Samir Atallah ( ar, سمير عطاالله) (born 24 June 1941 ) is a

Lebanese Lebanese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Lebanese Republic * Lebanese people The Lebanese people ( ar, الشعب اللبناني / ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may al ...

journalist, author and political analyst.

Life

Samir Atallah was born near

Jezzine Jezzine ( ''Jizzīn'') is a town in Lebanon, located from Sidon and south of Beirut. It is the capital of Jezzine District. Surrounded by mountain peaks, pine forests (like the Bkassine Pine Forest), and at an average altitude of 950 m (3 ...

, Lebanon in a small village called

Bteddine El Loqch Bteddine El Loqch, Btaddine El Loqsh, Btaddine Al Lokch, Btaddine Al Loqsh, ( Arabic:بتدين اللقش; also spelled Bteddine El Liqch) is a village in South Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon. The number of registered citizens reaches 830 peop ...

. Atallah is married to May Francis, from a Southern town called (Mieh ou Mieh) near Saida and has two children, Nasri and Maria. He resides in Beirut. His son

Nasri Atallah Nasri Atallah (born 12 November 1982) is a British-Lebanese author, award-winning producer, television host and media entrepreneur. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Esquire Middle East, one of the co-founders of Last Floor Productions, the found ...

is also a writer, and works in the digital media field.

Journalism and literary career

Atallah writes a daily column in the Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat and a weekly editorial in the Lebanese daily An-Nahar. He is a regular guest on Lebanese and Arab television and radio stations as a political and social commentator. Atallah has written his daily column in Asharq Al-Awsat since 1987 and has been with An Nahar in various roles intermittently since the late 1950s. He has been the paper's correspondent in various European capitals as well as correspondent to the United Nations. Atallah was also managing editor of Al-Anba in Kuwait, editor-in-chief of Al-Sayad in London and Al Osbo' il Arabi in Beirut. He is the author of a number of

novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

, historical books and travelogues. In a career spanning five decades, he has met and interviewed many leading figures in the contemporary world from Margaret Thatcher and

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

and

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

Decorations and awards

Atallah was awarded the Order of Merit (Lebanon) medal by President Michel Suleiman in June 2013 for his contribution to Lebanese journalism and literature. In 2008, he was awarded the Newspaper Column Award by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum during a ceremony at the Arab Media Forum in Dubai.

Published works

* The Village Years (in English) * Traveler Without A Port (Moussafir Bila Mina' - Published in London) * The Pistachio Salesman (Ba'ee al Fustok - Published in Beirut) * Journeys in the Lands of Others (Masafat fi Awtan al Akhareen - Published by Dar An Nahar, Beirut) * On People and Cities (Nass wa Moudoun - Published by Dar Al Hani) * The Ink Caravan (Qafilat al Hibr - Published by Saqi Books, London) * The Generals of the Levant (Generalat al Sharq - Published by Saqi Books, London) * Sinbad's Diary (Awraq al Sindibad - Published by Dar Al Hadr) * Youmna (Published by Dar An Nahar)

References

External links

Samir Atallah Biography on Asharq Al-Awsat website (Arabic)
1941 births Living people Lebanese columnists Lebanese journalists Writers from Beirut Lebanese emigrants to Kuwait Lebanese emigrants to the United Kingdom People from South Lebanon {{Lebanon-bio-stub