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{{short description|Lebanese politician|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Cleanup|date=June 2006}}
{{pp-30-500|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
'''Nabih Berri''' ({{lang-ar|نبيه بري}}; born ], ]) is the speaker of the ] ]. He heads the mostly ] ] ].
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = ]
| name = Nabih Berri
| image = Nabih Berri, Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament - 2024.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Berri in 2024
| office = ]
| president = ]<br>]<br>]<br>]
| predecessor = ]
| successor =
| term_start = 20 October 1992
| term_end =
| office1 = ]
| predecessor2 = ]
| successor2 =
| term_start2 = 1980
| term_end2 =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1938|1|28|df=y}}
| birth_place = ], ]
| party = ]
| alma_mater =
| spouse = Randa Berri
| nationality = ]
| children =
| website = {{URL|http://www.nabihberry.com/}}
| footnotes =
| native_name = {{nobold|نبيه بري}}
| native_name_lang = ar
}}
'''Nabih Mustafa Berri''' ({{langx|ar|نبيه مصطفى برّي|translit=Nabīh Muṣṭafā Barriyy|links=hh}} {{Pronounciation|En-us-Nabih Berri from Lebanon pronunciation (Voice of America).ogg}}; born 28 January 1938) is a Lebanese politician who has been serving as ] of the ] since 1992. He heads the ] and its parliamentary wing, ].<ref>{{cite book|author=Mamoun Fandy|title=(Un)civil war of words: media and politics in the Arab world|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5QfURgCJmekC&pg=PA75|year=2007|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-99393-1|page=75}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Omri Nir|title=Nabih Berri and Lebanese Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H5KxcQAACAAJ|date=15 February 2011|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-230-10535-5}}</ref><ref name="Nabih1">{{cite news|title=Nabih Berry Biography|url=http://lp.gov.lb/admin/uploads/files/CV%20President%20Berry%20En.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503202806/http://lp.gov.lb/admin/uploads/files/CV%20President%20Berry%20En.pdf|archive-date=3 May 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>


==Early life and education==
He was born in ], ] to Lebanese parents. He went to school in ] and ] in southern Lebanon and later studied at the ] and the ] in ]. He obtained a Law degree in ] from the ], where he had served as the student body president. During the ], he joined the ].
He was born in ], ] to ] ] parents on 28 January 1938.<ref name=wofl>{{cite web|title=Nabih Berri|url=http://wars.meskawi.nl/people.html#6|publisher=Wars of Lebanon|access-date=27 January 2013}}</ref> His father, Mustafa Berri, was a trader there.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Dominique Avon|author2=Anaïs-Trissa Khatchadourian|title=Hezbollah. A History of the "Party of God"|date=2012|publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, MA|isbn=9780674067523|page=197|url=https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674067523|doi=10.4159/harvard.9780674067523}}</ref>


Berri went to school in ] and ] in southern ], then continued his education in Bint Jbeil and Jaafariya supplementary schools in southern ] and later studied at the Makassed and the Ecole de la Sagesse in ]. He graduated with a law degree from the ] in 1963, where he had served as the student body president, and became a lawyer at the Court of Appeals.<ref name="Nabih1"/><ref>. Country-data.com. Retrieved on 5 August 2014.</ref>
In the early ] he worked in ] as a lawyer for ]. He also lived in the ]-area from ] to ].{{Fact|date=November 2007}}


==Early career==
He held a series of positions in the ] movement during the ], as a follower of ] ], a Shi'a cleric who disappeared in mysterious circumstances while on a trip to ] in ], and who is thought to have been ordered killed by the president of ] ].
During 1963, Berri was elected as president of the National Union of Lebanese Students,<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411212819/http://whichcame1st.com/Nabih-Berri.htm |date=11 April 2015 }}. Whichcame1st.com. Retrieved on 5 August 2014.</ref> and participated in student and political conferences. During his early career he became a lawyer at the Court of Appeals. In the early 1970s, he worked in Beirut as a ] for several companies.


=== Lebanese Civil War ===
The resignation of ] from his post as leader of Amal resulted in Berri's assumption of full control in April ], and consequently the resignation of most of Amal's earliest members.
In 1980, Berri was elected leader of the ],<ref>. Countrystudies.us. Retrieved on 5 August 2014.</ref> and led the resistance against the Israeli army especially in the south of Lebanon and Beqaa and the most famous battle was the battle of ] in 1982.


Berri agreed to participate in the Salvation Committee, a body set up by President ] following the ]. The committee included ], the ] commander of the ].<ref name="har18feb">{{cite news |last=Harfoush |first=Mohammad |date=18 February 2013 |title=Hezbollah, Part 1: Origins and Challenges |url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/02/hezbollah-beginnings-challenges.html |accessdate=24 March 2013 |newspaper=Al Monitor}}</ref> ] considered Berri's actions "treasonous" and Amal's orientation too secular. In response, Musawi declared Berri a traitor, and broke from Amal to set up his own faction called the ]. The movement's ranks rapidly grew to around 1,000 militants.
He led the ] movement during the fierce fighting of Lebanon's ]. In ], he joined the National Unity government as Minister for Southern Reconstruction, and later, of Justice and of Electrical and Hydraulic Resources, under ] ].


Berri was the key player of the ] of 6 February 1984 with his ally ] leader of the ] against the Lebanese sectarian government of ], where officers and soldiers were called to defect from the Lebanese Army and made ground for the Taif agreement that ended the civil war.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ddc.aub.edu.lb/projects/pspa/conflict-resolution.html|title=AUB: The Lebanese Civil War and the Taif Agreement|access-date=6 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015080935/http://ddc.aub.edu.lb/projects/pspa/conflict-resolution.html|archive-date=15 October 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503202806/http://lp.gov.lb/admin/uploads/files/CV%20President%20Berry%20En.pdf|date=3 May 2014}}</ref>
Berri again served as a ] from ] to ], when he was elected Speaker of the National Assembly on ].


In May 1984 Berri joined the National Unity government as minister of state for South Lebanon and reconstruction under ] ].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Roger Owen|title=The Lebanese Crisis: Fragmentation or Reconciliation?|journal=Third World Quarterly|date=October 1984|volume=6|issue=4|pages=934–949|jstor=3991803|doi=10.1080/01436598408419807}}</ref> He also served as the minister of housing and co-operatives.<ref name="Nabih3">{{cite news|title=Nabih Berry Biography|url=http://lp.gov.lb/admin/uploads/files/CV%20President%20Berry%20En.pdf|work=lp.gov.lb|url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503202806/http://lp.gov.lb/admin/uploads/files/CV%20President%20Berry%20En.pdf|archive-date=3 May 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
He is viewed by most as a puppet of the ]n government, as well as a corrupt politician.<ref name="Middle East Intelligence Bulletin1">{{cite news | title = Dossier:Rafiq Hariri| work = Middle East Intelligence Bulletin| publisher = ] | date= 2001-07 | url = http://www.meib.org/articles/0107_ld1.htm}}</ref><ref name="Middle East Intelligence Bulletin2">{{cite news | title = Dossier:Nabih Berri| work = Middle East Intelligence Bulletin| publisher = ] | date= 2000-12 | url = http://www.meib.org/articles/0012_ld1.htm}} </ref><ref name="Middle East Intelligence Bulletin3">{{cite news | title = The Three Faces of corruption in Lebanon| work = Middle East Intelligence Bulletin| publisher = ] | date= 2001-02 | url = http://www.meib.org/articles/0102_l2.htm}}</ref><ref name="Encyclopaedia of the Orient">{{cite news | title = Nabih Berri| work = Encyclopaedia of the Orient| publisher = ''Encyclopaedia of the Orient'' | date = ] | url = http://lexicorient.com/e.o/berri_n.htm}}</ref><ref name="USA Today">{{cite news | title = Hezbollah's former enemy now its public face| work = USA Today| publisher = ] | date = ] | url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-07-31-mideast-berri_x.htm}}</ref><ref name="michaeltotten.com">{{cite news | title = Berri Crosses Lebanon's Red Line| work = Michael Totten| publisher = ] | date = ] | url = http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001281.html}}</ref>


==Political career==
It is widely believed that Berri has benefited from the large sums of money - over $3 billion - that were invested in the Council of the South, whose head was appointed by Berri. The money was supposed to go to the reconstruction of the Southern province.<ref name="Middle East Intelligence Bulletin1">{{cite news | title = Dossier:Rafiq Hariri| work = Middle East Intelligence Bulletin| publisher = ] | date= 2001-07 | url = http://www.meib.org/articles/0107_ld1.htm}}</ref><ref name="Middle East Intelligence Bulletin2">{{cite news | title = Dossier:Nabih Berri| work = Middle East Intelligence Bulletin| publisher = ] | date= 2000-12 | url = http://www.meib.org/articles/0012_ld1.htm}} </ref><ref name="Middle East Intelligence Bulletin3">{{cite news | title = The Three Faces of corruption in Lebanon| work = Middle East Intelligence Bulletin| publisher = ] | date= 2001-02 | url = http://www.meib.org/articles/0102_l2.htm}}</ref><ref name="Middle East Intelligence Bulletin4">{{cite news | title = Hezbollah: Between Tehran and Damascus| work = Middle East Intelligence Bulletin| publisher = ] | date= 2002-02 | url = http://www.meib.org/articles/0202_l1.htm}}</ref>
Berri served as a cabinet minister from 1984 to 1992:<ref name=Nabih>{{cite news|title=Lebanese Parliament official website|url=http://lp.gov.lb/admin/uploads/files/CV%20President%20Berry%20En.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503202806/http://lp.gov.lb/admin/uploads/files/CV%20President%20Berry%20En.pdf|archive-date=3 May 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* 30 April 1984 to 22 September 1988: Minister of Justice in the government of Rashid Karami.<ref name=user>{{cite web|title=Minister of justice|url=http://people.famouswhy.com/nabih_berri/#6|publisher=FamousWhy}}</ref>
* 25 November 1989 to 24 December 1990: Minister of Hydraulic & Electric Resources in the government of ].
* 25 November 1989 to 24 December 1990: Minister of Housing & Cooperatives in the government of ].
* 16 May 1992 to 31 October 1992: Minister of state in the government of ].<ref name="user"/>

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 ].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Haddad|first=Simon|title=Cultural diversity and sectarian attitudes in postwar Lebanon|journal=Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies|date=April 2002|volume=28|issue=2|pages=291–306|url=http://ipac.kacst.edu.sa/eDoc/2006/159617_1.pdf|access-date=3 July 2012
|doi=10.1080/13691830220124341|s2cid=143827267|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527162504/http://ipac.kacst.edu.sa/eDoc/2006/159617_1.pdf|archive-date=27 May 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

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 has chaired the ].<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503202806/http://lp.gov.lb/admin/uploads/files/CV%20President%20Berry%20En.pdf|date=3 May 2014}}. (PDF) . Retrieved 5 August 2014.</ref>

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 "]" in the parliamentary elections on 7 June 2009. All the members of the Bloc won the elections in 2009.

=== Speaker ===
He was elected Speaker of the parliament of Lebanon for the first time on 20 October 1992 (105 out of 124 votes).<ref name=users>{{cite web|title=Nabih Berri Facts|url=http://www.yourdictionary.com/nabih-berri#6|publisher=YourDictionary, Under Syria's Influence part}}</ref> He was re-elected for a second time on 22 October 1996 (122 out of 126 votes). He was elected to the same post on 17 October 2000 unanimously (124 out of 126 votes), on 28 June 2005 (90 out of 126 votes),<ref>{{cite book|author=Chibli Mallat|title=Lebanon's Cedar Revolution An essay on non-violence and justice|publisher=Mallat|page=122 |url=http://mallat.com/books/Appendix1%20and%202.pdf |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202044246/http://mallat.com/books/Appendix1%20and%202.pdf|archive-date=2 February 2012}}</ref> on 25 June 2009 (90 out of 127 votes),<ref>{{cite news|title=Nabih Berry Biography|url=http://www.nabihberry.com/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B0%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%A9/}}</ref> and on 23 May 2018 (98 out of 128 votes).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/ar/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9/%D9%86%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%87-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%B1%D8%A6%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%A7-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D9%84%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%B3%D8%A9/1154488|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707172409/https://www.aa.com.tr/ar/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9/%D9%86%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%87-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%B1%D8%A6%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%A7-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D9%84%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%B3%D8%A9/1154488|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 July 2018|title=نبيه بري رئيسا للبرلمان اللبناني للمرة السادسة|publisher=Anadolu Agency|language=ar|date=23 May 2018}}</ref> This makes him the longest-serving head of a legislative assembly in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Berri Family |url=https://lebanon.mom-gmr.org/en/owners/individual-owners/detail/owner/owner/show/berri-family/ |access-date=2024-04-03 |website=lebanon.mom-gmr.org |language=en}}</ref>

] (right) meeting with Berri in his office in ]]]
Since 1999, he has chaired the Arab Parliament Committee in charge of disclosing Israeli crimes against Arab civilians. On 3 June 2003, he was elected president of the ] and handed the presidency in ] 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.<ref name="Nabih3"/>

On 9 March 2004, Nabih Berri was elected President of the ] in Dakar-Senegal until 9 March 2006.<ref name="Nabih3"/><ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910060058/http://www.oic-oci.org/oicv2/home/|date=10 September 2015}}</ref>

Nabih Berri was always and is still a major supporter of the dialogue between all Lebanese parties, religions and sects. During the last national dialogue session in May 2014, Speaker Nabih Berri stressed that "power-sharing between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon would not change under any circumstance," adding that he spoke on behalf of the Shia, Sunnis and the Druze.<ref>{{cite news |author=Joseph A. Kechichian |date=6 May 2014 |title=No change in power-sharing formula in Lebanon |url=http://gulfnews.com/news/region/lebanon/no-change-in-power-sharing-formula-in-lebanon-1.1328924}}</ref><ref>. ''Daily Star''. 6 May 2014.</ref> In 2013 and 2014 he supported the UCC, the teachers, public employees, and the armed forces in Lebanon, in their fight to increase their salaries, and has held many meeting with political leaders in an effort to attain his goal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2014/Aug-01/265734-differences-linger-over-salary-scale-ordeal.ashx#axzz3C3NlLCDF|title=Differences linger over salary scale ordeal|work=The Daily Star Newspaper |access-date=7 August 2015}}</ref>

Since 1993, Berri has chaired the Union of Parliamentarians of Lebanese Descent, including 156 members of parliament and senators from 19 countries.<ref name="Nabih3"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/1998/Apr-21/16858-deputies-of-lebanese-origin-say-diaspora-should-be-citizens-too.ashx#axzz33f6SETXG|title=Deputies of Lebanese origin say diaspora should be citizens too|work=The Daily Star|date=21 April 1998|access-date=5 August 2014}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Berri has married twice and he has six children with Lila, his first wife, and four with his second wife, Randa Assi Berri.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/18/world/man-in-the-news-pivotal-figure-in-the-beirut-crisis-nabih-berri.html|title=Man in the News; pivotal figure in the Beirut crisis: Nabih Berri|work=The New York Times|date=18 June 1985}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author1=Gary C. Gambill|author2=Ziad K. Abdelnour|title=Dossier: Rafiq Hariri|journal=Middle East Intelligence Bulletin|date=July 2001|volume=3|issue=7|url=http://www.meforum.org/meib/articles/0107_ld1.htm}}</ref>

==Electoral history==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%; text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2" |Year
! rowspan="2" |Office
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |Party
! colspan="3" |Votes
! rowspan="2" |Result
! rowspan="2" |{{abbr|Ref|Reference}}.
|-
! Total
! %
! {{abbr|P|Position}}.
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" |]
|Speaker
| style="background-color:{{party color|Amal Movement}};" |
|]
|105
|82%
|1st
|Won
|<ref>https://al-akhbar.com/Politics/249040, برّي رئيساً دائماً: استثناءٌ يصنع القاعدة</ref>
|-
|]
|Speaker
| style="background-color:{{party color|Amal Movement}};" |
|]
|122
|95%
|1st
|Won
|
|-
|]
|Speaker
| style="background-color:{{party color|Amal Movement}};" |
|]
|124
|97%
|1st
|Won
|
|-
|]
|Speaker
| style="background-color:{{party color|Amal Movement}};" |
|]
|90
|70%
|1st
|Won
|<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-05-23|title=رجل في الأخبار.. نبيه بري رئيسًا "بحكم العادة" لمجلس النواب اللبناني|url=https://enabbaladi.net/archives/230332|access-date=9 December 2020|website=عنب بلدي|language=ar}}</ref>
|-
|]
|Speaker
| style="background-color:{{party color|Amal Movement}};" |
|]
|90
|70%
|1st
|Won
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=انتخاب بري رئيسا للبرلمان اللبناني للمرة الرابعة|url=https://www.aljazeera.net/news/arabic/2005/6/28/انتخاب-بري-رئيسا-للبرلمان-اللبناني|access-date=9 November 2020|website=www.aljazeera.net|language=ar}}</ref>
|-
|]
|Deputy
| style="background-color:{{party color|Amal Movement}};" |
|]
|42,137
|28.61%
|1st
|Won
|<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=انتخاب بري رئيسا للبرلمان اللبناني للمرة الرابعة |url=https://www.aljazeera.net/news/arabic/2005/6/28/انتخاب-بري-رئيسا-للبرلمان-اللبناني |access-date=9 November 2020 |website=www.aljazeera.net |language=ar}}</ref>
|-
|]
|Speaker
| style="background-color:{{party color|Amal Movement}};" |
|]
|98
|76%
|1st
|Won
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=برلمان 2018: انتخاب بري رئيسا بـ98 صوت وإيلي فرزلي نائبا له |url=http://www.naharnet.com/stories/ar/246531 |access-date=2020-12-25 |website=Naharnet}}</ref>
|-
|]
|Deputy
| style="background-color:{{party color|Amal Movement}};" |
|]
|42,091
|32.57%
|1st
|Won
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=2022 Lebanese Parliamentary Elections: Key Results {{!}} United Nations Development Programme |url=https://www.undp.org/lebanon/publications/2022-lebanese-parliamentary-elections-key-results |access-date=2023-10-02 |website=UNDP |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|]
|Speaker
| style="background-color:{{party color|Amal Movement}};" |
|]
|65
|50.78%
|1st
|Won
|<ref name=":0" />
|}


==References== ==References==
{{Reflist|33em}}
<div class="reflist4" style="height: 220px; padding: 3px" >
<references/>
</div>


==External links== ==External links==
{{Speakers of the Parliament of Lebanon}}
*
*


{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berri, Nabih}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Berri, Nabih}}
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Latest revision as of 21:05, 13 December 2024

Lebanese politician

His ExcellencyNabih Berri
نبيه بري
Berri in 2024
Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon
Incumbent
Assumed office
20 October 1992
PresidentElias Hrawi
Émile Lahoud
Michel Sleiman
Michel Aoun
Preceded byHussein el-Husseini
President of Amal Movement
Incumbent
Assumed office
1980
Preceded byHussein el-Husseini
Personal details
Born (1938-01-28) 28 January 1938 (age 86)
Bo, British Sierra Leone
NationalityLebanese
Political partyAmal Movement
SpouseRanda Berri
Websitewww.nabihberry.com

Nabih Mustafa Berri (Arabic: نبيه مصطفى برّي, romanized: Nabīh Muṣṭafā Barriyy pronunciation; born 28 January 1938) is a Lebanese politician who has been serving as Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon since 1992. He heads the Amal Movement and its parliamentary wing, Development and Liberation Bloc.

Early life and education

He was born in Bo, Sierra Leone to Lebanese Shia parents on 28 January 1938. His father, Mustafa Berri, was a trader there.

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.

Early career

During 1963, Berri was elected as president of the National Union of Lebanese Students, and participated in student and political conferences. During his early career he became a lawyer at the Court of Appeals. In the early 1970s, he worked in Beirut as a lawyer for several companies.

Lebanese Civil War

In 1980, Berri was elected leader of the Amal Movement, and led the resistance against the Israeli army especially in the south of Lebanon and Beqaa and the most famous battle was the battle of Khalde in 1982.

Berri agreed to participate in the Salvation Committee, a body set up by President Elias Sarkis following the Israeli invasion. The committee included Bachir Gemayel, the Maronite commander of the Lebanese Forces. Husayn Al-Musawi considered Berri's actions "treasonous" and Amal's orientation too secular. In response, Musawi declared Berri a traitor, and broke from Amal to set up his own faction called the Islamic Amal. The movement's ranks rapidly grew to around 1,000 militants.

Berri was the key player of the Intifada of 6 February 1984 with his ally Walid Jumblatt leader of the Progressive Socialist Party against the Lebanese sectarian government of Amin Gemayel, where officers and soldiers were called to defect from the Lebanese Army and made ground for the Taif agreement that ended the civil war.

In May 1984 Berri joined the National Unity government as minister of state for South Lebanon and reconstruction under Prime Minister Rashid Karami. He also served as the minister of housing and co-operatives.

Political career

Berri served as a cabinet minister from 1984 to 1992:

  • 30 April 1984 to 22 September 1988: Minister of Justice in the government of Rashid Karami.
  • 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.

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.

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 has chaired the Liberation and Development parliamentary bloc.

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 in 2009.

Speaker

He was elected Speaker of the parliament of Lebanon for the first time on 20 October 1992 (105 out of 124 votes). He was re-elected for a second time on 22 October 1996 (122 out of 126 votes). He was elected to the same post on 17 October 2000 unanimously (124 out of 126 votes), on 28 June 2005 (90 out of 126 votes), on 25 June 2009 (90 out of 127 votes), and on 23 May 2018 (98 out of 128 votes). This makes him the longest-serving head of a legislative assembly in the world.

Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif (right) meeting with Berri in his office in Tehran

Since 1999, he has chaired the Arab Parliament Committee in charge of disclosing 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.

On 9 March 2004, Nabih Berri was elected President of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States in Dakar-Senegal until 9 March 2006.

Nabih Berri was always and is still a major supporter of the dialogue between all Lebanese parties, religions and sects. During the last national dialogue session in May 2014, Speaker Nabih Berri stressed that "power-sharing between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon would not change under any circumstance," adding that he spoke on behalf of the Shia, Sunnis and the Druze. In 2013 and 2014 he supported the UCC, the teachers, public employees, and the armed forces in Lebanon, in their fight to increase their salaries, and has held many meeting with political leaders in an effort to attain his goal.

Since 1993, Berri has chaired the Union of Parliamentarians of Lebanese Descent, including 156 members of parliament and senators from 19 countries.

Personal life

Berri has married twice and he has six children with Lila, his first wife, and four with his second wife, Randa Assi Berri.

Electoral history

Year Office Party Votes Result Ref.
Total % P.
1992 Speaker Amal Movement 105 82% 1st Won
1996 Speaker Amal Movement 122 95% 1st Won
2000 Speaker Amal Movement 124 97% 1st Won
2005 Speaker Amal Movement 90 70% 1st Won
2009 Speaker Amal Movement 90 70% 1st Won
2018 Deputy Amal Movement 42,137 28.61% 1st Won
2018 Speaker Amal Movement 98 76% 1st Won
2022 Deputy Amal Movement 42,091 32.57% 1st Won
2022 Speaker Amal Movement 65 50.78% 1st Won

References

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  21. "نبيه بري رئيسا للبرلمان اللبناني للمرة السادسة" (in Arabic). Anadolu Agency. 23 May 2018. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018.
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  25. Leaders praise Sleiman at final Dialogue session. Daily Star. 6 May 2014.
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External links

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