Charles Habib Malik (sometimes spelled ''Charles Habib Malik''; 11 February 1906 – 28 December 1987; ar, شارل مالك) was a Lebanese academic, diplomat, philosopher, and politician. He served as the Lebanese representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, the President of the

Commission on Human Rights A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

and the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

, a member of the Lebanese Cabinet, a national minister of Education and the Arts, and of Foreign Affairs and Emigration, and

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. He participated in the drafting of the 1948

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...

Birth and education

Born in

Btourram Btourram oBterram Bturan, Beturan (Arabic, بطرام) is a village in Koura District of Lebanon. The population is Greek Orthodox and other confessions. Etymology The known meanings of Btourram are the following: * in Arabic "wind of the roc ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, Malik was the son of Dr. Habib Malik and Dr. Zarifa Karam. Malik was the great-nephew of the renowned author

Farah Antun Farah Antun (Arabic: فرح انطون ), also spelled Farah Antoun (1874–1922), was among the first Lebanese Christians to openly argue for secularism and equality regardless of religious affiliation. He also, though uncommon for his backgroun ...

. Malik was educated at the American Mission School for Boys, now Tripoli Evangelical School for Girls and Boys in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

and the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...

, where he graduated with a degree in mathematics and physics. He moved on to

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

in 1929, where he developed an interest in philosophy, which he proceeded to study at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

(under

Alfred North Whitehead Alfred North Whitehead (15 February 1861 – 30 December 1947) was an English mathematician and philosopher. He is best known as the defining figure of the philosophical school known as process philosophy, which today has found applicat ...

) and in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

, Germany under

Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centur ...

in 1932. His stay in Germany, however, was short-lived. He found the policies of the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

unfavorable, and left soon after they came to power in 1933. In 1937, he received his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in philosophy (based on

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

in the philosophies of Whitehead and Heidegger) from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. He taught there as well as at other universities in the United States. After returning to Lebanon, Malik founded the Philosophy Department at the American University of Beirut, as well as a cultural studies program (the 'civilization sequence program', now 'Civilization Studies Program'). He remained in this capacity until 1945 when he was appointed to be the

Lebanese Ambassador to the United States The Lebanese ambassador in Washington, D. C. is the official representative of the Government in Beirut to the Government of the United States. List of representatives References {{reflist United States Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, ...

and the

In the United Nations

Malik represented Lebanon at the

San Francisco conference The United Nations Conference on International Organization (UNCIO), commonly known as the San Francisco Conference, was a convention of delegates from 50 Allied nations that took place from 25 April 1945 to 26 June 1945 in San Francisco, Calif ...

at which the

was founded. He served as a rapporteur for the

in 1947 and 1948, when he became President of the Economic and Social Council. The same year, he became one of the eight representatives that drafted the

. He competed with Vice-Chairman

P.C. Chang Peng Chun Chang, commonly known as P. C. Chang (; 1892–1957), was a Chinese academic, philosopher, playwright, human rights activist, and diplomat. He was born in Tianjin, China, and died at his home in Nutley, New Jersey. Biography Born in ...

over the intellectual foundations of the declaration, but later conceded to Chang's point of freedom of religion and singled his rival out without mentioning the others, which included chair

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

, during his closing and thanking speech. He succeeded Roosevelt as the Human Rights Commission's Chair. He remained as ambassador to the US and UN until 1955. He was an outspoken participant in debates in the

and often criticized the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. After a three-year absence, he returned in 1958 to preside over the thirteenth session of the

Roles in Lebanon

Meanwhile, Malik had been appointed to the Lebanese Cabinet. He was Minister of National Education and Fine Arts in 1956 and 1957, and

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

from 1956 to 1958. While a Minister, he was elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

in 1957, and served there for three years. Around this time, he was also elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

and the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. Following the outbreak of the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

, which raged from 1975 to 1990, Malik helped to found the Front for Freedom and Man in Lebanon, which he named as such, to defend the Christian cause. It was later renamed the

Lebanese Front The Lebanese Front ( ar, الجبهة اللبنانية, ''al-Jabha al-Lubnaniyya'') or ''Front Libanais'' in French, was a coalition of mainly Lebanese Nationalist parties formed in 1976 by majority Christian intellectuals during the Lebane ...

. A

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 ...

, he was the only non-

Maronite The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the larges ...

among the Front's top leaders, who included Phalangist Party founder

Pierre Gemayel Pierre Amine Gemayel, also spelled Jmayyel, Jemayyel or al-Jumayyil ( ar, بيار الجميّل; 6 November 1905 – 29 August 1984), was a Lebanese political leader. A Maronite Catholic, he is remembered as the founder of the Kataeb Party ...

and former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

and National Liberal Party leader

Camille Chamoun Camille Nimr Chamoun OM, ONC ( ar, كميل نمر شمعون, ''Kamīl Sham'ūn''; 3 April 1900 – 7 August 1987) was a Lebanese politician who served as President of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958. He was one of the country's main Christi ...

. Malik was widely regarded as the brains of the Front, in which the other politicians were the brawn. Malik was also noted as a theologian who successfully reached across confessional lines, appealing to his fellow

Eastern Orthodox 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") ...

Christians,

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and

Evangelicals Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

alike. The author of numerous commentaries on the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

and on the writings of the early

Church Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...

, Malik was one of the few Orthodox theologians of his time to be widely known in Evangelical circles, and the evangelical leader

Bill Bright William R. Bright (October 19, 1921 – July 19, 2003) was an American evangelist. In 1951 at the University of California, Los Angeles he founded Campus Crusade for Christ as a ministry for university students. In 1952 he wrote The Four Spir ...

spoke well of him and quoted him. Partly owing to Malik's ecumenical appeal, as well as to his academic credentials, he served as President of the World Council on Christian Education from 1967 to 1971, and as Vice-President of the

United Bible Societies The United Bible Societies (UBS) is a global fellowship of around 150 Bible Societies operating in more than 240 countries and territories. It has working hubs in England, Singapore, Nairobi and Miami. The headquarters are located in Swindon, Eng ...

from 1966 to 1972. Malik also famously worked alongside fellow Lebanese diplomat and philosopher

Karim Azkoul Karim Azkoul (Arabic: کریم عزقول) was a Lebanese diplomat and philosopher born in Rashaya, then part of the Ottoman Empire on July 15, 1915. His most notable achievements include his participation in the original writing of the Universal ...

. He is related to founder of

postcolonialism Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...

Edward Said Edward Wadie Said (; , ; 1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual, and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies.Robert Young, ''White ...

through marriage. At a UN session in December 1948, Malik described Lebanon as follows:

"The history of my country for centuries is precisely that of a small country struggling against all odds for the maintenance and strengthening of real freedom of thought and conscience. Innumerable persecuted minorities have found, throughout the ages, a most understanding haven in my country, so that the very basis of our existence is complete respect of differences of opinion and belief."

Academic career

Malik returned to his academic career in 1960. He traveled extensively, lectured on human rights and other subjects, and held professorships at a number of American universities including

, the

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

in Washington, DC,

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

(

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

(

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

). In 1981, he was also a Pascal Lecturer at the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. His last official post was with

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

(Washington, DC), where he served as a

Jacques Maritain Jacques Maritain (; 18 November 1882 – 28 April 1973) was a French Catholic philosopher. Raised Protestant, he was agnostic before converting to Catholicism in 1906. An author of more than 60 books, he helped to revive Thomas Aquinas fo ...

Distinguished Professor of Moral and Political Philosophy from 1981 to 1983. He also returned to his old chair in Philosophy at the American University of Beirut (1962 to 1976) and was appointed Dean of Graduate Studies. Malik has been awarded a world record of 50

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

s; the originals are in his archives in Notre Dame University-Louaize, Lebanon.

Death

Malik died of complications due to kidney failure, secondary to atheroembolic disease sustained after a cardiac catheterization, performed at the

Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...

two years earlier, in Beirut on 28 December 1987. His son,

Habib Malik Habib Malik is a retired associate professor of history and cultural studies at the Lebanese American University (LAU). His father Charles Malik was a leading figure in the drafting and adoption of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Li ...

, is a prominent academic (with expertise in the history of ideas, and associate professor in the humanities division at the

Lebanese American University The Lebanese American University (LAU) ( ar, الجامعة اللبنانية الأميركية) is a secular and private American university located in Lebanon. It is chartered by the board of regents of the University of the State of New Y ...

) and also a human rights activist. He was also survived by his brother, the late Father Ramzi Habib Malik, a prominent Catholic priest who worked tirelessly for the cause of Christian reconciliation with the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

people as well as for the belief that the Jewish People are the elder brothers of the Christians. Malik's personal papers are housed in Notre Dame University-Louaize, Lebanon, where 200 of his personal papers and books are stored, and in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

, where his heritage occupies 44 meters of shelves in the special collection area.

Famous quotes

* "The fastest way to change society is to mobilize the women of the world." * "The truth, if you want to hear it bluntly and from the start, is that independence is both a reality and a myth, and that part of its reality is precisely its myth." * "The greatest thing about any civilization is the human person, and the greatest thing about this person is the possibility of his encounter with the person of Jesus Christ." * "You may win every battle, but if you lose the war of ideas, you will have lost the war. You may lose every battle, but if you win the war of ideas, you will have won the war. My deepest fear--and your greatest problem--is that you may not be winning the war of ideas." * "The great moments of the Near East are the judges of the world." * "The university is a clear-cut fulcrum with which to move the world. More potently than by any other means, change the university and you change the world."

Sources

External links

*
Charles Malek's biography in his hometown Bterram website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malik, Charles Permanent Representatives of Lebanon to the United Nations Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly Ambassadors of Lebanon to the United States Ambassadors of Lebanon to Cuba Members of the Parliament of Lebanon Foreign ministers of Lebanon Education ministers of Lebanon Lebanese Front politicians 20th-century Lebanese philosophers Greek Orthodox Christians from Lebanon Eastern Orthodox Christians from Lebanon Eastern Orthodox theologians American University of Beirut alumni Harvard University alumni Harvard University faculty University of Notre Dame faculty Catholic University of America School of Arts and Sciences faculty American University of Beirut faculty American University faculty and staff Dartmouth College faculty 1906 births 1987 deaths University of Waterloo faculty People from Koura District Deaths from kidney failure Lebanese expatriates in the United States Members of the American Philosophical Society

Birth and education

In the United Nations

Roles in Lebanon

Academic career

Death

Further reading

Famous quotes

See also

Sources

External links