Nayla Moawad (, ; born 3 July 1940) is a Lebanese politician and former

First Lady of Lebanon The First Lady of Lebanon is the title attributed to the wife of the President of Lebanon. The First Lady of Lebanon serves as the director of the National Council of Lebanese Women, alongside the spouses of the Prime Minister of Lebanon and th ...

. Outside of Lebanon, she is best known as the widow of former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

René Moawad René Anis Moawad (; 17 April 1925 – 22 November 1989) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 9th president of Lebanon for seventeen days, from 5 to 22 November 1989, before his assassination by unknown assailants. Early life and educatio ...

, who was assassinated on 22 November 1989, after serving only 18 days as president. Within Lebanon, she is a high-profile politician in her own right, having served as a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

since 1991. Following her

reelection The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be a ...

in June 2005, she was appointed to the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

on 19 July as Minister for Social Affairs.

Early life and education

Born in

Bsharri Bsharri ( ''Bšarrī''; also romanized ''Becharre'', ''Bcharre'', ''Bsharre'', ''Bcharre Al Arz'') is a Lebanese town located in the district of the same name, North Governorate, situated at altitudes between and . Bsharri is the location o ...

, Lebanon, as the daughter of Nagib Issa El-Khouri and Evelyne Roch. Her father was the scion of a prominent

Maronite Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally re ...

Christian family and a relative of

Bechara El Khoury Bechara Khalil El Khoury (; 10 August 1890 – 11 January 1964) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 1st president of Lebanon, holding office from 21 September 1943 to 18 September 1952, apart from an 11-day interruption (11–22 Novembe ...

, Lebanon's first post-independence president. She was educated at the Ecole des Franciscaines Missionnaires de Marie, Rue du Musee, a

Catholic school Catholic schools are Parochial school, parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest parochial schools, religious, no ...

, and subsequently graduated from

Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a Private university, private Jesuits, Jesuit university in Philadelphia, Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Jesuits, Society of J ...

with a bachelor of arts degree in French literature and history. She later studied English at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Career and marriage

From 1962 to 1965, Moawad worked as a journalist for the daily newspaper, '' L'Orient.'' In 1965, she married René Moawad, surprising many people since he was the scion of a rival clan, who was fifteen years her senior. Despite the disparity in their ages, and despite the traditional antagonism between their families, the marriage was a happy one and produced two children. Rima, a lawyer and a graduate of

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, and

Michel Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...

, also a lawyer and businessman, who graduated from

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University () is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to the Middle Ages in 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon as a constituent college of the Unive ...

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 ...

. Moawad sought to perpuate her slain husband's legacy by founding the René Moawad Foundation in 1990, which works for social justice and economic development in Lebanon and the Arab world. Since 1994, she has served as president of the Center for Research and Education on Democracy.

Parliamentary career

Moawad became a member of the National Assembly in 1991, representing the

Zgharta Zgharta (, ), also spelled Zghorta, is a city in North Lebanon, with an estimated population of around 50,000. It is the second biggest city in Northern Lebanon after Tripoli, Lebanon, Tripoli. Zgharta is officially the Zgharta-Ehden municipality ...

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

constituency in northern Lebanon.She was the second woman to serve as a deputy in Lebanon, following Myrna Bustani's brief tenure in 1963. She served on numerous parliamentary committees, specializing in such diverse fields as finance, children's rights, and education. She campaigned strongly for women's and children's rights, and opposed political corruption. She is a prominent member of the

Qornet Shehwan Gathering The Qornet Shehwan Gathering () is a Lebanese political organization, comprising politicians, intellectuals, and businesspeople, mostly Christian and ranging in ideology from the centre-right to the centre-left. The organization is not a politi ...

, a

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

of Christian parliamentarians which opposed the Syrian military presence in Lebanon and continues to campaign for the building of a modern, democratic nation state. She is also a member of the Democratic Forum, a coalition comprising both Christian and Muslim parliamentarians opposed to the pro-Syrian government. She has also been affiliated with the National Front, a multi-sectarian parliamentary block working for political reforms. In the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

held in May–June 2005, she retained her seat. In 2004, Moawad announced her candidacy for the presidency in elections scheduled to be held that year. These were postponed, however, until 2007. Moawad's son,

, founded a new political party in 2006 called

Independence Movement Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of a ...

. The movement is part of the anti-Syrian

and the

March 14 Alliance The March 14 Alliance (), named after the date of the Cedar Revolution, was a coalition of political party, political parties and independents in Lebanon formed in 2005 that were united by their anti-Ba'athist Syria, Assad stance and by their opp ...

. During the period between 2005 and 2009 it had 3

Christian MPs for the

Zgharta District Zgharta Alzawieh District () is a district (''qadaa'') of the North Governorate, Lebanon, North Governorate, northern Lebanon. Its capital is the city of Zgharta. Geography The administrative center is the city of Zgharta. The district has 101 p ...

in the Lebanese Parliament, namely Nayla Moawad, Jawad Simon Boulos and

Samir Frangieh Samir Frangieh (4 December 1945 – 11 April 2017) was a Lebanese politician, member of the Lebanese Parliament and a leftist intellectual. He was from the Frangieh family, one of the well-known political families of Lebanon. Early life Frangieh ...

. Since 2009, the party has been led by Michel René Moawad, Jawad Simon Boulos and Youssef Bahaa El Douaihy. In the 2009 Lebanese elections, Moawad decided not to run for a seat in her district. She instead encouraged and supported the election of her son Michel. He and the Independence Movement's other two candidates in the district lost to their opponent

Suleiman Frangieh Suleiman Kabalan Frangieh (15 June 1910 – 23 July 1992) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 5th president of Lebanon from 1970 to 1976. Early life and education Suleiman Frangieh was a scion of one of the leading Maronites, Maronite f ...

and his coalition. Nayla Moawad still remains a strong anti-Syrian lobbyist and is still a member of the 14 March Movement.

References

External links

Ehden Family Tree
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moawad, Nayla 1940 births 21st-century Lebanese women politicians 21st-century Lebanese politicians Alumni of the University of Cambridge Saint Joseph University alumni First ladies of Lebanon Social affairs ministers of Lebanon Lebanese women journalists Lebanese Maronites Lebanese socialites Living people Members of the Parliament of Lebanon People from Bsharri Women government ministers of Lebanon