Nayla Tueni Maktabi ( ar, نايلة تويني مكتبي) (born 31 August 1982) is a Lebanese journalist and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. She was a member of the Lebanese Parliament for almost ten years (2009–2018), representing the district of Achrafieh. Tueni is the CEO of one of Lebanon's most famous newspapers, ''

An-Nahar ''An-Nahar'' ( ar, النهار, lit=The Day or The Morning) is a leading Arabic-language daily newspaper published in Lebanon. In the 1980s, ''An-Nahar'' was described by the ''New York Times'' and ''Time Magazine'' as the newspaper of record ...

''. Tueni is a fourth generation

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. ''An Nahar'' was established by her great-grandfather,

Gebran Tueni Gebran Ghassan Tueni ( ar, جبران تويني; 15 September 1957 – 12 December 2005) was a Lebanese politician and the former editor and publisher of daily paper ''An Nahar'', established by his grandfather, also named Gebran Tueni, i ...

, in 1933. Her grandfather,

Ghassan Tueni Ghassan Tueni ( ar, غسان تويني‎; 5 January 1926 – 8 June 2012) was a veteran Lebanese journalist, politician and diplomat who headed ''An Nahar'', one of the Arab World's leading newspapers. He was often referred to as the "Dean ...

, ran the newspaper for decades. She is heiress along with her siblings to the newspaper dynasty and currently a member of the Board and the Deputy General Manager of ''An Nahar''. She is also a board trustee of the Mentor Arabia, a non-governmental regional organization that promotes drug prevention and raises awareness on various issues among Arab youth.

Early life

Nayla Tueni was born in

Achrafieh Achrafieh ( ar, الأشرفية) is an upper-class area in eastern Beirut, Lebanon. In strictly administrative terms, the name refers to a sector (''secteur'') centred on Sassine Square, the highest point in the city, as well as a broader quarter ...

on 31 August 1982. Her family is a prominent

Eastern Orthodox Christian Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

clan in Lebanon. She pursued her primary education at Collège Louise Wegman and went to high school at Collège Notre-Dame de Nazareth in

. In 2005, she obtained a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from the

Lebanese University The Lebanese University (LU) (, ) is the only public university in Beirut, Lebanon. It is ranked #701–750 worldwide in terms of education. The creation of the Lebanese University was an idea first mentioned in the speech of the former Minist ...

. Then she received a master's degree from the Jean Monet Faculty in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. In 2003, she worked as a trainee for ''An Nahar'' and then wrote in the Education and Youth section of the newspaper.

Political views and March 14 alliance

Nayla Tueni is a

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

Greek Orthodox Christian The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...

. At the time of her political campaign, she stood for belief in

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

preservation, as well as her stance against

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

, brought her the support of conservative Christians of the Lebanese Forces and

Kataeb The Kataeb Party ( ar, حزب الكتائب اللبنانية '), also known in English as the Phalanges, is a Christian political party in Lebanon. The party played a major role in the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990). In decline in the la ...

party. However, she is also an advocate for secular reforms in the Lebanese sectarian system. In a report broadcast by

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

about the power struggle of Lebanon's Christian clans, Tueni stated in Arabic: "The current system means I only represent my sect. I would rather represent my country and not my sect and hope that one day Lebanese politics will not be based on sect". Among the 48 points she has listed in her political platform are her opposition to the foreign occupation of Lebanon by

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, the support of a free democratic Lebanon and political pluralism. She also wishes to see Lebanon remain aside from regional tensions and conflicts, which have turned it into a battlefield for the wars others fight against each other. Tueni also wants to see Lebanese prisoners released from Syrian jails. She supports the securing of borders to prevent arms smuggling, and equal rights for Lebanese women, from voting to participating in the Army.

Post 2009 period

Prior to the election Nayla Tueni made a promise to the Lebanese Forces (LF) block that she would join their bloc. However, she has yet to make this concession, meaning so far LF currently do not have a representative in their heartland of Achrafieh. After the election in August 2009, Nayla married the Lebanese television presenter of the LBC program ''Ahmar bel Khat al-Arid'',

Malek Maktabi Malek Maktabi (or Malik Maktaby, ar, مالك مكتبي, born in Beirut on 10 November 1981) is a Lebanese television presenter who is known for hosting '' Ahmar Bil Khatt Al Aarid'' (Red in Boldface), a weekly talk show about social and hu ...

in a civil ceremony in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

, since Lebanon does not recognize civil marriage within Lebanese territory. Tueni is an Orthodox Christian and Maktabi is a

Shiite Muslim Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most n ...

. Reactions to the pairing were mixed as

interfaith marriage Interfaith marriage, sometimes called a "mixed marriage", is marriage between spouses professing different religions. Although interfaith marriages are often established as civil marriages, in some instances they may be established as a religiou ...

is still unpopular among many Lebanese, due to sectarian tensions still apparent in Lebanese society. In April 2010, she gave birth to a baby boy Gebran Malek Maktabi. Their second son Sharif was born in 2013, followed by their first daughter Nour in 2015.

References

External links

* Tueni, Nayla.
How Lebanon has become immoral
" (Opinion) ''

Al Arabiya Arabiya ( ar, العربية, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is an international Arabic news television channel, currently based in Dubai, that is operated by the media conglomerate MBC. The channel is a flag ...

''. Wednesday, 25 December 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tueni, Nayla 1982 births Living people Lebanese University alumni Lebanese journalists Lebanese newspaper publishers (people) Politicians from Beirut Members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch Greek Orthodox Christians from Lebanon Lebanese socialites Lebanese activists Lebanese secularists 21st-century Lebanese women politicians 21st-century Lebanese politicians Members of the Parliament of Lebanon Lebanese businesswomen Nayla