Nayla Moawad - Parliamentary Career

Parliamentary Career

As a member of the National Assembly, Moawad represents the Zgharta-Tripoli constituency in northern Lebanon. She has served on numerous parliamentary committees, specializing in such diverse fields as finance, children's rights, and education. She has campaigned strongly for women's and children's rights, and has opposed political corruption. She is a prominent member of the Qornet Shehwan Gathering, a coalition of Christian parliamentarians which opposed the Syrian military presence in Lebanon and continues to campaign for the building of a modern, democratic nation state. She is also a member of the Democratic Forum, a coalition comprising both Christian and Muslim parliamentarians opposed to the Pro-Syrian regime. She has also been affiliated with the National Front, a multi-sectarian parliamentary block working for political reforms. In the general election held in May–June 2005, she retained her seat.

In 2004, Moawad announced her candidacy for the presidency in elections scheduled to be held that year. These were postponed, however, until 2007.

Moawad lives in Hazmieh

Moawad's son, Michel, founded a new political party in 2006 called Independence Movement. The movement is part of the anti-Syrian Qornet Shehwan Gathering and the March 14 Alliance. In the 2005–2009 it had 3 Maronite Christian MPs for the Zgharta District in the Lebanese Parliament, Nayla Moawad, Jawad Simon BOULOS and Samir Frangieh. Since 2009, the party has been led by Michel René Moawad, Jawad Simon Boulos and Youssef Bahaa El Douaihy.

In the 2009 Lebanese Parliamentary elections, Moawad decided not to run for a seat in her district. She instead encouraged and supported the election of her son Michel Rene Moawad. He and the Independence Movement's other two candidates in the district lost to their opponent Sleiman Frangieh and his coalition. Nayla Moawad still remains a strong anti-Syrian lobbyist and is still a member of the 14th of March Movement.