Famous Personalities of Lebanese Decent

[Libaax-Sankataabte]

President of Ecuador

Prime Minister of Jamaica

President of Columbia

 

 

[edit] Politicians of Lebanese Descent

Spencer Abraham - U.S Senator from Michigan (1995-2001), US Secretary of Energy (2001-2005)

Anthony Alexander Alam - political leader, member of the Australian Labor Party

Ralph Nader - political leader of the American Green Party

John Baldacci - U.S. Representative from Maine (1995-2003), Governor of Maine (2003- )

Marie Bashir - Governor of New South Wales, Australia (2001-)

Steve Bracks - Premier of Victoria, Australia (1999-)

Abdalá Bucaram - President of Ecuador (1996-1997)

Assid Corban - former Mayor of Henderson Borough and of Waitakere City, New Zealand.

Najeeb Halaby, U.S. government official and father of Jordan's Queen Noor

Darrell Issa, U.S. Representative from California

Bob Katter - right-wing Australian politician

Assad Kotaite - ICAO Council President (1976-)

Ray LaHood - U.S. Representative from Illinois (1995- ), grandson of Lebanese immigrants

George J. Mitchell - Former U.S. Senator from Maine (1980-1995) & peace activist (Lebanese mother)

Jamil Mahuad - President of Ecuador (1998-2000)

Paulo Maluf - mayor & governor of São Paulo

Maria Mourani - Bloc Québécois Member of Parliament Canada.

Jeanine Pirro - District Attorney, Westchester County, New York(1993-), Candidate for New York state Attorney General.

Edward Seaga - Prime Minister of Jamaica (1980-1989)

Donna Shalala - US Secretary of Health (1993-2001)

John E. Sununu- U.S. Senator from New Hampshire (2003- )

John H. Sununu - White House Chief of Staff (1989-1991)

Julio César Turbay Ayala - President of Colombia (1978-1982)

Eliott Tanos Sakr- leader of the Kataeb's youth movement

 

[edit] Activists

Bahia Hariri - politician & UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

Giorgio-Guy Tarraf - (1988 - ) UNESCO Youth Ambassador for the Culture of Peace.

Candy Lightner - founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Charles Malik - (1906 - 1987) - diplomat, philosopher, co-drafter of Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Ralph Nader - consumer rights activist & US presidential candidate.

Joseph Raya - archbishop and civil rights activist.

James Zogby - founder of Arab-American Institute, brother of John Zogby, son of Lebanese immigrants.

 

[edit] Military

Michel Sulaiman - General of the military of Lebanon

Hisham Jaber - Former Commander of Beirut

John Abizaid - US general, CENTCOM Commander

James Jabara - US fighter pilot, world's first jet-vs-jet ace and 2nd-highest ace of the Korean War

George Joulwan - US general, SACEUR

 

[edit] Cultural figures

 

[edit] Film, Television, and Radio Personalities

Lili Estefan, Cuban American television hostess, (niece of Emilio Estefan; Lebanese ancestry)

Jamie Farr actor of M*A*S*H fame

Salma Hayek, Mexican actress (Lebanese father and Mexican mother)

Keanu Reeves, Lebanese-born (English, Irish, Chinese, Hawaiian and Portuguese background)

Diane Rehm - host and executive producer of "The Diane Rehm Show"

Fouad Said - cinematographer (Inventor of the Cinemobile)

James Stacy - actor (Laramie)

Khrystyne Haje, actress

Arsinée Khanjian, actress (Lebanese-born, Armenian ethnicity)

Tom Shadyac, director

Nadia Behette, Miss New York 2003 (Lebanese mother, Syrian father)

Mahmoud Baghdadi, fought Muhammed Ali and got crippled.

Gaston Chikhani, actor and comedian, co-founder of "Le théatre de 10 heures" Beirut

Jean-Pierre Chikhani, actor and comedian "Le théatre de 10 heures" Beirut, founder of the first out-door advertising in Lebanon

Michel Chikhani, actor and comedian "Le théatre de 10 heures" Beirut

Tony Shalhoub, television and film actor; presently stars in "Monk"

Danny Thomas, nightclub comedian and television actor

Casey Kasem, television personality of Druze Lebanese Descent

[[Mario Kassar], Movie producer

Catalina Prince, Model "Ford Supermodel of Lebanon 1996"

 

 

[edit] Musicians of Lebanese Descent

Shakira, Colombian pop singer, born Shakira Mebarak Chedid (Lebanese father from Zahle, Colombian mother of Catalan descent)

Soraya, American-Colombian-Lebanese singer/songwriter (Lebanese mother)

Tiffany, American pop singer, first teen singer to have her first two singles both hit number one (Lebanese/Syrian father, Irish/Cherokee mother)

Gabriel Yared, composer

Matthieu Chedid, Lebanese-French rock/blues songwriter and singer

Frank Zappa

Herbert Khaury (Tiny Tim), singer, ukulele player (Lebanese father)

K-Maro, French singer (Lebanese-born)

Emilio Estefan, Cuban musician/producer (Lebanese parents)

Sammy Hagar, former lead vocalist for the rock band Van Halen

Dick Dale, surf guitarist (Lebanese father, Polish mother)

Nawal Zoughbi, pop singer

Joe Fuad Najar - JFN Rapper and Producer

Nicolas (musician)

eliott sakr Rapper

Amanda Abizaid Lebanese-American singer / songwriter

 

[edit] Athletes

Rony Seikaly, Lebanese American, Former NBA basketball player

Bill George - NFL Hall of Famer

Doug Flutie - NFL player

Samir Bannout - Mr Olympia 1983

George Farah - 19th Mr Olympia 2002

Brian Habib - former NFL player

Fuad Reveiz - former NFL player

Jeff George - former NFL player

Abe Gibran - former NFL player and coach

Rich Kotite - former NFL coach

Joe Lahoud - former MLB player

John Jaha - former MLB player

Jim Baxis - former MLB player

Fred Maalouf - former NFL player

Hazem El Masri - NRL player

Steve Kerr - former NBA Star (Lebanese-born)

Zuhair Mansour - Weightlifting's Grandmaster of the World (1990)

Bobby Rahal - Winner of the Indianapolis 500

Victor Taweel - former lightweight boxing champion

Pete Sarron - former featherweight boxing champion

Maloof Brothers - Owners of the Sacramento Kings (NBA)

George Maloof - former owner of the Houston Rockets (NBA)

Joe Robbie - former owner of the Miami Dolphins (NFL)

Kerbawy family - former owners of the Detroit Lions (NFL)

Fred Saigh - former owner of the St. Louis Cardinals (MLB)

Frank Skaff - former manager of the Detroit Tigers (MLB)

Victor Taweel - former lightweight boxing champion

Pete Sarron - former featherweight boxing champion

Eddie Elias - Founder of the Bowling Association of America

Elias Ghanem - Head of the Las Vegas Boxing Association

Elie Yahchouchi- former head basketball committe of the Sagesse club(3 times Asian Champion)

 

[edit] Writers & Journalists

Ahmad Reda - linguist, wrote Matn al-lugha dictionary

Muhammad Jaber, writer and historian

Edward Atiyah, writer

Gibran Khalil Gibran - poet and writer, "The Prophet"

Salim El Lawzeh - Founder of Al Hawadeth Magazine - Allegedly was assassinated by Syria

Said Akl - writer, poet, philosopher

Rabih Alameddine - painter, novelist

William Peter Blatty - writer, "The Exorcist"

Andree Chedid - poet

Neal Conan - radio journalist (lebanese-born)

Elias Khoury - novelist

Philip Khuri Hitti

Samir Kassir - assassinated journalist of An-Nahar newspaper and writer

Amin Maalouf - writer, Prix Goncourt (1993)

Ann-Marie MacDonald - writer (Lebanese mother)

David Malouf - famous Australian homosexual author (Lebanese father, English-Sephardic Jewish mother of Portuguese descent)

Gebran Tueni - Former editor and publisher of An-Nahar newspaper - Legislator, allegedly assassinated by Syria

Ghassan Tueni - father of Gebran Tueni and editor in chief of An-Nahar newspaper, legislator

May Chidiac - A pillar in Lebanese Journalism - She was nearly killed by an alleged assassination attempt by Syria

Nadia Tueni - poet

George Zahar - publisher & editor (Lebanese father)

Issa Makhlouf - poet

Mikhael Neame - writer

Maroun Abboud - writer

Nidal Achkar - poetess

Tarek Hijazi - Managing Editor of The Middle East's first and best selling western entertainment magazine - Teen World Magazine -

 

[edit] Artists

Reem Acra - fashion designer

Annabel Daou - painter

Sam Maloof - woodworker

Joseph Matar - Artist painter and poet

Zuhair Mrad - fashion designer

Elie Saab - fashion designer

Tarek Yamout - nail and yarn art

Paul Zgheib - Photographer

Bill Schiffbauer -Designer (Lebanese Mother, German/Irish Father)

Clemence Massaad Musa - Journalist and author

 

[edit] Practical figures

 

[edit] Scientists

Hassan Kamel Al-Sabbah - electrical engineer

Michael Atiyah - mathematician, Fields Medal (1966), Abel Prize (2004) (Lebanese father)

Abdulrahim N. Chafi- Dr. Chafi is a Chemist and Civil/Environmental engineer. President of Dar Science and Engineering.

Elias J. Corey - chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1990)

Charles Elachi - director of Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA

Peter Medawar - immunologist, Nobel Prize in Medicine (1960) (Lebanese father)

Alain Chikhani - one of the most famous plastic surgeon (Johns Hopkins Hospital, USA)

 

[edit] Entrepreneurs

Robert Abboud - ex-chairman of First Chicago, brother of Joseph Abboud

Assid Corban - winemaker, founder of Corbans

Carlos Ghosn - CEO of Nissan and Renault

Joseph Maroun Haggar - founder of Haggar Clothing Company

Sam Hammam - owner of Cardiff City F.C.

Rafik Hariri - Ex-prime minister-businessman assassinated 14 February 2005

Nicolas Hayek - the 'father of Swatch'

Carlos Slim Helu - Latin America's richest man and 3rd richest in the world

Mario Kassar - co-founder of Carolco Pictures (Lebanese father, Italian mother)

Jacques Nasser - ex-CEO of Ford Motors

Paul Orfalea - founder of Kinko's

Edmond Safra - founder of Republic Bank of New York and Banco Safra in Brazil (Jewish Lebanese)

Elie Samaha - chairman/CEO of Franchise Pictures

Oussama Ziade - founder of Ptech

Al-Waleed bin Talal - Lebanese mother, Grandson of Prime Minister Riad El Solh

Johnny R.Saade - Lebanese businessman, founder of CMA-CGM, 3rd container shipping company in the world.

Khalil Ghattas- Lebanese business man, Founder of GAT oil

 

[edit] Other

Christa McAuliffe - American high school teacher and astronaut on the Challenger Disaster

John Zogby, American political pollster, brother of James Zogby, son of Lebanese immigrants

Richard Hibey, American attorney in Washington, DC, brother of Jim Hibey, son of Anthony "Ezhiyah" Hibey

Jim Hibey, American attorney in Washington, DC

Patrick Joseph "PJ" Hasham, a fictional character in the long running Australian drama series Blue Heelers was of Lebanese descent.

Chadillac - The 'G' out of Lala

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Lebanese_people

[Som@li]

Lebanese people are everywhere, In africa, Latin America, Oceania, North America, Europe, u name it, they migrated to all these countries 100 years ago, and Somalis will similar effect in 50 years.

[Allamagan]

^^^ the difference is that somalis are muslims whereas the lebanese case most of them are christians, thus xa*rka waay la qasan karaan cidaay rabaan.

[Suldaanka]

I heard the Argantine footballer Batistuta (spelling?) has Lebonese blood.

[Rahima]

So is the premier of my home state Victoria, Steve Bracks (who i will be voting for in a few hours ).

[asha aviv]

o sick i neva knew dat....

somalis already did migrate everywhere

 

dey live in saudi,eritrea,netherland,japan,

malaysia,israel,syria,egypt,russia,china,

panama,mexico

[Intel]

Rahima free public transport not enough to merit your vote?

[Suldaanka]

So is the premier of my home state Victoria, Steve Bracks (who i will be voting for in a few hours ).

 

He is back!

 

 

Rahima free public transport not enough to merit your vote?

That is a very desperate policy designed to lure for unsuspecting working-class voters (The Libs are for the rich and well off... you gotta wonder when did the rich and the well off ever cared for public transportation?). Those Libs are "kiss-up kick-down" sort. Don't trust them.

[Intel]

such an unattainable promises Suldaank.... they seem work for Johnny not this poor bloke

i reckon the majority of the public want ALP in Canberra...wish they get a suitable leader tho

[Suldaanka]

^^ Howard is a political animal - he fights over like all his political career depends on it on any issue whether small or large. I don't think the ALP has any chance as long as he is in the helm of the Liberals.

[Johnny B]

It is a tempting comparation , but Somalis who immagirated are not of the clibre of the lebanease.

[Rahima]

Rahima free public transport not enough to merit your vote?

Not really since I don’t use public transport .

 

Anyhow I’m glad that Bracks is back, Baillieu is creepy and a Liberal (like that wasn't bad enough already).