El-Hage, Wadih (1960–)

aka Abdus Sabbur, Abd al Sabbur, Wadia, Abu Abdullah al Lubnani, Norman, Wa'da Norman, the Manager, Tanzanite

U.S. citizen Wadih el-Hage served for several years as Osama bin Laden's personal secretary and has been called a “front man” for the millionaire leader of Al Qaeda. El-Hage was indicted for his part in the August 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa and is now serving a life sentence for conspiracy to commit terrorism.

El-Hage was born in Siddon, Lebanon, to a Christian family. He grew up in Kuwait and converted to Islam as a teenager. El-Hage immigrated to the United States in 1978 and graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana with a degree in urban planning. During the 1980s, el-Hage traveled to Pakistan to join the Afghani fight against the Soviets and worked in a refugee clinic. El-Hage is thought ...