Benjamin Weir

{{Short description|American missionary and hostage (1923–2016)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Benjamin Weir

| image = File:Benjamin Weir.jpg

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1923|12|20}}

| birth_name =

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| birth_place = U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2016|10|14|1923|12|20}}

| death_place = Oakland, California, U.S.

| death_cause =

| body_discovered =

| education =

| occupation = Christian missionary

| spouse =

| partner =

| known_for = Being kidnapped in Lebanon in 1984

}}

Benjamin Weir (December 20, 1923 – October 14, 2016) was an American hostage in Lebanon in 1984–85.

Background

Born on December 20, 1923,[https://www.crowell.com/pdf/weir.pdf Weir] crowell.com {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019211103/http://www.crowell.com/pdf/Weir.pdf |date=2007-10-19 }} Weir, who with his wife Carol served as missionaries in Lebanon with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for nearly 30 years, was kidnapped off the streets of Beirut in May 1984.{{cite magazine| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959969,00.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080420071343/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959969,00.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = April 20, 2008 | title = Benjamin Weir's Secret Passage | accessdate = 2010-01-27 | date = 1985-09-30 | magazine = Time}} The kidnapping was done by an Islamic fundamentalist group, Islamic Jihad, that later evolved into Hezbollah. He was freed 16 months later in exchange for US anti-tank weapons, as part of the Iran-Contra Affair. Shortly thereafter he was elected moderator of the 1986 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, the highest elected office in that denomination.

He remained one of the world's most respected voices for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East for the next 30 years.{{cite news |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/11/13/The-Rev-Benjamin-Weir-a-former-hostage-in-Lebanon/7285532242000/ |title=The Rev. Benjamin Weir, a former hostage in Lebanon |work=UPI |date=November 13, 1986 |access-date=26 December 2024}}

The book Hostage Bound Hostage Free tells the story of his captivity from his perspective as well as his wife's.

While a student at the University of California, Berkeley, Weir was initiated into the Beta chapter of Alpha Gamma Omega, a Christ-centered fraternity.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} Later he attended Princeton Theological Seminary.{{cite web |url=https://www.pcusa.org/news-storytelling/news/former-pcusa-moderator-benjamin-weir-dies |title=Former PC(USA) Moderator Benjamin Weir Dies |website=PC(USA) |publisher=Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) |access-date=January 3, 2025}}

Weir died on October 14, 2016, in Oakland, California.{{cite web| url = http://www.pcusa.org/news/2016/10/14/former-pcusa-moderator-benjamin-weir-dies/| title = Former PCUSA Moderator Benjamin Weir dies | date = 14 October 2016 }}