David S. Dodge

David Stuart Dodge (November 17, 1922 – January 20, 2009) was an American politician and university president.

Dodge was a member of a prominent American family who were closely involved with Lebanon for well over a century.

[2] His paternal grandfather, Cleveland Hoadley Dodge, was a founder of the Near East Foundation.

After the war, he found employment at Aramco in the late 1940s and worked for the Trans-Arabian Pipeline Company; the Tapline (TAPCO) from 1952 to 1977.

[2] On July 19, 1982, Dodge was abducted from the AUB campus by pro-Iranian Shiite Muslim extremists, flown to a prison near Tehran, and held until his release exactly one year later.

"[1] The Syrian government helped secure his release from Iran, after being held initially in Lebanon.

The kidnapping was considered significant because it directly implicated Iran in the hostage-taking activities of Shiite factions in Lebanon.