Nabih Berri (Arabic: نبيه بري; born 28 January 1938) is the Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon. He heads the Amal Movement.[1][2][3]
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Nabih Berri نبيه بري |
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|---|---|
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| Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon | |
| In office 20 October 1992 – present |
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| President | Elias Hrawi Émile Lahoud Michel Sleiman |
| Preceded by | Hussein el-Husseini |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 January 1938 Bo, Sierra Leone |
| Nationality | Lebanese |
| Political party | Amal Movement |
| Spouse | Randa Berri |
| Website | www.nabihberry.com |
Early life and education
He was born in Bo, Sierra Leone to Lebanese parents on 28 January 1938.[4]
Berri went to school in Tebnine and Ain Ebel in southern Lebanon, then continued his education in Bint Jbeil and Jaafariya supplementary schools in southern Lebanon and later studied at the Makassed and the Ecole de la Sagesse in Beirut. He graduated with a Law degree from the Lebanese University in 1963, where he had served as the student body president, and became a lawyer at the Court of Appeals.[3][5]
Early career
During 1963, Berri was elected as president of the National Union of Lebanese Students,[6] and participated to student and political conferences. During his early career he became a lawyer at the Court of Appeals. In the early 1970s, Berri worked in Beirut as a lawyer for several companies.
In 1980, Berri was elected leader of the Amal Movement,[7] This caused increasing cooperation with the Israelis in the south, which allowed for several officials defect from Amal and found Islamic Amal, which later transformed into Hezbollah.
He was the key player of the sectarian Intifada of 6 February 1984 against the Lebanese government, where Shia officers and soldiers were called to defect from the Lebanese Army.[8]
Berri also joined the National Unity government as minister of state for South Lebanon and reconstruction under Prime Minister Rashid Karami in May 1984.[9] He also served as the minister of housing and co-operatives.[3]
Later political career
Berri served as a cabinet minister from 1984 till 1992:[10]
- 30 April 1984 to 22 September 1988: Minister of Justice in the government of Rashid Karami.[11]
- 25 November 1989 to 24 December 1990: Minister of Hydraulic& Electric Resources in the government of Selim Hoss.
- 25 November 1989 to 24 December 1990: Minister of Housing& Cooperatives in the government of Selim Hoss.
- 16 May 1992 to 31 October 1992: Minister of state in the government of Rachid Solh.[11]
Due to strong Syrian backing and to Berri's proximity to Syrian officials in Lebanon, he was reported to have the biggest influence in the Lebanese government formed after the Taif Accord.[12]
Berri headed the list of "Liberation" in the parliamentary elections that took place in southern Lebanon on 6 September 1992, which was won in full. The other lists he headed were "Liberation and Development" in the parliamentary elections on 8 September 1996, which was won in full. Since 1992 he chairs the Liberation and Development parliamentary bloc.[13]
Berri headed the list of "Resistance and Development" in the parliamentary elections that took place in southern Lebanon on 3 September 2000, which was won in full. He also headed the list of Liberation and Development in the parliamentary elections which took place in June 2005, which was won in full. Currently, Berri heads the list of "Liberation and Development" in the parliamentary elections on 7 June 2009. All the members of the Bloc won the elections on 2009.
Speaker Nabih Berri was always and still a big supporter of the dialogue between all the Lebanese parties, religions and sects, during the last national dialogue session in May 2014, Speaker Nabih Berri has stressed that "power-sharing between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon would not change under any circumstance saying he was speaking on behalf of Shiites, Sunnis and Druze".[14][15]
He was elected Speaker of the parliament of Lebanon for the first time on 20 October 1992 (105 votes out of 124 votes).[16] He was re-elected for a second time on 22 October 1996 (122 votes out of 126 votes). He was elected to the same post three more times on 17 October 2000 unanimously (124 votes out of 126 votes), on 28 June 2005 (90 votes out of 126 votes)[17] and on 25 June 2009 (90 votes out of 127 votes)[10]
Since 1999, he chairs the Arab Parliament Committee in charge of disclosing the Israeli crimes against Arab civilians. On 3 June 2003, he was elected president of the Arab Parliament and handed the presidency in Damascus on 1 March 2004 for a period of two years. He was elected president of the Council of the Parliamentary Union of the Member States.[3]
Nabih Berri was elected President of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States in Dakar-Senegal in 9 March 2004 until 9 March 2006.[3][18]
Since 1993, he chairs the Union of Parliamentarians of Lebanese Descent including 156 members of parliament and senators from 19 countries.[3][19]
Wikileaks diplomatic cables
Berri was mentioned repeatedly in the diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks. A cable from 2004 described the Amal Movement under Berri as being "near universally derided as corrupt to the core",[20] and Berri was described by a relative of Musa al-Sadr as having provided social services in the south only through "wheeling, dealing, and stealing".[21]
During the 2006 Lebanon war, Berri, publicly an ally of Hezbollah, described Israel's attacks on Hezbollah to US Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman as being "like honey", and hoped that Israel would complete its mission against Hezbollah quickly. He suggested that the IDF "markedly improve its targeting intelligence to make air strikes more effective. Either that, or they would have to wipe Hizballah out of the south with a ground offensive." He also suggested that "if Israel succeeds in weakening Hizballah militarily, then he will be more willing to weaken them politically".[22]
According the cables, Berri receives USD 400,000 a month from Iran, using a fourth of the sum to shore up his support and pocketing the rest.[23]
Corruption
During his tenure as speaker of the Lebanese parliament, Berri is estimated to have gathered a fortune of over USD 2 Billion.[24]
Among the earliest examples of Berri's corruption early in his tenure as speaker of parliament was a coastal motorway in southern Lebanon which was overpriced by three digit million USD sum, and whose contract was won by a firm run by Berri's wife, Randa Assi.[25][26]
He was considered by Rafik Hariri to be "irredeemably corrupt and unreliable", as well as an opportunist,[27] and is thought to maintain his support base through access to state funds.
Berri's current wife Randa's sister, Samira Assi, is said to have made a fortune by getting a contract from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to print one million copies of Gaddafi's "Green Book".[28] Assi's deals are seen as highly controversial, since the founder of the Amal Movement, Musa al-Sadr, is known to have been disappeared on the orders of Gaddafi himself.
Personal life
Nabih berri is married to Randa Assi Berri.[29]
References
- ^ Fandy, Mamoun (2007). (Un)civil war of words: media and politics in the Arab world. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-275-99393-1. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ^ Nir, Omri (15 February 2011). Nabih Berri and Lebanese Politics. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-10535-5. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f "Nabih Berry Biography" (PDF). Cite error: The named reference "Nabih1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Nabih Berri". Wars of Lebanon. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
- ^ official website of the Lebanese parliament. Country-data.com. Retrieved on 5 August 2014.
- ^ Nabih Mustafa Berri biography. Whichcame1st.com. Retrieved on 5 August 2014.
- ^ Amal. Countrystudies.us. Retrieved on 5 August 2014.
- ^ Daily star newspaper. Dailystar.com.lb. Retrieved on 5 August 2014.
- ^ Owen, Roger (October 1984). "The Lebanese Crisis: Fragmentation or Reconciliation?". Third World Quarterly. 6 (4): 934–949. doi:10.1080/01436598408419807. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
- ^ a b "Lebanese Parliament official website" (PDF). Cite error: The named reference "Nabih" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b "Minister of justice". FamousWhy.
- ^ Haddad, Simon (April 2002). "Cultural diversity and sectarian attitudes in postwar Lebanon" (PDF). Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 28 (2): 291–306. doi:10.1080/13691830220124341. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ^ Official Lebanese parliament website. (PDF) . Retrieved on 5 August 2014.
- ^ Kechichian, Joseph A. (6 May 2014). "No change in power-sharing formula in Lebanon".
- ^ Leaders praise Sleiman at final Dialogue session. Dailystar.com.lb. 6 May 2014.
- ^ "Nabih Berri Facts". YourDictionary, Under Syria's Influence part.
- ^ Mallat, Chibli. Lebanon's Cedar Revolution An essay on non-violence and justice (PDF). Mallat. p. 122.
- ^ OIC official website
- ^ the daily star. the daily star (21 April 1998). Retrieved on 5 August 2014.
- ^ Lebanon: What's wrong with AMAL?
- ^ The "independent Shia" of Lebanon: What Wikileaks tells us about American efforts to find an alternative to Hizballah
- ^ Berri says cease-fire necessary eventually, but for now, Israeli strikes are lile honey
- ^ Amal-Hizballah Marriage Weakening Amal But May Open A Way For Other Shia
- ^ "06Beirut1090". Wikileaks. 7 April 2006. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
- ^ Johnson, Michael (2001). All Honorable Men: The Social Origins Of War In Lebanon, p.236
- ^ Schwerna, Tobias (2010). Lebanon: A Model of Consociational Conflict, p.128
- ^ Blanford, Nicholas (2006). Killing Mr. Lebanon: The Assasination of Rafik Hariri and Its Impact on the Middle East, p. 118
- ^ Nabih Berri profile - Middle East Intelligence Bulletin
- ^ Gambill, Gary C.; Ziad K. Abdelnour (July 2001). "Dossier: Rafiq Hariri". Middle East Intelligence Bulletin. 3 (7). Retrieved 17 March 2013.