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Leila Shahid

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Leila Shahid
ليلى شهيد
Leila Shahid in 2015
General Delegate of Palestine in the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg
In office
2006–2014
Delegate General of Palestine in France
In office
1993–2006
PLO representative in the Netherlands
In office
1990–1993
PLO representative in Ireland
In office
1989–1990
Personal details
Born(1949-07-13)13 July 1949
Beirut, Lebanon
Died18 February 2026(2026-02-18) (aged 76)
Lecques, France
NationalityPalestinian
Parents
RelativesBaha'u'llah
(great-great-grandfather)
Alma materAmerican University of Beirut
Occupation
  • Diplomat
  • anthropologist

Leila Shahid (Arabic: ليلى شهيد; 13 July 1949 – 18 February 2026) was a Palestinian diplomat.[1] She was the first woman ambassador of Palestine, serving the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Ireland in 1989 and the Netherlands in 1990, then serving the Palestinian Authority (PA) in France where she had taken office in Paris in 1993.[2] From 2006 to 2014, she was the General Delegate of Palestine in the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg.[3]

Life and career

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Born in Beirut, Lebanon. Shahid was the daughter of Munib Shahid and Serene Husseini Shahid and was related to the Al-Husayni clan.[4][5][6] Her parents were from Acre and Jerusalem, Israel, but she grew up with her two sisters in exile in Lebanon. After studying anthropology and psychology at the American University of Beirut, Shahid worked in Palestinian camps until 1974 when she began her doctorate in anthropology in Paris, where she met French writer Jean Genet. In 1976, she was elected president of the Union of Palestinian students in France.[7][8]

In September 1982, Shahid and Jean Genet went to Beirut, Jordan. Genet's account was published in La revue d'études palestiniennes (The Review of Palestinian Studies), in an article entitled "Quatre heures à Chatila" (Four Hours at Chatila) which later served as the basis for Catherine Biscovitch's film "Dancing Among the Dead".[9] While working as the Ambassador of Palestine to France, Shahid arranged for the safe storage of artefacts that had been discovered during archaeological investigations in Gaza at sites such as Tell es-Sakan; they had been on display at the Institut du Monde Arabe for an exhibition but could not be returned after the end of the exhibition due to the start of the Second Intifada.[10]

In 2004, Shahid was with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat during his final days.[11]

She was a longtime director of La revue d'études palestiniennes, and continued to serve as a board member until her suicide.[12]

The Russell Tribunal on Palestine was established in March 2009 in response to a call by Shahid, British politician and chairperson of the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation Ken Coates, and Israeli activist Nurit Peled-Elhanan.[13]

Though not a follower of the Baháʼí Faith, Shahid was the great-great-granddaughter of the Baháʼí prophet Baha'u'llah through her father, who was a grandson of Abdu'l-Baha.[14] Her father was excommunicated from the Baháʼí Faith for his opposition to Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1922 to 1957.[15]

Shahid died by suicide in France on 18 February 2026, at the age of 76. She had reportedly been ill for several years.[16][17]

References

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  1. ^ Giblin, Blanc (2016). "Palestine, Arabs and the Arab world. An Interview with Leïla Shahid".
  2. ^ "Questions swirl around Arafat's health". CNN. 30 October 2004. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Leila Shahid leaves her function of Palestinian delegate to Belgium and the EU". Brussels Diplomatic. 14 December 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  4. ^ Leila Shahid The resolve of a Palestinian envoy, Interview by Sophie Boukhari and Amy Otchet, Unesco
  5. ^ Leila Shahid, at the Russell Tribunal on Palestine
  6. ^ Mrs. Leila Shahid Archived 13 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Eurojar
  7. ^ Running-Johnson, Cynthia (2001). ""La Vision Invisible": Feminine Bodies in Jean Genet's "Quatre Heures À Chatila"". Romance Notes. 41 (3): 333–345. ISSN 0035-7995. JSTOR 43802796.
  8. ^ BBC World Service (2012). Leila Shahid – Palestinian Authority Ambassador to the EU (Audio).
  9. ^ "Leila Shahid, Jean Genet and the Position of Sudden Departure". www.mafhoum.com. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  10. ^ Armaly, Fareed (2008). "Crossroads and Contexts: Interviews on Archaeology in Gaza". Journal of Palestine Studies. 37 (2): 53–54. doi:10.1525/jps.2008.37.2.43. ISSN 0377-919X.
  11. ^ "Witness, The Last Days of Yasser Arafat". BBC. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  12. ^ "14th edition – 2019". Panorama des Cinémas du Maghreb et du Moyen-Orient (in French). 27 October 2020. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  13. ^ "The Russell Tribunal on Palestine". CJPME. 15 November 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  14. ^ Aghdasi, Farzin. "The Vision of Shoghi Effendi: A Study" Session 5: Covenant Breakers: in the East, the West, and at the World Center. http://www.bci.org/bahaistudies/courses/shoghi.htm Archive : https://web.archive.org/web/20140221112645/http://www.bci.org/bahaistudies/courses/shoghi.htm
  15. ^ Momen, Moojan. "Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit." p. 290. http://irfancolloquia.org/pdf/lights10_momen.pdf
  16. ^ "First woman envoy for Palestine dies in France: family". France 24. 18 February 2026. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  17. ^ Leïla Shahid, ancienne représentante de la Palestine en France, est morte (in French)
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