Nabih Berri
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{{Politics of Lebanon}}
'''Nabih Berri''' ({{lang-ar|نبيه بري}}; born [[January 28]], [[1938]]) is the [[List of Speakers of the Parliament of Lebanon|Speaker]] of the [[Parliament of Lebanon]]. He heads the mostly [[Shi'a]] [[Amal Movement|Amal]] [[List of political parties in Lebanon|Movement]].
He was born in [[Bo, Sierra Leone|Bo]], [[Sierra Leone]] to Lebanese parents. He went to school in [[Tebnine]] and [[Ain Ebel]] in southern [[Lebanon]] and later studied at the [[Makassed]] and the [[Ecole de la Sagesse]] in [[Beirut]]. He obtained a law degree in 1963 from the [[Lebanese University]], where he had served as the student body president. During the 1960s, he joined the [[Arab Nationalist Movement]].
In the early 1970s, he worked in [[Beirut]] as a [[lawyer]] for [[General Motors Corporation|General Motors]]. He also lived in the [[Detroit]] area from 1976 to 1978.{{Fact|date=November 2007}}
He held a series of positions in the [[Amal movement]] during the late 1970s, after the disappearance of Imam [[Musa al-Sadr]], a [[Shi'a]] cleric who disappeared under mysterious circumstances while on a trip to [[Libya]] in 1978, and who is thought to have been killed on the orders of [[Muammar al-Gaddafi]].
The resignation of [[Hussein el-Husseini]] from his post as leader of Amal resulted in Berri's assumption of full control in April 1980, and consequently the resignation of most of Amal's earliest members.
He led the Amal movement during the fierce fighting of the [[Lebanese Civil War]]. In 1984, he joined the National Unity government as Minister for Southern Reconstruction, and later, he served as Minister of Justice and of Electrical and Hydraulic Resources, under [[List of Prime Ministers of Lebanon|Prime Minister]] [[Rashid Karami]].
Berri again served as a [[Cabinet (politics)|Cabinet minister]] from 1989 to 1992, when he was elected speaker of the National Assembly on [[November 20]].
It is widely believed that Berri has benefited from the large sums of money - over $3 billion - that were invested in the Council of the South, whose head was appointed by Berri. The money was supposed to go to the reconstruction of the Southern province.<ref name="Middle East Intelligence Bulletin1">{{cite news | title = Dossier:Rafiq Hariri| work = Middle East Intelligence Bulletin| publisher = [[Middle East Intelligence Bulletin]] | date= 2001-07 | url = http://www.meib.org/articles/0107_ld1.htm}}</ref><ref name="Middle East Intelligence Bulletin2">{{cite news | title = Dossier:Nabih Berri| work = Middle East Intelligence Bulletin| publisher = [[Middle East Intelligence Bulletin]] | date= 2000-12 | url = http://www.meib.org/articles/0012_ld1.htm}} </ref><ref name="Middle East Intelligence Bulletin3">{{cite news | title = The Three Faces of corruption in Lebanon| work = Middle East Intelligence Bulletin| publisher = [[Middle East Intelligence Bulletin]] | date= 2001-02 | url = http://www.meib.org/articles/0102_l2.htm}}</ref><ref name="Middle East Intelligence Bulletin4">{{cite news | title = Hezbollah: Between Tehran and Damascus| work = Middle East Intelligence Bulletin| publisher = [[Middle East Intelligence Bulletin]] | date= 2002-02 | url = http://www.meib.org/articles/0202_l1.htm}}</ref>
Berri's sister-in-law, Samira Assi, has made a fortune by getting a contract from Libyan leader [[Muammar al-Gaddafi]], who was responsible for [[Musa al-Sadr]]'s disappearance, to print one million copies of his [[The Green Book|Green Book]]<ref name="Middle East Intelligence Bulletin2">{{cite news | title = Dossier:Nabih Berri| work = Middle East Intelligence Bulletin| publisher = [[Middle East Intelligence Bulletin]] | date= 2000-12 | url = http://www.meib.org/articles/0012_ld1.htm}} </ref>.
He, as well as [[Rafik Hariri]] and [[Walid Jumblatt]], are viewed by many as having been puppets of the [[Syria]]n government during its 30-year [[Syrian presence in Lebanon|military presence]], as well as corrupt politicians.<ref name="Middle East Intelligence Bulletin1">{{cite news | title = Dossier:Rafiq Hariri| work = Middle East Intelligence Bulletin| publisher = [[Middle East Intelligence Bulletin]] | date= 2001-07 | url = http://www.meib.org/articles/0107_ld1.htm}}</ref><ref name="Middle East Intelligence Bulletin2">{{cite news | title = Dossier:Nabih Berri| work = Middle East Intelligence Bulletin| publisher = [[Middle East Intelligence Bulletin]] | date= 2000-12 | url = http://www.meib.org/articles/0012_ld1.htm}} </ref><ref name="Middle East Intelligence Bulletin3">{{cite news | title = The Three Faces of corruption in Lebanon| work = Middle East Intelligence Bulletin| publisher = [[Middle East Intelligence Bulletin]] | date= 2001-02 | url = http://www.meib.org/articles/0102_l2.htm}}</ref><ref name="Encyclopaedia of the Orient">{{cite news | title = Nabih Berri| work = Encyclopaedia of the Orient| publisher = ''Encyclopaedia of the Orient'' | date = 2001 | url = http://lexicorient.com/e.o/berri_n.htm}}</ref><ref name="USA Today">{{cite news | title = Hezbollah's former enemy now its public face| work = USA Today| publisher = [[USA Today]] | date = [[2006-08-01]] | url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-07-31-mideast-berri_x.htm}}</ref><ref name="michaeltotten.com">{{cite news | title = Berri Crosses Lebanon's Red Line| work = Michael Totten| publisher = [[Michael Totten]] | date = [[2006-10-24]] | url = http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001281.html}}</ref>
==References==
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==External links==
* [http://www.nabih-beri.com Amal Movement Web site of Nabih Berri]
* [http://www.parliament.gov.lb/Presidency/Presidency.htm Lebanese Parliament Profile]
{{Speakers of the Parliament of Lebanon}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berri, Nabih}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:Lebanese politicians]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Bo, Sierra Leone]]
[[Category:Lebanese Shi'a Muslims]]
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