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Dr. Hala Salaam Maksoud, 56, who served as president of American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) from 1996 to 2001, when she resigned due to illness, died on April 26 after a long struggle against cancer...
Dr. Hala Salaam Maksoud, 56, who served as president of American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) from 1996 to 2001, when she resigned due to illness, died on April 26 after a long struggle against cancer. Dr. Maksoud, who held a Ph.D. in political theory, an M.A. in government from Georgetown, and an M.A. in mathematics from the American University of Beirut, taught at George Mason and Georgetown universities. In addition to her academic career, Dr. Maksoud was a prominent Arab-American leader and participated in the founding of several organizations, including the American Committee on Jerusalem, the Association of Arab-American University Graduates, and the Arab Women’s Council. A nationally recognized civil and human rights advocate, she was the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the American Immigration Law Foundation in March 2002.
Hala Maksoud, who was born in Beirut, was the daughter of the former Lebanese minister Malik Salam and a niece of former prime minister Saeb Salam. She is survived by her husband Dr. Clovis Maksoud, former ambassador of the League of Arab States to the U.S. and the UN and currently head of the American University’s Global South Center.
Dr. Hala Maksoud’s passing was by mourned by ISNA and leading Muslim, Arab-American, and human rights organizations. ADC President Ziad Asali said: “Hala was a visionary leader who charted a path to empowerment we will be following for many years to come. Her extraordinary command of politics was matched by exceptional compassion and a genuine commitment to human rights. She had a remarkable ability to communicate effectively with and inspire people of very different cultural and political backgrounds and across lines of religion and social class.”
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