22 Facts About Gebran Tueni

Gebran Tueni was assassinated in 2005 as part of a series of assassinations of Syria's critics in Lebanon.

Gebran Tueni was born in Beirut on 15 September 1957.

Gebran Tueni's father, Ghassan Tueni, was born into a prominent Lebanese Greek Orthodox family from Achrafieh, Beirut for more than 3 centuries, and was a veteran journalist and politician.

Gebran Tueni's mother was the Francophone, Lebanese Druze poet, Nadia Hamadeh.

Gebran Tueni's maternal grandfather, Mohammed Ali Hamadeh, was a diplomat and writer.

At age 18, Gebran Tueni experienced the horror of sectarian intolerance with the outbreak of the Lebanese civil war.

Gebran Tueni served in the Lebanese army under a then law requiring students to serve for a year as reservists, either after high school or after college graduation.

Gebran Tueni served at Henry Chehab Barracks, and after boot camp he worked in the administrative section of the barracks in 1976, he was shot by Palestinian fighters that year, and was later kidnapped for 36 hours by Christian militiamen in 1977.

Gebran Tueni became an active member of the World Association of Newspapers in 1990 and WAN's advisor on Middle-Eastern affairs.

Gebran Tueni was a member of WAN's Fund for Press Freedom Development, created in 1994.

Gebran Tueni was the publisher, chairman of the board, director and editorialist of An Nahar beginning on 1 January 2000 until his death on 12 December 2005.

Gebran Tueni came to international prominence in March 2000 when he wrote a front-page letter to Bashar al-Assad, son and then-heir apparent to then-Syrian president Hafez al-Assad calling for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon following the 1990 Taif Accords that ended Lebanon's civil war.

Gebran Tueni's letter was published when a summit between then-US president Bill Clinton and then-Syrian President Hafez Assad was held in Geneva.

Gebran Tueni's letter led to a public objection from some newspapers and Lebanese officials.

Gebran Tueni was a staunch advocate for freedom of speech and promoted critical discourse regarding the regime of Hafez al-Assad.

Gebran Tueni viewed Bashar al-Assad as a "new generation" leader and harbored hopes that his leadership would finally herald a transformation in Syria's political dynamics concerning Lebanon.

Gebran Tueni consequently became an outspoken critic of the Syrian government and its policies in Lebanon.

Gebran Tueni was assassinated by a car bomb on 12 December 2005 in Mkalles, an industrial suburb of Beirut, while he drove from his home in Beit Meri to his newspaper's offices in Beirut's Martyrs' Square.

Gebran Tueni was the seventh target in a series of assassinations of politicians, journalists and security personnel that had begun in Lebanon in 2005.

Gebran Tueni's body was buried at Saint Dimitrius church graves after the funeral that took place at Saint George church in Beirut.

Mr Gebran Tueni's death is a terrible loss not only for his family, friends and colleagues, but for the cause of freedom of expression and press freedom in the Middle East.

Gebran Tueni had twin daughters, Gabriella and Nadia, from his second marriage, who were just a few months old when he was killed.