Lebanese journalist Ghassan Tueni dead at 86

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 24 June 2012

Ghassan Tueni, a prominent Lebanese journalist and politician, has died at the age of 86. He led An-Nahar newspaper and served multiple roles in government.

Summary

BEIRUT -- Ghassan Tueni, a Lebanese journalist and politician who headed one of the Arab world's leading newspapers, An-Nahar, has died. He was 86. Tueni's family and newspaper said he died early Friday at the American University of Beirut hospital, where he spent his last weeks. Tueni took over the newspaper founded by his father, serving as An-Nahar's editor-in-chief and publisher from 1948-1999, resuming his post in 2003, according to a AUB biography. He served several terms in parliament and as head of several ministries. He was Lebanon's ambassador to the U.N. between 1977 and 1982 at the height of the Lebanese civil war. His son, Gebran Tueni, also a journalist, was killed by a car bomb in Beirut in 2005. Tueni is survived by his wife, Shadia el-Khazen, and four granddaughters.

KEY POINTS:

• Tueni was the editor-in-chief of An-Nahar from 1948-1999 and again in 2003.
• He was Lebanon's ambassador to the U.N. during the civil war from 1977 to 1982.
• Tueni's son, Gebran Tueni, was assassinated in 2005.
• He is survived by his wife and four granddaughters.
• His contributions shaped modern Lebanese journalism and politics.