BAAKLINI, Abdo I(skandar) 1938-2003

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born March 7, 1938, in Dhour Shweir, Lebanon; died November 11, 2003, in Glens Falls, NY. Political consultant, researcher, educator, and author. The director of the Center for Legislative Development at the University of Albany, Baaklini was an internationally respected expert on legislative systems and often served as a consultant for developing democratic governments in countries around the world. His early education was in Lebanon at the American University of Beirut, where he earned a B.A. in 1960 and an M.P.A. in public administration in 1963. He then immigrated to the United States, where he studied at the State University of New York at Albany and received a master's in 1970 and doctorate in political science in 1972. Baaklini's early work experience included being a personnel specialist at the American University of Beirut from 1958 to 1961, and working as an instructor for the Teachers Training College in Amara, Iraq, for a year. After completing his postgraduate studies, he joined the faculty at the State University of New York at Albany in 1974 as an assistant professor in the department of public administration and policy, becoming a full professor in 1994. Fluent in such languages as Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, and French, he directed the Comparative Development Studies center from 1978 to 1981, as well as the International Development Program from 1982 to 1990; his expertise in politics and administration caused him to be enlisted by U.S. agencies to research and design projects that would help promote democracy in third world, South American, and Middle Eastern nations. In 1990, Baaklini became professor and director of the Center for Legislative Development at SUNY Albany and established the Center for Parliamentary Management at Budapest University and the Hungarian Parliament. During his career, he also wrote, cowrote, and edited several works on political systems and development, including Legislative and Political Development: Lebanon, 1842-1972 (1976), The Brazilian Legislature and Political System (1992), and Legislative Politics in the Arab World: The Resurgence of Democratic Institutions (1999).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

ONLINE

University of Albany,http://www.albany.edu/ (November 12, 2003).