah’s activity, just as Qaouk was given a role in Hezbollah’s Preventive Security.
