who had been mayor of the municipality, and his wife Evelyn Shalhoub, Moawad was the scion of a prominent Zgharta family, but he was the first member of the family to represent the constituency in Parliament. In 1965, Moawad married Nayla Moawad, a relative of Moawad's old political opponent Bechara El Khoury. Despite the historical animosity between their two families, as well as the fact that she was fifteen years his junior, the marriage was evidently a happy one. Their daughter Rima Moawad is now a lawyer and a graduate of Harvard University in the United States, while their son Michel Moawad is a lawyer and businessman who graduated from Sorbonne University in Paris. Moawad's widow Nayla founded the René Moawad Foundation, to further the goals of dialogue, peace, and social justice, to which he had dedicated his life. Nayla Moawad was elected to the National Assembly in 1991. She was a member of the opposition Qornet Shehwan Gathering, which opposed the Syrian military presence in Lebanon. In 2004 she announced her candidacy for the Presidency to succeed Émile Lahoud, whose term legally ended in November. 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 Moawad, Jawad Simon Boulos and Youssef Bahaa El Douaihy. Memorials The René Moawad Garden in Sanayeh district in Beirut. See also List of assassinated Lebanese politicians List of presidents of Lebanon References External links René MOAWAD Foundation Zgharta.com René Mouawad on Ehden Family Tree Website 1925 births 1989 deaths 1989 murders in Asia Lebanese Maronites Presidents of Lebanon Assassinated Lebanese politicians Deaths by car bomb in Lebanon Assassinated heads of state Terrorism deaths in Lebanon Lebanese terrorism victims People murdered in Lebanon Saint Joseph University alumni People from Zgharta