1. Nayla Moawad is a Lebanese politician and former First Lady of Lebanon.
15 Facts About Nayla Moawad
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Nayla Moawad's father was the scion of a prominent Maronite Christian family and a relative of Bechara El Khoury, Lebanon's first post-independence president.
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Nayla Moawad was educated at the Ecole des Franciscaines Missionnaires de Marie, Rue du Musee, a Catholic school, and subsequently graduated from Saint Joseph's University with a bachelor of arts degree in French literature and history.
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Nayla Moawad later studied English at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.
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From 1962 to 1965, Nayla Moawad worked as a journalist for the daily newspaper, L'Orient.
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Nayla Moawad sought to perpuate her slain husband's legacy by founding the Rene Nayla Moawad Foundation in 1990, which works for social justice and economic development in Lebanon and the Arab world.
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Nayla Moawad became a member of the National Assembly in 1991, representing the Zgharta-Tripoli constituency in northern Lebanon.
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Nayla Moawad was the second woman to serve as a deputy in Lebanon, following Myrna Bustani's brief tenure in 1963.
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Nayla Moawad served on numerous parliamentary committees, specializing in such diverse fields as finance, children's rights, and education.
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Nayla Moawad campaigned strongly for women's and children's rights, and opposed political corruption.
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Nayla Moawad is a prominent member of the Qornet Shehwan Gathering, a coalition of Christian parliamentarians which opposed the Syrian military presence in Lebanon and continues to campaign for the building of a modern, democratic nation state.
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Nayla Moawad is a member of the Democratic Forum, a coalition comprising both Christian and Muslim parliamentarians opposed to the pro-Syrian government.
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Nayla Moawad has been affiliated with the National Front, a multi-sectarian parliamentary block working for political reforms.
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In 2004, Nayla Moawad announced her candidacy for the presidency in elections scheduled to be held that year.
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Nayla Moawad instead encouraged and supported the election of her son Michel.