Nayla Moawad
Overview
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. Outside of Lebanon, she is best known as the widow of former President René Moawad
René Moawad
René Moawad was President of Lebanon for 17 days in 1989, from the 5th to the 22nd of November, when he was assassinated by unknowns. Syria accused Michel Aoun of the assassination....
, who was assassinated on 22 November 1989. Within Lebanon, she is a high-profile politician in her own right, having served as a member of the National Assembly since 1991. Following her reelection
Lebanese general election, 2005
The 2005 Lebanese General Elections were the first elections in thirty years without a Syrian military or intelligence presence in Lebanon. These elections were the first in Lebanese history to be won outright by a single electoral block and were also the first to be monitored by the United...
in June 2005, she was appointed to the Cabinet
Lebanese government of July 2005
This is the list of the Lebanese government that was formed by Fouad Siniora on 19 July 2005 who was appointed by then president Émile Lahoud. All the main political blocs were included in it except for the Free Patriotic Movement-led bloc headed by General Michel Aoun...
on 19 July as Minister for Social Affairs.
Born in Bsharri
Bsharri
Bsharri , is a Lebanese town at about 1,450 m of altitude, near the Kadisha Valley. It is located at , in the Bsharri District of the North Governorate. Bsharri is the town of the only remaining Original Cedars of Lebanon...
, Lebanon, as the daughter of Nagib Issa El-Khouri and Evelyne Roch. Her father was the scion of a prominent Maronite Christian family and a relative of Bechara El Khoury
Bechara El Khoury
Bechara El Khoury was the first post-independence President of Lebanon, holding office from 21 September 1943 to 18 September 1952, apart from an 11-day interruption in 1943...
, Lebanon's first post-Independence President.
Quotations
In countries like ours, women enter politics in mourning clothes.
A reference to the way many female politicians are the widows of male politicians who have been assassinated).
The independence of Lebanon was regained on March 14, and on March 14 I felt that I avenged (my husband's) assassination.
Returning from a Cedar Revolution|Cedar Revolution protest, 14 March 2005