100 Notable alumni of
American University of Beirut
Updated:
The American University of Beirut is 259th in the world, 49th in Asia, and 1st in Lebanon by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from the American University of Beirut sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Zaha Hadid
- Enrolled in the American University of Beirut
- Graduated with bachelor's degree in mathematics
- Occupations
- university teacherjewelry designersculptordesignerartist
- Biography
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Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid was an Iraqi architect, artist and designer, recognized as a major figure in architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born in Baghdad, Iraq, Hadid studied mathematics as an undergraduate and then enrolled at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in 1972. In search of an alternative system to traditional architectural drawing, and influenced by Suprematism and the Russian avant-garde, Hadid adopted painting as a design tool and abstraction as an investigative principle to "reinvestigate the aborted and untested experiments of Modernism [...] to unveil new fields of building".
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Ashraf Ghani
- Occupations
- university teacheranthropologistwriterinternational forum participanteconomist
- Biography
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Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai is an Afghan former politician, academic, and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was overthrown by the Taliban.
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Imad Mughniyah
- Occupations
- military commander
- Biography
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Imad Fayez Mughniyeh, alias al-Hajj Radwan (الحاج رضوان), was a Lebanese militant leader who was the founding member of Lebanon's Islamic Jihad Organization and number two in Hezbollah's leadership. Information about Mughniyeh is limited, but he is believed to have been Hezbollah's chief of staff and understood to have overseen Hezbollah's military, intelligence, and security apparatuses. He was one of the main founders of Hezbollah in the 1980s. He has been described as "a brilliant military tactician and very elusive". He was often referred to as an ‘untraceable ghost’.
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Mahmoud Hessabi
- Occupations
- physicistpoliticianacademic
- Biography
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Mahmoud Hessabi was an Iranian nuclear physicist and senator. He was the minister of education of Pahlavi Iran in the cabinet of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh from 1951 to 1952.
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Najib Mikati
- Occupations
- politicianentrepreneurinternational forum participant
- Biography
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Najib Azmi Mikati is a Lebanese politician and businessman, and three-time Prime Minister of Lebanon whose current term began in September 2021. He also serves as the resigned prime minister of a cabinet that, when assembled with a majority of its members, acts as President of Lebanon for emergency situations, since the end of the term of president Michel Aoun in October 2022. He previously served as Prime Minister from June 2011, to February 2014, and from April to July 2005. He also served as Minister of Public Works and Transport from December 1998 to 2003.
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George Habash
- Occupations
- physicianpolitician
- Biography
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George Habash, also known by his laqab "Al-Hakim" (Arabic: الحكيم, romanized: Al-Ḥakīm, lit. 'The Wise Man or The Doctor'; 1 August 1926 – 26 January 2008), was a Palestinian politician and physician who founded the Marxist–Leninist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
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Zalmay Khalilzad
- Occupations
- politiciandiplomat
- Biography
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Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad is an American diplomat and foreign policy expert. Khalilzad was U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation from September 2018 to October 2021. Khailzad was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as United States Ambassador to the United Nations, serving in the role from 2007 to 2009. Khalilzad was the highest ranking Muslim-American in government at the time he left the position. Prior to this, Khalilzad served in the Bush administration as Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2004 to 2005 and Ambassador to Iraq from 2005 to 2007.
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Walid Jumblatt
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Walid Kamal Jumblatt is a Lebanese Druze politician and former militia commander who led the Progressive Socialist Party from 1977 until 2023. While leading the Lebanese National Resistance Front and allying with the Amal Movement during the Lebanese Civil War, he worked closely with Suleiman Frangieh to oppose Amine Gemayel's rule as president in 1983. After the civil war, he initially supported Syria but later led an anti-Assad stance during the start of the Syrian Civil War. He is still active in politics, most recently leading his party, the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in the 2022 Lebanese general election.
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Talal Abu-Ghazaleh
- Occupations
- entrepreneur
- Biography
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Talal Abu-Ghazaleh is the chairman and founder of the international Jordan-based organisation, the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAG-Org). Dubbed as the godfather of Arab accounting, Abu-Ghazaleh has also been credited for promoting the significance of Intellectual Property in the Arab World.
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Rula Ghani
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Rula F. Saadah Ghani is a former first lady of Afghanistan and wife of former president of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani.
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Wadie Haddad
- Occupations
- physicianpoliticianactivist
- Biography
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Wadie Haddad, also known as Abu Hani, was a Palestinian militant who led the combat operations of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. He was responsible for organizing several hijackings of international civilian passenger aircraft in the 1960s and 1970s, the most infamous of which was the Entebbe hijacking, when Palestinian/German militants under his command held 106 hostages — both Israelis and non-Israeli Jews — on a flight from Israel to France after diverting it to Uganda.
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Gebran Bassil
- Occupations
- international forum participantpolitician
- Biography
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Gebran Gerge Bassil is a Lebanese politician who is the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement since 2015 and leader of the Strong Lebanon bloc in the Lebanese parliament since 2018. A Maronite Christian, he is the son-in-law of President Michel Aoun, and has been his most senior advisor since 2005.
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Ali Akbar Salehi
- Occupations
- physicistpoliticianuniversity teacherdiplomat
- Biography
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Ali Akbar Salehi is an Iranian academic, diplomat and former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, who served in this position from 2009 to 2010 and also from 2013 to 2021. He served for the first time as head of the AEOI from 2009 to 2010 and was appointed to the post for a second time on 16 August 2013. Before the appointment of his latter position, he was foreign affairs minister from 2010 to 2013. He was also the Iranian representative in the International Atomic Energy Agency from 1998 to 2003.
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Ali Al-Wardi
- Occupations
- anthropologisthistorianwritersociologist
- Biography
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Ali Al-Wardi was an Iraqi social scientist specialized in the field of social history.
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Abdulla Yameen
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom is a Maldivian politician who served as president of the Maldives from 2013 to 2018.
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Wasfi Tal
- Occupations
- politiciandiplomat
- Biography
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Wasfi Tal was a Jordanian politician, statesman and general. He served as the 15th Prime Minister of Jordan for three separate terms, 1962–63, 1965–67 and 1970 until his assassination in 1971.
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Ali Jaber
- Years
- 1961-.. (age 63)
- Occupations
- television presenter
- Biography
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Ali Jaber is a Lebanese journalist, media consultant, TV personality and the Group TV Director of MBC, the Arab world's largest satellite broadcaster.
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Jihad Mughniyah
- Biography
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Jihad Mughniyah was a Lebanese politician and prominent member of the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah, and the son of Imad Mughniyeh. He was killed in 2015 in the Mazraat Amal incident, an airstrike attributed to Israel.
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Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, also spelled Abdul Qadir al-Husseini (1907 – 8 April 1948), was a Palestinian Arab nationalist and fighter who in late 1933 founded the secret militant group known as the Organization for Holy Struggle (Munathamat al-Jihad al-Muqaddas), which he and Hasan Salama commanded as the Army of the Holy War (Jaysh al-Jihad al-Muqaddas) during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt and during the 1948 war.
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Saud bin Saqr al Qasimi
- Occupations
- military personnel
- Biography
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Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi is the current ruler of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates. He became the chief of the ruler’s Emiri court in 1979, the head of the Municipal Council in 1986, and the Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of the Emirate in June 2003. Then, he officially became the ruler of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in 2010 after his father’s death.
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Shoghi Effendi
- Occupations
- religious leaderGuardian of the Bahá'í Faithtranslator
- Biography
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Shoghí Effendi was the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, appointed to the role of Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957. He created a series of teaching plans that oversaw the expansion of the faith to many new countries, and also translated many of the writings of the Baháʼí central figures. He was succeeded by an interim arrangement of the Hands of the Cause until the election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963.
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Ghada al-Samman
- Occupations
- journalistpoetnovelistwriter
- Biography
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Ghadah Al-Samman is a Syrian writer, journalist and novelist born in Damascus in 1942 to a prominent and conservative Damascene family. Her father was Ahmed Al-Samman, a president of the University of Damascus. She is distantly related to poet Nizar Qabbani, and was deeply influenced by him after her mother died at a very young age.
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Badryah El-Bishr
- Years
- 1967-.. (age 57)
- Occupations
- novelistwriter
- Biography
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Badriah Al-Beshr is a Saudi Arabian writer and novelist. She was born in Riyadh and obtained a bachelor's degree and master's degree from King Saud University and a PhD from the Lebanese University in 2005. She has taught at Al Jazeera University in Dubai. A weekly columnist at Al Yamama magazine since 1997, she won the prize for "best newspaper column" at the Arabic Press Awards in 2011, becoming the first woman to do so. She also writes regularly for Al Hayat newspaper.
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Abdullah Ensour
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Abdullah Ensour is a Jordanian economist who served as the 40th Prime Minister of Jordan between October 2012 and May 2016. A veteran politician, he has held various cabinet positions in Jordanian government in addition to being prime minister.
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Ibrāhīm alṭwqān
- Occupations
- writerteacherpoetliteraryjournalist
- Biography
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Ibrahim Abd al-Fattah Tuqan was a Palestinian nationalist poet whose work rallied Arabs during their revolt against the British mandate. Tuqan was born in Nablus, Palestine. He was the brother of poet Fadwa Tuqan and he tutored and influenced her to write poetry. Ibrahim belonged to the prominent Tuqan family that governed Nablus during the 18th and 19th centuries.
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Hassan Kamel Al-Sabbah
- Occupations
- engineerinventor
- Biography
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Hassan Kamel Al-Sabbah was a Lebanese electrical and electronics research engineer, mathematician and inventor. He was born in Nabatieh in present-day Lebanon.
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Hanan Ashrawi
- Occupations
- human rights activistscholar of Englishpoliticianuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Hanan Daoud Mikhael Ashrawi is a Palestinian politician, activist, and scholar.
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Antun Saadeh
- Occupations
- journalistwriterpoliticianphilosopher
- Biography
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Antoun Saadeh was a Lebanese politician, sociologist, philosopher and writer who founded the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.
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Ted Arison
- Occupations
- ship-ownerbankerbusinessperson
- Biography
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Ted Arison was an Israeli businessman who co-founded Norwegian Cruise Lines in 1966 with Knut Kloster and soon left to form Carnival Cruise Lines in 1972.
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Fouad Siniora
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Fouad Siniora is a Lebanese politician, a former Prime Minister of Lebanon, a position he held from 19 July 2005 to 25 May 2008. He stepped down on 9 November 2009 in favor of Saad Hariri, the late Rafik Hariri's son. He is the leader of the parliamentary group of the Future Movement.
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Sa'dun Hammadi
- Occupations
- bankerpolitician
- Biography
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Sa'dun Hammadi was an Iraqi politician. He was briefly Prime Minister of Iraq under President Saddam Hussein from March until September 1991. He succeeded Hussein, who had previously been prime minister in addition to being president, but was forced out due to his reformist views.
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Jurji Zaydan
- Occupations
- writernovelistteacherpoetjournalist
- Biography
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Jurji Zaydan was a prolific Lebanese novelist, journalist, editor and teacher, most noted for his creation of the magazine Al-Hilal, which he used to serialize his twenty three historical novels.
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Salam Fayyad
- Occupations
- politicianinternational forum participanteconomist
- Biography
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Salam Fayyad is a Jordanian-Palestinian politician who served as the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority and the finance minister.
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Ardem Patapoutian
- Occupations
- molecular biologistneuroscientist
- Biography
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Ardem Patapoutian is an Lebanese-American molecular biologist, neuroscientist, and Nobel Prize laureate of Armenian descent. He is known for his work in characterizing the PIEZO1, PIEZO2, and TRPM8 receptors that detect pressure, menthol, and temperature. Patapoutian is a neuroscience professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California. In 2021, he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with David Julius.
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Hamed Sinno
- Occupations
- musiciansinger
- Biography
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Hamed Sinno is a Lebanese-American musician. They were the lead singer of the alternative rock band Mashrou' Leila until the group disbanded in 2022.
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Ismail al-Azhari
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Ismail al-Azhari was a Sudanese nationalist and political figure. He served as the first Prime Minister of Sudan between 1954 and 1956, and as Head of State of Sudan from 1965 until he was overthrown by Gaafar Nimeiry in 1969.
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Riad Salameh
- Occupations
- financiereconomistbanker
- Biography
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Riad Toufic Salameh is a Lebanese economist. He previously served as governor of Lebanon's central bank, Banque du Liban, from April 1993 until July 2023. He was appointed Governor by decree, approved by the Council of Ministers for a renewable term of six years. He was reappointed for four consecutive terms; in 1999, 2005, 2011 and 2017. Riad Salameh left his position on 31 July 2023 upon the end of his term, and due to the Lebanese parliament’s failure in electing a new president and forming a new government capable of appointing a successor he was succeeded by his first deputy Wassim Mansouri in an acting capacity
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Hisham Kabbani
- Occupations
- 'ālim
- Biography
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Muhammad Hisham Kabbani is a Lebanese-American Sunni Sufi Muslim scholar belonging to the Naqsbandi Sufi Order. Kabbani has counseled and advised Muslim leaders to build community resilience against violent extremism. In 2012, the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre named him on The 500 Most Influential Muslims. His notable students include the world-famous boxer Muhammad Ali and former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
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Nazim al-Kudsi
- Occupations
- diplomat
- Biography
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Nazim al-Qudsi, was a Syrian politician who served as President of Syria from 14 December 1961 to 8 March 1963.
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Omar Abu Risha
- Occupations
- playwrightdiplomatpoet
- Biography
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Omar Abu-Riche was an influential Syrian poet known for his pioneering works.
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Tony Nader
- Born in
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Lebanon - Occupations
- neurologist
- Biography
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Tony Nader is a Lebanese neuroscientist, researcher, university president, author and leader of the Transcendental Meditation movement. He has a medical degree in internal medicine, received his Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and worked as a clinical and research fellow at a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.
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Adnan Pachachi
- Enrolled in the American University of Beirut
- In 1943 studied political science
- Occupations
- politiciandiplomat
- Biography
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Adnan al-Pachachi or Adnan Muzahim Ameen al-Pachachi was a veteran Iraqi and Emirati politician and diplomat. Pachachi was Iraq's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1959 to 1965 and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iraq from 1965 to 1967, during the Six-Day War with Israel; he again served as Permanent Representative to the UN from 1967 to 1969. After 1971, he left Iraq in exile and became an Emirati Minister of State and political advisor to United Arab Emirates president Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Following the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, Pachachi was an important figure in Iraqi politics, often described as Iraq's elder statesman. He rejected the role of president in the Iraqi Interim Government.
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Charles Malik
- Occupations
- writerpoliticianphilosopherdiplomat
- Biography
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Charles Habib Malik was a Lebanese academic, diplomat, philosopher, and politician. He served as the Lebanese representative to the United Nations, the President of the Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations General Assembly, a member of the Lebanese Cabinet, the head of the Ministry of Culture and Higher Education and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigration, as well as being a theologian. He participated in the drafting of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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Fadi Ghandour
- Occupations
- international forum participantentrepreneur
- Biography
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Fadi Ghandour is a Lebanese Jordanian entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. He is the Executive Chairman of Wamda, a platform that builds and invests in entrepreneurship ecosystems across the Middle East and North Africa, Turkey and East Africa through Ecosystem Development programs and a venture capital fund investing in technology-enabled companies that operate in these markets.
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Faris al-Khoury
- Years
- 1877-1962 (aged 85)
- Occupations
- politiciandiplomat
- Biography
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Faris al-Khoury was a Syrian statesman, minister, prime minister, speaker of parliament, and father of modern Syrian politics. Faris Khoury went on to become prime minister of Syria from October 14, 1944, to October 1, 1945, and from October 1954 to February 13, 1955. Faris Koury's position as prime minister is, as of 2017, the highest political position a Syrian Christian has ever reached. Khoury's electoral popularity was due in part to his staunch secularist and nationalist policies. As a die-hard Syrian nationalist, Khoury never compromised on his principles and was resolutely against pan-Arabism and the ill-fated union between Syria and Egypt. Khoury opposed the short-lived union between Nasser's Egypt and republican Syria, the United Arab Republic. Through it all Faris Khoury served his country for almost 50 years. He was the grandfather of noted Syrian novelist Colette Khoury.
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Yusuf al-Khal
- Occupations
- journalistpoettranslatorwriter
- Biography
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Yusuf al-Khal was a Lebanese-Syrian poet, journalist, and publisher. He is considered the greatest exponent of avantgardist prose poetry (qaṣīdat al-natr) as well one of the pioneers of Arabic surrealist poetry.
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Omar Karami
- Years
- 1934-2015 (aged 81)
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Omar Abdul Hamid Karami was the 29th prime minister of Lebanon, who served two separate terms. He was Prime Minister for the first time from 24 December 1990, when Selim al-Hoss gave up power, until May 1992, when he resigned due to economic instability. He was again Prime Minister from October 2004 to April 2005.
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Sadiq Jalal al-Azm
- Occupations
- university teachernon-fiction writerphilosopher
- Biography
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Sadiq Jalal Al-Azm was a Professor Emeritus of Modern European Philosophy at the University of Damascus in Syria and was, until 2007, a visiting professor in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. His main area of specialization was the work of German philosopher Immanuel Kant, but he later placed a greater emphasis upon the Islamic world and its relationship to the West, evidenced by his contribution to the discourse of Orientalism. Al-Azm was also known as a human rights advocate and a champion of intellectual freedom and free speech.
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Mohammed Waheed Hassan
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik is a Maldivian politician who served as president of the Maldives from 7 February 2012 to 17 November 2013, having succeeded to the office following the resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed, under whom he served as vice president. He had previously worked as a news anchor, a United Nations official with UNICEF, UNDP and UNESCO, and a member of the Maldivian Parliament.
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Fahda bint Saud
- Occupations
- painterwriter
- Biography
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Fahda bint Saud Al Saud is a Saudi royal and artist.
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Talal Arslan
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Emir Talal Arslan is a Lebanese politician, Political Leader of the Druze sect. He is the chief of the Arslan family, who claim to be descendants of the Lakhmids.
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Salim al-Huss
- Occupations
- diplomatpoliticianeconomist
- Biography
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Salim Ahmad al-Huss also spelled Selim El-Hoss, is a Lebanese politician who served as the prime minister of Lebanon and a longtime Member of Parliament representing his hometown, Beirut. He is known as a technocrat.
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Kamal Nasser
- Occupations
- politicianpoet
- Biography
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Kamal Butros Nasser was a Palestinian political leader, writer and poet. In the early 1970s, Nasser was a spokesman for the Palestinian Liberation Organization.
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Nasri Atallah
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Nasri Atallah is a British-Lebanese author, award-winning producer, television host and media entrepreneur. He is the former Editor-in-Chief of Esquire Middle East, one of the co-founders of Last Floor Productions and a former contributing writer at GQ Middle East.
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Bassam Abu Sharif
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Bassam Abu Sharif is a former senior adviser to Yasser Arafat and leading cadre of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). He was previously a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
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Karimeh Abbud
- Occupations
- photographer
- Biography
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Karimeh Abbud or Karimeh Abboud, was a Palestinian professional photographer and artist who lived and worked in Palestine in the first half of the twentieth century. She was one of the first woman photographers in the Arab world.
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Reem Acra
- Occupations
- fashion designer
- Biography
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Reem Acra is a fashion designer born in Beirut, Lebanon, known for her eponymous bridal gown line and her ready-to-wear collection.
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Bahia Hariri
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Bahia Hariri is a Lebanese politician and sister of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
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Mariam C. Said
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Mariam C. Said is an American writer and activist.
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Ahmad Jarba
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Ahmad Jarba, born in the city of Qamishli in 1969, is a Syrian opposition member and former political prisoner. He is a public opponent of Bashar al-Assad and between 6 July 2013 and 11 July 2014 he was President of the Syrian National Coalition, which is the main coalition of opposition groups in the Syrian Civil War, as well as being a member of the Syrian National Council. His election took place in the second round of voting of a three days meeting organized by the Coalition in order to renew its board. He obtained 55 votes, three more than his rival Mustafa Sabbagh, who was supported by Qatar. According to a July 2013 article in The Economist, "there is little reason to believe he will wield more influence than his predecessor, Moaz al-Khatib." Jarba was re-elected on 5 January 2014, with 65 votes, defeating his only opponent Riyad Farid Hijab by 13 votes.
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Abdelmunim al-Rifai
- Occupations
- politiciandiplomat
- Biography
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Abdul-Monem Rifai was a Jordanian diplomat and political figure of Palestinian descent, who served two non-consecutive terms as the 18th Prime Minister of Jordan in 1969 and 1970.
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As'ad AbuKhalil
- Occupations
- political scientistblogger
- Biography
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As'ad AbuKhalil is a Lebanese-American professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus.
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Anbara Salam Khalidy
- Occupations
- poettranslatorwriterwomen's rights activist
- Biography
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Anbara Salam Khalidi was a Lebanese feminist, translator and author, who significantly contributed to the emancipation of Arab women.
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Huda Zoghbi
- Occupations
- university teacherphysicianneurologist
- Biography
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Huda Yahya Zoghbi, born Huda El-Hibri, is a Lebanese-born American geneticist, and a professor at the Departments of Molecular and Human Genetics, Neuroscience and Neurology at the Baylor College of Medicine. She is the director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute. She became the editor of the Annual Review of Neuroscience as of 2018.
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Saeb Salam
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Saeb Salam was a Lebanese politician, who served as Prime Minister six times between 1952 and 1973. Following his death, the Lebanese daily As-Safir described Salam as "most successful in dealing with the media and in presenting a particular image of himself to people on a daily basis through wearing his customary carnation... and expounding unforgettable slogans", and that he was Lebanon's most popular prime minister after independence leader Riad Al Solh. A significant aspect of Salam was that, unlike other Lebanese leaders, he did not act as a chief over a particular area in the country. Salam fiercely advocated the unity of Lebanon.
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Constantin Zureiq
- Occupations
- professorhistorianpolitical scientistdiplomat
- Biography
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Constantin Zurayk was a prominent and influential Syrian Arab intellectual who was one of the first to pioneer and express the importance of Arab nationalism. He stressed the urgent need to transform stagnant Arab society by means of rational thought and radical modification of the methods of thinking and acting. He developed some ideas, such as the "Arab mission" and "national philosophy", which were to become key concepts for Arab nationalist thinkers, and in more recent years was a strong proponent of an intellectual reformation of Arab society, emphasizing the need for rationalism and an ethical revolution.
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Abdelraouf al-Rawabdeh
- Occupations
- politiciancivil servant
- Biography
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Abdelraouf Salem Nahar al-Rawabdeh was the 32nd Prime Minister of Jordan from 4 March 1999 until 19 June 2000, a leading political figure from the northern city of Irbid in Jordan.
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George Saliba
- Years
- 1939-.. (age 85)
- Occupations
- historian
- Biography
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George Saliba is an American historian who is Professor of Arabic and Islamic Science at the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies, Columbia University, New York, where he has been since 1979. Saliba is currently the founding director of the Farouk Jabre Center for Arabic & Islamic Science & Philosophy and the Jabre-Khwarizmi Chair in the History Department.
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Ma Haide
- Occupations
- physician
- Biography
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Ma Haide, born Shafick George Hatem (Arabic: جورج شفيق حاتم), was an American doctor who practiced medicine in China.
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Kamal Salibi
- Occupations
- historianwriteruniversity teacherarchaeologist
- Biography
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Kamal Suleiman Salibi was a Lebanese historian, professor of history at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and the founding Director (later Honorary President) of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies in Amman, Jordan. He was a lifetime bachelor, who devoted his life to books.
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Leila Shahid
- Occupations
- politiciandiplomat
- Biography
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Leila Shahid is a Palestinian diplomat. She was the first woman ambassador of Palestine, serving the PLO in Ireland in 1989, in The Netherlands in 1990, then serving the PA in France where she had taken office in Paris in 1993. From 2006 to 2014, she was the General Delegate of Palestine to the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg.
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Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar
- Occupations
- politiciandiplomat
- Biography
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Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar was a prominent Syrian nationalist during the French Mandate of Syria and a leading opponent of compromise with French authority. His devotion to Arab nationalism dated to the days of the Committee of Union and Progress and its "Turkification" policies. He supported the Arab Revolt during World War I and briefly headed the foreign ministry under Emir Faisal.
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Kim Ghattas
- Occupations
- opinion journalistjournalist
- Biography
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Kim Ghattas is a Lebanese journalist based in Beirut who writes for The Atlantic. Previously, she covered the US State Department for the BBC. She is a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the author of Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East, which The New York Times recognized as one of the "100 Notable Books of 2020."
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Haig Papazian
- Enrolled in the American University of Beirut
- Studied in 2009
- Occupations
- architectviolinist
- Biography
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Haig Papazian is a Lebanese-Armenian multidisciplinary artist, composer, and architect born in Beirut and currently based out of New York. He is a founding member and violinist of Lebanese pop band Mashrou' Leila.
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Ignatius IV of Antioch
- Occupations
- patriarch
- Biography
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Patriarch Ignatius IV was the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and All The East from 1979 to 2012.
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Ghassan Tueni
- Occupations
- journalistwriterpoliticiandiplomat
- Biography
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Ghassan Tueni was a Lebanese journalist, politician and diplomat who headed An Nahar, one of the Arab world's leading newspapers. Some call him "The Dean of Lebanese Journalism".
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Ayah Bdeir
- Occupations
- designerengineerartistentrepreneur
- Biography
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Ayah Bdeir is an entrepreneur, inventor, and interactive artist. She is the founder and CEO of littleBits. She is also the co-founder of Daleel Thawra, a directory of protests, initiatives, donations in Lebanon.
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Mansur al-Atrash
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Mansur al-Atrash was a Syrian politician and journalist. Together with fellow university students, Atrash became a founding member of the Ba'ath Party and its Syrian regional branch in 1947. During the presidency of Adib Shishakli (1951–54), he became an anti-government activist and was imprisoned twice, only to be released in an unsuccessful attempt by Shishakli to gain the support of Atrash's father, Sultan. In the year Shishakli was overthrown, Atrash was elected to parliament and turned down an offer to serve in Said al-Ghazzi's government. During the period of the United Arab Republic (1958–61), Atrash became a strong supporter of Egyptian president and pan-Arab leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. He opposed Syria's secession from the UAR and turned down offers to serve in successive separatist governments in protest.
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Mohamad Chatah
- Occupations
- diplomatpoliticianeconomist
- Biography
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Mohamad Chatah was a Lebanese economist and diplomat.
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Rima Khalaf
- Years
- 1953-.. (age 71)
- Occupations
- economistpolitician
- Biography
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Rima Khalaf Hunaidi is a national of Jordan who served as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) from 2010 to 2017. She resigned from this position in March 2017, rather than comply with a request from the UN Secretary General António Guterres to withdraw a report that accused Israel of establishing an apartheid regime.
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Raya Haffar El Hassan
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Raya El Hassan is a Lebanese politician who held the office of the interior and municipalities ministry, and the finance ministry. She is the first woman in Lebanon to be appointed to these and equivalent posts in the government.
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Neemat Frem
- Occupations
- politicianbusinesspersonengineer
- Biography
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Neemat Georges Frem is a Lebanese politician, businessman and an incumbent Member of the Lebanese Parliament from Keserwan and Byblos constituency serving from May 2022. He previously held the position under same constituency since 2018 but resigned shortly after the Beirut explosion, on 9 August 2020, as a protest against the corruption and the failure of the Lebanese political system that led to the financial collapse and the destruction of Beirut. He also served as the Chair of the National Economy, Trade, Industry & Planning Parliamentary Commission and as an active member in the Immigrants and Foreign Affairs Parliamentary Commission at the time.
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Bahij al-Khatib
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Bahij al-Khatib was a French-appointed Syrian Head of State from July 10, 1939 to April 4, 1941. He was the father of Ahmad al-Khatib (1932-1982).
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Haidar Abdel-Shafi
- Occupations
- physicianpolitician
- Biography
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Haidar Abdel-Shafi, was a Palestinian physician, community leader and political leader who was the head of the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid Conference of 1991.
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Kevork Ajemian
- Enrolled in the American University of Beirut
- Studied in 1958
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Kevork Vartani Ajemian was a prominent Lebanese-Armenian writer, journalist, novelist, theorist and public activist, and long-time publisher of the Beirut-based literary, artistic and general publication Spurk (in Armenian Սփիւռք). Ajemian was a co-founder of the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) military organization.
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Taha Baqir
- Occupations
- anthropologistwriterassyriologistlinguistarchaeologist
- Biography
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Taha Baqir was an Iraqi Assyriologist, author, cuneiformist, linguist, historian, and former curator of the National Museum of Iraq.
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Sulayman al-Nabulsi
- Enrolled in the American University of Beirut
- Studied jurisprudence and social studies
- Occupations
- diplomatpoliticianeconomist
- Biography
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Suleiman Nabulsi was a leftist Jordanian political figure who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Jordan in 1956–57.
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Suad Amiry
- Occupations
- writerengineerarchitect
- Biography
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Suad Amiry is a Palestinian author and architect living in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
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Shibli Shumayyil
- Years
- 1853-1917 (aged 64)
- Occupations
- physicianwriterpoet
- Biography
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Shibli Shumayyil was a Lebanese doctor who published on topics such as Islamic socialism and social Darwinism in leading Arabic-language journals of his day.
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Ahmad Toukan
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Ahmad Toukan was a Jordanian political leader of Palestinian descent who was the 20th Prime Minister of Jordan from 26 September 1970 to 28 October 1970.
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Mary Ajami
- Occupations
- salonnièrejournalistwriter
- Biography
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Mary Ajami was a Syrian feminist and pioneering Arabic-language writer who launched the first women's periodical in Western Asia and North Africa called Al Arus (Arabic: the Bride).
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Rosarita Tawil
- Occupations
- actormodelbeauty pageant contestant
- Biography
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Rosarita Tawil is a Lebanese humanitarian activist, dancer, model, fashion designer and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Lebanon 2008.
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Majid Khadduri
- Occupations
- university teacherjurist
- Biography
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Majid Khadduri was an Iraqi–born academic. He was founder of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies Middle East Studies program, a division of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C. Internationally, he was recognized as a leading authority on a wide variety of Islamic subjects, modern history and the politics of the Middle East. He was the author of more than 35 books in English and Arabic and hundreds of articles.
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Fawzi al-Mulki
- Occupations
- politiciandiplomat
- Biography
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Fawzi El-Mulki was a Jordanian diplomat and politician. While serving as ambassador to the United Kingdom in the early 1950s, he befriended King Hussein, who was studying there.
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Mostafa Mesbahzadeh
- Occupations
- journalistjuristeconomistpolitician
- Biography
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Mostafa Khan Mesbahzadeh was an Iranian Publisher, President of Kayhan Media Corporation, Founder of the Iranian College of Press and Communication ("Daneshkadeh Matbouhat va Oloum Ejtemahi"), University Professor, Member of Parliament and Senator, Member of the Senate of Iran.
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Ali Eid
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Ali Eid was a Lebanese politician. He was the leader of the Alawite Community. He founded the Arab Democratic Party in 1972 and until his death served as General Secretary of the Arab Democratic Party.
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Khaled Toukan
- Occupations
- international forum participantpolitician
- Biography
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Khaled Toukan is the current chairman of the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission, he served previously as the Minister of Energy for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (2011), Minister of Education (2000-2008), and as Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research (2001–2002).
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Thuraya al-Urayyid
- Occupations
- journalistwriterpoet
- Biography
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Thuraya AlArrayed is an Arabic language Saudi poet and writer she was born in 1948, and received a bachelor's degree from the College of Beirut, in 1966, and then an MBA from American University of Beirut in 1969 and PhD from the University of North Carolina, United States General in 1975.
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Salma Jayyusi
- Enrolled in the American University of Beirut
- Studied English literature and Arabic literature
- Occupations
- historianliterary criticpoettranslatoranthologist
- Biography
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Salma Khadra Jayyusi was a Palestinian poet, writer, translator and anthologist. She was the founder and director of the Project of Translation from Arabic (PROTA), which aims to provide translation of Arabic literature into English.
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Yacoub Sarraf
- Years
- 1961-.. (age 63)
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Yacoub Riad Sarraf is a Lebanese politician. He was born in the town of Miniara in the Akkar district of northern Lebanon.
