| Walid Jumblatt | |
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Picture of Walid Jumblatt |
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| Born | August 7, 1949 |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Home town | Moukhtara |
| Title | Chairman of the Progressive Socialist Party |
| Predecessor | Kamal Jumblatt |
| Political party | Progressive Socialist Party |
| Religion | Druze |
| Spouse | Nora Jumblatt |
| Children | Taymour (b. 1982) Aslan (b. 1983) Dallia (b. 1989) |
| Parents | Kamal Jumblatt May Arslan |
| Relatives | Shakib Arslan (grandfather) |
| Lebanon |
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Walid Jumblatt (Arabic: وليد جنبلاط) (born August 7, 1949) is a Lebanese politician and the current leader of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP). He is the most prominent leader of Lebanon's Druze community.[1]
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The origin of the Jumblatt family is the Kurdish Janpoulad family coming from Shamel Janpoulad and dating back to Janboulad Ibn Kassem al Kirdi al Kaisari, known as Ibn Arabou (1530–1580), and governor of Aleppo. Walid Jumblatt is the son of Kamal Jumblatt, the founder of the PSP, the party which Walid Jumblatt currently leads. He is the maternal grandson of Prince Shakib Arslan.[2] His first wife was Gervette "Gigi," a Jordanian woman of Circassian origin who is the mother of his child Timour. His current wife is the Syrian Nora Sharabati, the daughter of the former Syrian Minister of Defense Ahmed Al-Sharabati. Walid Jumblatt graduated from the American University of Beirut in Political Science.[3][4]
The BBC describes Jumblatt as "the smartest leader of Lebanon's most powerful Druze clan and heir to a leftist political dynasty based around the Progressive Socialist Party".[5]
He was a supporter of Syria after the war but, since the death of Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in 2000, he has campaigned for Damascus to relinquish control. This pitted him against President Émile Lahoud and the Lebanese Shiite party Hezbollah of which he said: "Their fighters have done a good job defying and defeating the Israeli army, OK, but the question we ask is where their allegiance goes: to a Lebanese strong central authority or somewhere else?"[6] Although, on the 21st of January 2011, Jumblatt said he supported Hizbollah and Syria stance.[7]
Jumblatt has spoken openly of the fear that he may face assassination because of this stance.[5] In an interview with The Chicago Tribune, when asked about his concerns for his safety, he answered, "That's trivial; I don't think about it. When they will come, they will come."