Kamal Jumblatt - Early Life and Education

Early Life and Education

Kamal Jumblatt was born on 6 December 1917 in Moukhtara, in the Chouf area of Lebanon. He was born into the prestigious Jumblatt family, who were traditional leaders of the Lebanese Druze community. The origin of the Jumblatt family is the Kurdish Janpoulad family coming from Shamel Janpoulade and dating back to Janboulad Ibn Kassem al Kirdi al Kaisari, known as Ibn Arabou (1530–1580), and governor of Aleppo. His father, the powerful Druze chieftain Fouad Joumblatt, director of the Chouf District, was assassinated on August 6, 1921. After his father’s death, Kamal Jumblatt’s mother Nazira played a significant political role in the Druze community for over a quarter of a century.

In 1926, Kamal Jumblatt joined the Lazarus Fathers Institute in Aintoura, where he completed his elementary studies in 1928. He achieved his high school diploma, having studied French, Arabic, science and literature, in 1936, and a philosophy diploma in 1937.

Jumblatt then pursued higher studies in France, where he attended the Faculty of Arts at the Sorbonne University and obtained a degree in psychology and civil education, and another one in sociology. He returned to Lebanon in 1939, after the outbreak of World War II and continued his studies at Saint Joseph University where he obtained a law degree in 1945.