Michael Shiha

 

Born in Alley on the 8th of September 1891.
In 1915 he left Lebanon along with some fellow students to study law in Egypt, where he issued a French literal magazine.
In 1919 he came back to Lebanon, and did his first work as a Journalist, which consisted of a Proposal for a Greater Lebanon in the newspaper « LE REVEIL ».
In 1925 he was elected deputy for Beirut.
In December of the same year, he was elected president of the Constitutional Mandatory Committee.  He took part in the French negotiation of 1926, which led to the election of the first President Charles Debbas in 1929.
He became the consultant of President Bechara El Khoury.
He strongly emphasized the importance of the Parliament and how it should be the primary decision-maker in the country, stating that: « the parliament is the place where all sectarians meet, even if to fight ».
In 1934 he went back to journalism and issued with President Khoury, Farid Shkeir, and Henry Pharaoun « Le Jour » Newspaper. He died on the 28th of December 1954.