Leila Shahid Age, Death, Husband, Family, Biography

Bio/Wiki
Profession(s)	• Diplomat • Anthropologist
Known for	Being the first woman ambassador of Palestine
Physical Stats
Eye Colour	Light Brown
Hair Colour	Light Brown
Career
Major Designation(s)	1989–1990: PLO representative in Ireland 1990–1993: PLO representative in the Netherlands 1993–2006: Delegate General of Palestine in France 2006–2014: General Delegate of Palestine in the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg
Personal Life
Date of Birth	13 July 1949 (Wednesday)
Birthplace	Beirut, Lebanon
Date of Death	18 February 2026
Place of Death	Lecques, France
Age (at the time of death)	76 Years
Death Cause	Suicide [1]France24
Zodiac sign	Cancer
Nationality	Palestinian
Hometown	Beirut, Lebanon
College/University	American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Educational Qualification	Anthropology and Psychology
Relationships & More
Marital Status (at the time of death)	Married
Family
Husband/Spouse	Mohammed Berrada (Moroccan writer)
Parents	Father- Munib Shahid (Chairman of Hematology and Oncology at the Faculty of Medicine of the American University of Beirut) Mother- Husseini Shahid (a teacher, writer, scholar of Palestinian embroidery)
Siblings	Sister(s)- 2 Zeina
Other Relative	Great-great-grandfather- Baha'u'llah (an Iranian religious leader who founded the Baháʼí Faith)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Leila Shahid

• Leila Shahid was the great-great-granddaughter of the Baháʼí prophet Baha’u’llah. However, she did not follow the Baháʼí Faith.

• Her father was a grandson of Abdu’l-Baha.

• Her father got excommunicated from the Baháʼí Faith. He opposed Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian from 1922 to 1957.

• Her parents belonged to Acre and Jerusalem.

• Leila Shahid, along with her two sisters, grew up in exile in Lebanon.

• After completing her schooling, she studied anthropology and psychology at the American University of Beirut.

• After completing her formal education, she worked in Palestinian refugee camps until 1974. After that, she started her doctorate in anthropology in Paris.

• In Paris, Leila Shahid met French writer Jean Genet.

  

  Leila Shahid with French writer Jean Genet

• In 1976, she was appointed as the president of the Palestinian Students Union in France.

• In September 1982, Leila Shahid returned to Beirut. She, along with Jean Genet, went to Beirut during the Sabra and Shatila massacre.

• After their visit, Genet wrote about their visit in an article called ‘Quatre heures à Chatila’ (Four Hours at Chatila). The article was then published in La revue d’études palestiniennes (The Review of Palestinian Studies).

• Later, a film titled ‘Dancing Among the Dead’ by Catherine Biscovitch was based on the same article.

• In 1989, the Palestine Liberation Organisation posted her to Ireland. Leila Shahid then became the first female Palestinian Ambassador.

• From 1990 to 1993, she served as the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) representative to the Netherlands.

• Leila Shahid served as Delegate General of Palestine in France from 1993 to 2006. During this period, she arranged safe storage for artefacts from Gaza digs, like Tell es-Sakan.

  

  Leila Shahid while representing Palestine abroad

• These artefacts had been displayed at the Institut du Monde Arabe in a Gaza history exhibit. They could not be returned after the exhibition because the Palestinian uprising, or Second Intifada, started.

• In 2004, Leila Shahid stayed with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat during his last days. He died in a military hospital in 2004.

• She had served as a board member of La revue d’études palestiniennes until her death.

• From 2006 to 2014, she served as General Delegate of Palestine in the European Union, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

• In March 2009, the Russell Tribunal on Palestine was formed. Leila Shahid promoted it along with Ken Coates and Nurit Peled-Elhanan.

• Ken Coates was a British politician and head of the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation, and Nurit Peled-Elhanan was an Israeli activist.

• She spoke for Palestinian interests in Europe for more than 25 years.
  

  Benoit Aubenas, left, the father of French journalist Florence Aubenas, who has been missing in Iraq since 5 January 2005, being comforted by Palestinian envoy to France Leila Shahid during a gathering ceremony as part of the Eid Al Adha at the Paris Mosque

• She was one of the first Palestinians who made connections with Israelis who worked for peace.

• Leila Shahid had served as the longtime director of ‘The Review of Palestinian Studies,’ a French-language periodical that covered the history of the conflict.

• On 18 February 2026, she passed away at the age of 76. Her body was found in La Leque, a town in southern France where she lived.

• The early foundations of the investigations revealed that she died by suicide. Leila Shahid had been ill for several years.