Who Are Hezbollah New Candidates for 2009 Elections?

03/04/2009 | almanarTV

Nawwaf Mussawi, Ali Fayyad and Hussein Mussawi are the three Hezbollah new candidates for the 2009 parliamentary elections. If elected, the three Hezbollah officials would enter the Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc for the first time since its creation.

On Wednesday, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah declared the list of the Resistance party's candidates for the forthcoming parliamentary elections, a list that included 11 names including 8 current MPs and 3 new names.

The three new candidates are expected to enter the Lebanese Parliament for the first time. However, they aren't really new in the history of Hezbollah and the Islamic Resistance. Indeed, they assumed multiple responsibilities within Hezbollah during the previous stage and played a major role in the Resistance party's various units.

SAYYED HUSSEIN MUSSAWI, HEZBOLLAH ELDEST MAN
Sayyed Hussein Mussawi, also known as Abu Hisham, is one of the three new candidates to represent the party. Mussawi, who's also surnamed "Hezbollah eldest man," would represent, if elected, the Baalbeck-Hermel district alongside current MPs Hussein Hajj Hasan, Nawwar Sahili and Ali Miqdad.

Abu Hisham, who holds a license degree in Arabic language, assumed many responsibilities within Hezbollah during the 24 last years. Indeed, he was a member of the party's consultative council (Shura) between 1985 and 1990. Then, he served as a member of Hezbollah political bureau before heading the planning council. In 2000, he was named Hezbollah Secretary General executive assistant. He also assumed the responsibility of the municipal work's dossier, a post that remained his preoccupation until Wednesday when he was replaced by Hussein Shami.

On Friday, Sayyed Mussawi spoke to Al-Manar about his candidacy to the parliamentary elections. He noted that the parliamentary experience he intends to test would be controlled by the basic predicament of his first friend, Sayyed Mussa Sadr, 'steadfastness until death.' He noted that struggle remains the same whether in the battlefront or in serving people.

SAYYED NAWWAF MUSSAWI, 24 YEARS WITHIN HEZBOLLAH
Sayyed Nawwaf Mussawi is the second new candidate to represent Hezbollah in the next Parliament. Mussawi is running to represent the southern Tyr district alongside Minister Mohamad Fneish.

Born in 1965, Sayyed Mussawi is a researcher in philosophy and Gnosticism. He was appointed as a member in Hezbollah political bureau in 1985, when he was 20 years old.

In 1988, Sayyed Mussawi was appointed as editor-in-chief of the daily "Al-Ahed". He was also named as responsible of analyses and political studies, then the official in charge of Hezbollah relations with other political parties and Christian religious references. His final and most known post was the international relations official within Hezbollah.

Sayyed Mussawi also fills the post of the deputy of the head of the Arab parties' conference. He's also a member of the Secretariat General of the Arab national conference and the administrative committee in the mentioned congress.

DR ALI FAYYAD, HEZBOLLAH POLITICAL IDEOLOGUE
Doctor Ali Fayyad is the third new candidate to represent Hezbollah in the next Parliament. Fayyad is running to represent the southern Hasbayya district.

Born in 1962, Fayyad holds a doctorate degree in political sociology. He's a researcher in political and social studies. He used to work as an assistant teacher in the Lebanese University and an academic research in Oxford University in London in 2007.

Fayyad, who was lately known to be the director of the Consultative Centre for Studies and Documentation, is the Hezbollah's political ideologue, and has also represented the organization at international meetings. He was handling the media, international guests and the publicity for the Hezbollah during the 33-day Israeli war against Lebanon in July 2006.

Fayyad was appointed as Hezbollah spokesman and then became the political bureau's analysis committee. In 1998, he was named as the deputy of the planning council's head within Hezbollah.