Nasri Maalouf was a Lebanese

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

 politician. He was a Melkite Greek Catholic

Melkite Greek Catholic Church

The Melkite Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catholic Church. The Melkites, Byzantine Rite Catholics of mixed Eastern Mediterranean and Greek origin, trace their history to the early Christians of Antioch, Syria, of...

, and was known as a moderate and peacemaker in Lebanese politics.

Nasri Maalouf was also a prominent lawyer, with one of his most important (and mediatized) cases the one involving the prosecution of Cheikh Nizar Halabi's assassination

Maalouf was born in al-Mashrah, Lebanon. He was educated in Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

. He was a signer of the Lebanese constitution and the Taif Accord

Taif Agreement

The Taif Agreement was an agreement reached to provide "the basis for the ending of the civil war and the return to political normalcy in Lebanon." Negotiated in Taif, Saudi Arabia, it was designed to end the decades-long Lebanese civil war, politically accommodate the demographic...

. He was a long-time member of parliament from Beirut

Beirut

Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...

- first elected in 1968 along side Michel Sassine

Michel Georges Sassine

Michel Georges Sassine is a prominent Lebanese politician.He was a member of the Lebanese parliament for twenty-four consecutive years representing the district of Ashrafieh, Beirut. He served several times as Vice-Prime Minister, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, and cabinet Minister...

- and served in the cabinet several times, including as foreign minister

Foreign minister

A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...

for a few months in 1992, as well as Defense Minister and Minister of Justice. Shortly before his death, he was appointed to be a member of a council of elders which supervised parliamentary elections in June 2005.