Nina Helou
{{Short description|Lebanese lawyer and former First Lady of Lebanon}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Family name hatnote|Michel|Helou|lang=Lebanese}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Nina Helou
| image = Nina (l) and Charles Helou (r) at the Vatican.png
| image_size =
| caption = Nina (l) and Charles Helou (r) at the Vatican
| office = First Lady of Lebanon
| term_label = In role
| term_start = 23 September 1964
| term_end = 22 September 1970
| president = Charles Helou
| predecessor = Zelpha Tabet
| successor = Iris Handaly
| native_name = نينا طراد
| birth_name = Nina Trad
| birth_date = {{Birth year|1904}}
| birth_place = Beirut, Beirut Vilayet, Ottoman Empire
| death_date = {{Death year and age|1989|1904}}
| death_place = Beirut, Lebanon
| nationality = Lebanese
| party =
| spouse = {{marriage|Charles Helou|1952}}
| children =
| parents =
| relatives = Petro Trad (uncle)
| alma_mater = Saint Joseph University
| occupation = Attorney
}}
Nina Michel Helou ({{langx|ar|نينا حلو, نينا طراد- حلو}}; 1904–1989) was a Lebanese lawyer and former First Lady of Lebanon from 1964 to 1970. She was the second woman lawyer to be registered with the bar association of the Mandate for Syria and Lebanon, during French administration. Her practice was mainly focused on women and women's issues. Marrying a fellow lawyer, she was the first woman to serve on the Beirut City Council. In 1964, Helou became the First Lady of Lebanon and during her tenure, she oversaw the completion of the Baabda Palace and the renovation of the Beiteddine Palace, as well as a city-wide beautification project. She was also devoted to social welfare programs and charitable organizations, particularly the Lebanese Red Cross.
Early life
Nina Trad was born in 1904{{sfn|Bibliographie nationale française|1991|p=2124}} in Beirut, capital of the Beirut Vilayet, Ottoman Empire to Michel Trad and his Colombian wife. She was the niece of Petro Trad, who served as President of the French Mandate of Lebanon in 1943.{{sfn|La Revue du Liban|2001}} Attending law school at the Jesuit School of Law,{{sfn|Khal|2017}} Trad met Charles Helou, another student in the law faculty.{{sfn|Darwish|2017}} She graduated in 1931 with Blanche Ammoun, though Ammoun did not ever practice law.{{sfn|Khal|2017}} Later that year, on 7 October 1931, Paulette Ameslend Tamer, a French national, became the first woman to register with the bar association of the French Mandate of Lebanon.{{sfn|Al-Ali|2017}}{{sfn|Le Bulletin du barreau|2013|p=9}} Trad was admitted to the bar on 6 January 1932, becoming its second woman member.{{#tag:ref|The Beirut Bar Association, specifies that Tamer was registered as "the first female intern".{{sfn|Beirut Bar Association|2003}} Sources are unclear whether Trad was registered under the same category,{{sfn|Darwish|2017}}{{sfn|Al-Ali|2017}} but she did obtain a degree in law.{{sfn|Khal|2017}}|group="Notes"}}{{sfn|Al-Ali|2017}}
Career
After joining the bar, Trad began working in her uncle Petro Trad's law firm. She focused her practice on helping Lebanese women with legal issues. Helou joined the firm when he completed his studies{{sfn|Darwish|2017}} and they began both a working and romantic relationship. They prepared cases together and jointly pleaded them in 1940 for the French military tribunals.{{sfn|Schreim|1995}} Though Helou's family did not support the relationship, in part because Trad was 9 years older than he was,{{sfn|La Revue du Liban|2001}} the couple married in 1952.{{sfn|Fayad|2001}} Even after her marriage, Trad-Helou continued her legal practice. In addition, she was involved in many humanitarian organizations and women's rights organizations, like the Lebanese Red Cross and various women's associations which focused on the needs of women and children.{{sfn|Darwish|2017}}{{sfn|Ad-Diyar|1989|p=4}} She was the founder and inaugural president of the University Women's Association of Lebanon.{{sfn|Darwish|2017}}
In 1961, Trad-Helou was appointed to serve on the Beirut City Council{{sfn|Moufarrej|2002|p=143}} and proposed a beautification project for the city to preserve its historical monuments and promote tourism.{{sfn|Darwish|2017}}{{sfn|Schreim|1995}} Initially there was resistance from council members, but the public supported the efforts.{{sfn|Schreim|1995}} In 1964, when her husband became President of Lebanon, she embarked upon a plan to complete the Baabda Palace, which had been under construction since 1956. Coordinating with the Ministry of Works and Maurice Chehab, head of the Bureau of Antiquities, she proposed changes to the design to make it more authentically Lebanese, using archways and yellow stone. Initially, the couple lived in rented quarters, but in January 1969, it began being used as the official residence of the presidency.{{cn|date=November 2023}} When the Baabda Palace was completed, she turned her attention to the presidential summer residence, Beiteddine Palace beginning a renovation project.{{sfn|Schreim|1995}}
Death and legacy
Trad-Helou died from cancer in 1989 and her funeral, attended by many dignitaries, was held on the 1st of April at the chapel of the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik.{{sfn|Ad-Diyar|1989|p=4}} Her husband published Nina, ou la quête de l'impossible (Nina, or the search for the impossible) in 1991 about her final struggle with disease.{{sfn|La Revue du Liban|2001}} The government issued a postal stamp as part of a series on women's firsts in Lebanon which bore her likeness, but it was retracted after it was confirmed she was the second woman to join the bar.{{sfn|Al-Ali|2017}} In 1993, she was honored posthumously, along with Sonia Ibrahim Attia, by the Arab Lawyers Union at their meeting in Casablanca for her defense of women's rights.{{sfn|Darwish|2017}}{{sfn|Al-Hayat|2015}}
Notes
{{reflist|group=Notes}}
References
=Citations=
{{Reflist|30em}}
=Bibliography=
{{refbegin|30em}}
- {{cite magazine |ref={{harvid|Al-Ali|2017}} |last1=العلي (Al-Ali)|first1=ياسمينة (Yasmina) |script-title=ar:محكمة" تكشف خطأ في طابع بريدي: بوليت أمسلند أوّل محامية وليست نينا طراد"|url=http://www.mahkama.net/?p=531 |magazine=Mahkama Magazine |volume=16 |access-date=5 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905194742/http://www.mahkama.net/?p=531 |archive-date=5 September 2019 |location=Al-Nabi Shayth, Beqaa, Lebanon |language=Arabic |trans-title="Court" reveals a mistake in the postage stamp: Paulette Amsland first lawyer, not Nina Trad |date=April 2017}}
- {{cite news |ref={{harvid|Darwish|2017}} |last1=درويش (Darwish)|first1=حسن (Hassan) |script-title=ar:نينا طراد.. المحامية الأولى |url=http://www.arrakeeb.com/weekly/11080212/ |newspaper=Al Raqeeb |access-date=5 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209113152/http://www.arrakeeb.com/weekly/11080212/ |archive-date=9 February 2019 |location=Beirut, Lebanon |language=Arabic |trans-title=Nina Trad ... First Lawyer |date=2017}}
- {{cite news |last1=Fayad |first1=Elie |title=Décès – La mort du président Charles Hélou – Un fin lettré dans la tourmente de l'histoire |url=https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/322623/Deces_-_La_mort_du_president_Charles_Helou_-_Un_fin_lettre_dans_la_tourmente_de_l%27histoire_-.html |newspaper=L'Orient-Le Jour |access-date=5 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905200027/https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/322623/Deces_-_La_mort_du_president_Charles_Helou_-_Un_fin_lettre_dans_la_tourmente_de_l%2527histoire_-.html |archive-date=5 September 2019 |language=French |location=Beirut, Lebanon |date=8 January 2001 |trans-title=Death – The death of President Charles Helou – A literate end in the turmoil of history}}
- {{cite web |last1=Khal |first1=Helen |title=Blanche Loheac-Ammoun |url=https://www.onefineart.com/internal-page/Blanche-Loheac-Ammoun/Blanche-Loheac-Ammoun-Helen-Khal-woman-in-Lebanon |website=One Fine Art |access-date=5 September 2019 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190905195649/https://www.onefineart.com/internal-page/Blanche-Loheac-Ammoun/Blanche-Loheac-Ammoun-Helen-Khal-woman-in-Lebanon |archive-date=5 September 2019 |location=Kfar Mashoun, Lebanon |language=Arabic |date=2017 |url-status=live }}
- {{cite book |ref={{harvid|Moufarrej|2002}} |last1=مفرّج (Moufarrej) |first1=طوني (Tony) |script-title=ar:موسوعة قرى ومدن لبنان |volume=6 |date=2002 |publisher=Nobles House |location=Beirut, Lebanon |oclc=1014063093 |url=https://books.rafed.net/view.php?type=c_fbook&b_id=2583&page=147#index |language=Arabic |trans-title=Encyclopedia of Villages and Cities of Lebanon}}
- {{cite magazine |last1=Schreim |first1=Ghada |title=Charles Helou: A President Remembers |url=http://www.prestigemag.co/2015/01/charles-helou/ |magazine=Prestige |issue=29 |access-date=5 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608190537/http://www.prestigemag.co/2015/01/charles-helou/ |archive-date=8 June 2017 |location=Baabda, Lebanon |date=October 1995}}
- {{cite journal |ref={{harvid|Bibliographie nationale française|1991}} |author= |title=91-14753. Hélou, Charles |journal=Bibliographie nationale française. Livres: Notices établies par la Bibliothèque Nationale |volume=13 |date=19 June 1991 |publisher=Office Général du livre, Bibliothèque Nationale |location=Paris, France |issn=1142-3250 |page=2124 |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5818890v/f124.item.r=Nina%20Helou.zoom |access-date=5 September 2019 |language=French}}
- {{cite news |ref={{harvid|Al-Hayat|2015}} |author= |script-title=ar:عن سيرة رائدة لبنانية في محراب العدالة |url=http://www.alhayat.com/article/650856/عن-سيرة-رائدة-لبنانية-في-محراب-العدالة |newspaper=Al-Hayat |access-date=6 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905194608/http://www.alhayat.com/article/650856/%D8%B9%D9%86-%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A9 |archive-date=5 September 2019 |language=Arabic |location=London, England |date=7 April 2015 |trans-title=Biography of a Lebanese Leader in the Niche of Justice}}
- {{cite magazine |ref={{harvid|La Revue du Liban|2001}} |author= |title=Charles Hélou un être exceptionnel ayant marqué son temps |magazine=La Revue du Liban |date=January 2001 |url=http://www.rdl.com.lb/2001/q1/3775/1sujcouv.html |access-date=5 September 2019 |trans-title=Charles Helou an Exceptional Being That Marked His Time |publisher=Dar Alf Leila Wa Leila |location=Beirut, Lebanon |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905192844/http://www.rdl.com.lb/2001/q1/3775/1sujcouv.html |archive-date=5 September 2019 |language=French |issn=1605-9662}}
- {{cite news |ref={{harvid|Ad-Diyar|1989}} |author= |script-title=ar:عن تشييع عقيلة الرئيس حلو في حضور معلوف وشخصيات |url=https://www.addiyarcomcarloscharlesnet.com/article/663919-الصفحة-4-241989 |newspaper=Ad-Diyar |issue=310 |access-date=6 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905211233/https://www.addiyarcomcarloscharlesnet.com/article/663919-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%81%D8%AD%D8%A9-4-241989 |archive-date=5 September 2019 |language=Arabic |location=Beirut, Lebanon |date=2 April 1989 |trans-title=Funeral of the Wife of President Helou in the Presence of Maalouf and Dignitaries}}
- {{cite web |ref={{harvid|Beirut Bar Association|2003}} |author= |title=Introduction |url=http://bba.org.lb/en/Syndicat |website=Beirut Bar Association |access-date=6 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008130349/http://bba.org.lb/en/Syndicat |archive-date=8 October 2017 |location=Beirut, Lebanon |date=2003}}
- {{cite journal |ref={{harvid|Le Bulletin du barreau|2013}} |author= |title=Paroles de femmes: Amal Haddad |journal=Le Bulletin du barreau |issue=Spécial Femmes |date=March 2013 |publisher=Du barreau de Paris |location=Paris, France |pages=6–9 |url=http://www.femmesetdroit.fr/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/specialfemme2013_web.pdf |access-date=6 September 2019 |language=French |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190906171648/http://www.femmesetdroit.fr/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/specialfemme2013_web.pdf |archive-date=6 September 2019 |trans-title=Words of Women: Amal Haddad |url-status=live }}
{{refend}}
External links
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{{s-hon}}
{{s-bef|before=Zelpha Tabet}}
{{s-ttl|title=First Lady of Lebanon|years=1964–1970}}
{{s-aft|after=Iris Handaly}}
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- {{Commons-inline}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helou, Nina}}
Category:20th-century Lebanese lawyers
Category:20th-century Lebanese women
Category:20th-century Lebanese people
Category:20th-century women lawyers
Category:First ladies of Lebanon
Category:Lebanese people of Colombian descent
Category:Lebanese women's rights activists