Leila Shahid (; born in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

in 1949) is a Palestinian diplomat. She was the first woman ambassador of Palestine, serving the

PLO The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people in both the occupied Palestinian territories and the diaspora. ...

in Ireland in 1989, in The Netherlands in 1990, then serving the PA in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

where she had taken office in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1993. From 2006 to 2014, she was the General Delegate of Palestine to the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg. She is the daughter of

Munib Shahid Munib Jalal Shahid (; 1908–1973) was Chairman of Hematology and Oncology at the Faculty of Medicine of the American University of Beirut. He built the hematology laboratory at the Faculty of Medicine, a development that increased research outpu ...

and

Serene Husseini Shahid Serene Husseini Shahid (, French: Sirine Husseini Shahid; 1920–2008) was a teacher, writer, and scholar of Palestinian embroidery. Family and education Shahid was born in Jerusalem as a member of the influential Husayni family. Her father w ...

and thus related to the

Al-Husayni Husayni ( also spelled Husseini) is the name of a prominent Palestinian families, Palestinian Arab clan formerly based in Jerusalem, which claims descent from Husayn ibn Ali (the son of Ali). The Husaynis follow the Hanafi school of Sunni Isl ...

clan. Shahid's parents were from Acre and Jerusalem, but she grew up with her two sisters in exile in Lebanon. After studying anthropology and psychology at the American University of Beirut, Leila worked in the Palestinian refugee camps until 1974 when she began her doctorate in anthropology in Paris, where she met

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; ; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels '' The Th ...

. In 1976 she was elected president of the Union of Palestinian students in France. In September 1982, Shahid and Jean Genet went to Beirut. They arrived during the Sabra and Shatila massacres. Genet's account was published in "La revue d'études palestiniennes", in an article entitled Quatre heures à Chatila (Four Hours at Chatila) -- Catherine Biscovitch's film "Dancing Among the Dead" was based on this article by Genet. While working as the Ambassador of Palestine to France, Shahid arranged for the safe storage of artefacts in that had been discovered during archaeological investigations in Gaza at sites such as

Tell es-Sakan Tell es-Sakan () is a tell (a mound created by accumulation of remains) about south of Gaza City in the Gaza Strip. It was the site of two separate Early Bronze Age urban settlements: the first was a fortified administrative centre of the E ...

; they had been on display at the

Institut du Monde Arabe The Institut du Monde Arabe (, ''Arab World Institute''; abbr. IMA) is an organisation founded in Paris in 1980 by France with 18 Arab countries to research and disseminate information about the Arab world and its cultural and spiritual values. ...

for an exhibition on Gaza's history but could not be returned after the end of the exhibition due to the start of the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...

. In 2004, she was with Palestinian leader

Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...

during his final days. She was a longtime director of "La revue d'études palestiniennes" (The Review of Palestinian Studies), while serving as a board member right now. The

Russell Tribunal The Russell Tribunal, also known as the International War Crimes Tribunal, Russell–Sartre Tribunal, or Stockholm Tribunal, was a private people's tribunal organised in 1966 by Bertrand Russell, British philosopher and Nobel Prize winner, and ...

on Palestine was established in response to a call by Leila Shahid and

Ken Coates Kenneth Sidney Coates (16 September 1930 – 27 June 2010) was a British politician and writer. He chaired the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation (BRPF) and edited '' The Spokesman'', the BRPF magazine launched in March 1970. He was a Labour P ...

(Chairperson of the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation), Nurit Peled (Israeli, Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Speech 2001). Though not a follower of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

, she is the great-great granddaughter of the Baháʼí prophet Baha'u'llah through her father, who was a grandson of Abdu'l-Baha. Her father was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

from the Baháʼí Faith for opposition to

Shoghi Effendi Shoghí Effendi (; ;1896 or 1897 – 4 November 1957) was Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1922 until his death in 1957. As the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, he was charged with guiding the development of the Baháʼí Faith, in ...

.Momen, Moojan. "Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit." p. 290. http://irfancolloquia.org/pdf/lights10_momen.pdf

References

1949 births Living people Palestinian women in politics Al-Husayni family Palestine Liberation Organization members Ambassadors of Palestine to Denmark Ambassadors of Palestine to Ireland Ambassadors of Palestine to the Netherlands Ambassadors of Palestine to France Palestinian women ambassadors 20th-century Palestinian diplomats 21st-century Palestinian diplomats {{Palestine-politician-stub