This is a list of political families in Lebanon and their prominent members. This list does not include historical monarchies that ruled the region of the Levant but can include its modern-ruling decedents.
The Arslan family is a hereditary Druze leadership dynasty descends from the Lakhmids. The family name of Arslan was given to the descendants of the dynasty. The Arslan family was sent to the coast of the Lebanon by the Muslim Khalifa in 634 and they were responsible of guarding the coast and protecting it. They ruled Beirut for 476 years (from 634 until 1110).
Notable members:
Toufic Arslan – Greater Lebanon politician; father of Majid
Emir Shakib Arslan – influential Arab politician, writer, poet and historian; brother of Adil
Prince Adil Arslan – Ottoman politician; brother of Shakib
El Assaad family
El-Assaad or Al As'ad is a feudal political clan originally from Najd and a main branch of the anza tribe.[4] Unrelated to Syrian or Palestinian Al-Assads, El-Assaad dynasty that ruled most of South Lebanon for three centuries and whose lineage defended fellow denizens of history's [5]Jabal Amel (Mount Amel) principality – today southern Lebanon – for 36 generations, Balqa in Jordan, Nablus in Palestine, and Homs in Syria governed by Ottoman rule between generations throughout the Arab caliphate. El-Assaads are considered now "Bakaweit" (title of nobility plural of "Bek" granted to a few wealthy families in Lebanon), and are considered princes or heirs to the family's dynasty to some.[6][7][8]
Said El Assaad - former Lebanese Ambassador of Switzerland, France and Belgium and a former Member of Parliament.
Bahija Al Solh El Assaad - wife of Said El Assaad, daughter of Prime Minister Riad Al Solh, aunt of Waleed Bin Talal.
Nasrat El Assaad - ambassador of Lebanon to numerous countries.
Haidar El Assaad - historian and among the first official delegates to visit the new People's Republic of China in the 1960s following Ministerial civil service – later serving as a director at the FAO of the United Nations and consultant to TRW and the World Bank.
Bazzi family
The Bazzi family is a Lebanese Shia Muslim family that has been the largest family in Bent Jbeil, South Lebanon, for centuries. The Bazzi clan is spread across the Middle East from Lebanon to Iraq, Iran, and Yemen, and to Europe as far as Northern Italy, without confirmed[by whom?] connections among all regions.[citation needed] Their political presence has been established since the French mandate of Greater Lebanon with MP Ali Bazzi (Abu Hani). The family includes many notable politicians, academicians, military officers, journalists, political analysts, and writers.
Notable politicians include:
Ali Bazzi (Abu Hani) – MP and one of the independence activists jailed by the French along with Bechara El Khoury and other founders of the independent Lebanon.
The Daoud family is a Druze political family from Rashaya. Politically, the family is represented by the Lebanese Arab Struggle Movement which Faisal Daoud headed between 1986 and 2014.[9]
Faisal Daoud – Former party leader and MP; son of Salim
Tarek Daoud – Current party leader and parliamentary candidate; son of Faisal
Daouk family
The Daouk family is a prominent SunniBeirut family that stemmed in Ras Beirut, Lebanon during the 15th century; after fleeing Marrakesh, Morocco, the family escaped Morocco in the late 12th century from Marrakesh to the Levant during the Reconquista inquisition. The immigration came as a consequence of the heavy influx of refugees from the Iberian Peninsula.[10] This was due to the heavy influx of Arab refugees coming from the Iberian Peninsula to the Maghreb and the Levant following the fall of Al-Andalus to the Catholic Monarchs.
The Fakhoury family is a prominent Greek Catholic family, It is one of the original aristocratic families of Saida, [14] Fakhoury family can trace their roots to the Lebanese city of Rachaya Al Foukhar but they separated and some of them relocated to Saida where they bought a great amount of lands and got involved in the political decision of the South, while others spread in Keserwan and Matn area.
The Fakhoury family used to be one of the most important families of the South since 1785. After the turn of the 19th century they began to establish significant positions of power within the Ottoman empire where they were granted the title of بيكBeik. As a long line of land owners and tax collectors, the Fakhouries were able to leverage their finances and capital using their connections to American, British, French, German and Russian consuls over the decade to establish extensive economic and political connections.
The Gemayel family is a Maronite political family in the region of Metn and West Beirut which is headquartered in the town of Bikfaya. The family is mentioned in bureaucratic records as among the inhabitants of Bikfaya as early as the 16th century. Between that time until the 18th century they were the sheikhs of the village.[15] In 1642 Sheikh Abu Aoun was the joint governor of the subdistrict of Bsharri alongside the Druze chief Zayn al-Din of the Sawwaf family.[16] Pierre Gemayel was the founder of the Lebanese Kataeb party (Phalange) as a paramilitary youth organization inspired by Spanish Falange and Italian Fascist parties and currently has 5 seats in parliament.[17][18]
The Jumblatt family is a prominent Druze family based in the Chouf area of Mount Lebanon that has dominated Druze politics since the 18th century. The current head of the family is veteran politician Walid Jumblatt, the son and successor of Kamal Jumblatt, one of the most influential figures in modern Lebanese politics.[19] Other members of the family have contributed to cultural, economic and social life in Lebanon. Khaled Jumblatt, a distant cousin of Walid Jumblatt, held the position of minister of economy and was a prominent politician in Lebanon for many years until his death in 1993.[20] Besides the Chouf, the family owns mansions and villas within the distinguished Clemenceau area of Beirut and in the northwest area of Sidon.[21]
Nazira Jumblatt – clan leader in the Chouf region; widow of Fouad
Khaled Jumblatt – former minister of economy; distant cousin of Walid
Karam family
Notable members:
Youssef Bey Karam[22] – Lebanese Maronite notable who fought in the 1860 civil war and led a rebellion in 1866–1867 against the Ottoman Empire rule in Mount Lebanon
The Karami family is a Sunni political family in the city of Tripoli in Northern Lebanon. Members of his family traditionally held the position of mufti of Tripoli. The family is also known to adhere a strong Arab nationalist ideology as it runs the Arab Liberation Party, now known as the Dignity Movement.[25]
Ahmad Karami – former Minister of State; son of Mustafa
Khazen family
El Khazen family crest
The El Khazen family were very influential within the Maronite Church. Several members have played leading roles in politics for many generations. In modern times, Khazen have always represented Keserwan with at least one MP in the Lebanese Parliament. They have also been represented in many recent governments. Prominent politicians include Cheikh Philippe El Khazen, a prominent doctor and medical professor born in 1921 in Ghosta. Cheikh Philippe El Khazen was a member of the Parliament in 1968-1972 and a Co-Founder and Vice President of the Maronite League[26] and Farid Haykal Khazen, incumbent MP.[27]
The Lahoud family is a Maronite family whose members claim to have been the decedents and were a part of the Dhaou families of the Levant, they allegedly trace their origin back to Ghassanids.[28] In modern politics, the family saw the likes of Emile Lahoud as the country's president who had close ties with the Syrian Al-Assad regime.[29]
Notable members:
Jamil Lahoud (1901–1983), general in the Lebanese Army and former minister and MP, father of president Emile Lahoud
Émile Lahoud (b. 1936), president of Lebanon from 1998 to 2007
Emile Lahoud Jr. (b. 1975), Lebanese politician, son of president Emile Lahoud
Nasri Lahoud – Head of the High Legal Magistrate, Military Judge (son of Jamil).
Fouad Lahoud [ar], (1912–1987), Lebanese Army officer and MP of Metn district between 1972 until his death, brother of Salim Lahoud
Salim Lahoud (1910–1971), former Minister and MP of Metn District, brother of Fouad Lahoud
Nassib Lahoud (1944–2012), Lebanese politician, son of Salim
Mghabghab family
The Mghabghab family is a Greek Catholic political family in the Chouf region. The family is known to be allied with the National Liberal Party and having members that are viewed as Lebanese independence heroes.
The Murr family is a Greek Orthodox family from the district of Metn who are notable for launching the Murr TV (MTV). Many of its members have held ministerial and parliamentary positions, most notably Michel El-Murr and his son Elias who made fortunes in Africa.[33] The family is married into the Tueni family.
The Al-Musawi is a Shi'ite political family.[36] Members of this family are referred to by the anglicised version of their name. They are usually given the honorific title Sayyid before their first name, implying that a person is a direct descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his sixth generation grandson, Musa al-Kadhim.
Notable members:
Abbas al-Musawi - (1952 - 16 February 1992) an influential Muslim Scholar and Secretary-General of Hezbollah from 1991-1992.
The Osseiran family traces its Shia origins to what is now Iraq and there to the tribe of the Bani Asad, which fought alongside Hussein - the son of Ali and grandson of the prophetMohammed, at Karbala in 680. After their defeat the survivors suffered persecution and after an unknown period of time one of the tribal members - Haidar - reportedly fled to Baalbek, where he had two sons: Ali and Osseiran. According to the family's historiography, the latter settled in Sidon/Saida.[37] Historians have established that the Osseirans rose to prominence and power as grain merchants in Sidon and the Jabal Amel region of modern-day Southern Lebanon soon after the Ottoman Empire assumed control over the area in 1516.
Notable members:
Adel Osseiran – statesman, a former Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament
Ali Osseiran – MP and former government minister; son of Adel
The Rassi family is a Greek Orthodox family in the areas of Koura and Tripoli which became known through the political legacy of Abdullah Rassi. The family has gained notability through the marriages its members to the Frangieh family.
Notable members:
Abdullah Rassi – physician and former member of parliament
Karim Rassi – former member of parliament; son of Abdullah
Suleiman Frangieh – politician and former party leader; father-in-law of Abdullah
The Sursock family is a Greek Orthodox family and used to be one of the most important families of Beirut. Having originated in the Greek-Orthodox village of Barbara near Jubail, the family has lived in Beirut since 1712, when their forefather Jabbour Aoun (who later adopted the family name Sursock) left the village of Barbara. After the turn of the 19th century, they began to establish significant positions of power within the Ottoman Empire. The family, through lucrative business ventures, savvy political maneuvering, and strategic marriages, embarked on what Leila Fawaz called "the most spectacular social climb of the nineteenth century," and, at their peak, had built a close network of relations to the families of Egyptian, French, Irish, Russian, Italian and German aristocracies, alongside a manufacturing and distribution empire spanning the Mediterranean.[40][41][42]
The Tueni family is a prominent Greek Orthodox family. It is one of the original aristocratic “Seven Families” of Beirut, along with the Bustros, Fayad, Araman, Sursock, Ferneini, and Trad families, who constituted the traditional high society of Beirut for a long time. The family is known for being the founders of Al-Nahar newspaper and for being critics of the Syrian government which costed the life of a March 14 member and Lebanese nationalist, Gebran Tueni.[43]
Nadia Tueni – Lebanese Francophone poet; wife of Ghassan Tueni
El Zein family
The El Zein family (الزين) is a prominent feudal Lebanese family, often associated with notable influence in various fields, including politics, business, and academia. The El Zein family has roots in the south of Lebanon, mainly in Shehour, Jibshit and Kfar Reman, though members may now be spread across different areas, both within the country and in the diaspora, unrelated to the Al-Zein crime family based in Germany.
Jehad El Zein - Famous political commentator in the Middle-east, previous editor in As-safir newspaper and current writer in An-nahar newspaper; son of Dr. Hassan El Zein
Hekmat El Zein - Previous editor in chief of Hurriyat magazine in the René Mouawad Foundation,[47] founder of the human rights association Gil[48] and group CEO of companies in London, Dubai and Riyadh;[49] son of Dr. Hassan El Zein
^"H.E. Nayla Moawad". rmfusa.org. The René Moawad Foundation, USA. Retrieved 2022-10-22. In 1991, Nayla Moawad started her political career as a member of parliament
^The name is written in many different ways and forms, including but not limited to: (Al-, Il-) Musawi, Mosawi, Moussawi, Moosawi, Musawy, Mousawy, Mousawi,Moosvi,Mosawy (Arabic transliteration), Mosavi, Moosavi, or Moussaoui (in the French transliteration) Moosawi (Bahraini translation) Al Mosawi (English translation)...etc
^Nabti, Patricia (January 2018). "Featured Family: The Osseirans - Saida Family distinguishes itself in diplomacy and politics". Home: The Soul of Lebanon. No. 7. pp. 68–71.
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