Michel Moawad

https://www.mtv.com.lb/en/Programs/Bi_Mawdouiyeh/2018/videos

Shortly after, Moawad ran as a candidate for the 2009 parliamentary elections on behalf of the coalition, attaining 47% of the vote in the Zgharta – Zawye district. The Parliamentary Elections were postponed 3 times, over this course Moawad underwent various attempts to politically encircle him in the hope to limit his growing public influence, which were finally represented in the 2018 Elections where Moawad came in 2nd in Zgharta District and his party, the Independence Movement, cemented itself as the 4th largest power in the North 3 electoral sector (which includes Zgharta, Koura, Beshari and Batroun).

Moawad was an active participant of the 2005 Cedar Revolution as well as key precursor movements, including the Qornet Shehwan Gathering and Bristol Gathering and member of the March 14 Alliance leadership.

Moawad is the founder and president of the Independence Movement, launched in 2005.

Moawad was a founding member of the Bristol Gathering in 2005, the largest multi-sectarian opposition bloc in the history of Lebanon at the time, formed following the illegal extension of former Lebanese President Emile Lahoud’s term imposed by the Syrian government. Key founding political groups included the Kornet Chehwan Gathering, the Free Patriotic Movement, the Progressive Socialist Party, and the Future Movement.

Following the 2005 Cedar Revolution, Moawad joined the leadership of the March 14 coalition, participated in the Doha Conference of May 2008, that came as a result of the May 7 events that saw Hezbollah militarily invade the capital and parts of the Chouf area. The conference produced the Doha Accord to end an 18-month-long political crisis.

Moawad was actively involved in several key movements that paved the way towards the Cedar Revolution. He was a founding member of the Qornet Shehwan Gathering. This political opposition grouping formed in 2001 was the primary opposition force to Syrian hegemony in Lebanon affiliated with the Maronite Church, advocating Syrian withdrawal, full Lebanese independence and sovereignty, as well as the implementation of the Taif Accord of 1989.

Moawad married Marielle Kosremelli in 2000. They have four children together, Nayla, Rene loute, Yara and Malek.

Moawad's civic involvement began in 1997, co-leading a campaign named "Baladi, Baladati, Baladiyati" calling for municipal elections that had been suspended in Lebanon since 1964. A circulated petition gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures, in conjunction with events held across the country. The campaign succeeded in pressuring for local elections, held for the first time in 35 years in June 1998.

In 1993, Moawad participated in founding the René Moawad Foundation – USA based in Washington DC, financing development programs in Lebanon. Annual fundraising initiatives gather high-profile members of the Lebanese diaspora and key American figures.

His mother Nayla Moawad went on to play a central role in championing women civic and political empowerment. She took on his father's position in the National Assembly and was then re-elected to that position in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2005. She then served as the Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs from 2005 until 2008. She is known for her opposition to Syrian hegemony as well as championing democratic values, civic liberties, woman empowerment, and human rights.

Moawad attended the school at the College Notre-Dame de Jamhour in Lebanon, graduating from the French Baccalaureate program with honors in 1990.

In 1990, he cofounded the René Moawad Foundation and continues to act as executive director. The non-profit and non-governmental organization, named after his father, advocates a society built on democratic values, social justice, and national unity. The foundation is currently one of the most prominent Lebanese NGOs in agricultural, social, and economic development, including education, health care, and building individual and institutional capacities.

Michel Moawad (Arabic:ميشال معوض) is a Member of the Lebanese Parliament. He is a member of "Strong Lebanon" parliamentary bloc, elected in May 2018 on behalf of Zgharta District in the North 3 Electoral sector. Founder and president of the Independence Movement, member of the March 14 Coalition leadership, active participant of the 2005 Cedar Revolution as well as key precursor movements, and son of former Lebanese President René Moawad, assassinated on the November 22nd 1989. Founding member and executive director of the René Moawad Foundation, and member of the Maronite Foundation in the World. Civic involvement further includes supporting employment and entrepreneurship in via initiatives such as FORAS: Fostering Entrepreneurship and Employment in North Lebanon and BIAT (Business Incubation Association in Tripoli), as well as several social initiatives to protect and ameliorate the conditions of underprivileged populations in Lebanon.

He is the son of former Lebanese President René Moawad, who was assassinated on November 22, 1989.

Moawad's political involvement carries on his family's legacy. His father René Moawad was the first Lebanese president elected following the Taif Accord of 1989 that ended the Lebanese civil war. His presidency only lasted 17 days. He was murdered on Lebanese Independence Day, November 22, 1989. His assassination is widely believed to have been perpetrated by the Syrian government, however, no formal investigation has been undertaken until present. His assassination was a detrimental blow to national reconciliation, Lebanese sovereignty, and ushered in a 15-year Syrian hegemony.

Moawad was born on June 4, 1972 in Lebanon. He comes from a notable Maronite family from Zgharta in northern Lebanon.