Duraid Lahham

Duraid Lahham دريد لحام
Born	(1934-01-27) January 27, 1934 Damascus, Syria
Years active	1958–present
Spouse(s)	Hala Bitar

Duraid Lahham (Arabic: دريد لحام‎) is a leading Syrian comedian and director born 1934 in Damascus, Syria. He is famous for acting the role of "Ghawwar" in a number of movies and series. His co-star throughout his career was Nihad Kalai who played the role of "Husni".

Life

Lahham was born in the Shi'ite Hay al-Amin neighborhood of Damascus in 1934. He grew up in poverty and had to work at several odd jobs to earn a living. He later would recall these difficult days, saying that he used to buy used clothes, reserved for the poor in Syria, and barely made enough money to feed himself. He enrolled at the University of Damascus and studied chemistry. During his college years, he was active in a form of folklore Arabic dance called "dabke" and became obsessed with acting. When he completed his education, Lahham became an instructor at the Chemistry Department at the University.

During the 1970s Lahham acted in several political plays which gained large popularity throughout the Arab World for its criticism of the situations taking place in the Arab world at that time.

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador

Lahham was appointed UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador to the Middle East and North Africa region in 1999. In 2004, he visited districts of Southern Lebanon which had been liberated from Israeli occupation, and gave a speech at a press conference criticizing George W. Bush and Ariel Sharon, comparing them to Hitler. This caused Tel Aviv to protest Lahham's "undiplomatic language" to the UNICEF, which resulted in the UNICEF relieving him of his duties.^[1]

Recognition

Lahham received several medals in recognition of his contributions:

• In 1976, Hafez al-Assad, Syrian President at the time, awarded Lahham with the Order of Civil Merit, Excellence Class.
• In 1979, Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba awarded him with a medal in recognition of his work
• In 1991, Libyan President Muammar al-Gaddafi awarded him a medal
• In 2000, Lahham received The Order of Merit of the Lebanese Republic, awarded to him by Lebanese President Émile Lahoud^[2]

Filmography

References

External links

• Duraid Lahham's Official Web Site
• Duraid Lahham's series of articles in Forward Magazine