In 2022, the American magazine “Time” named 12 women as “Women of the Year,” among them the Lebanese native of Baakline-Chouf, lawyer Amal Alamuddin. The magazine described her as “powerful and unwavering in her causes,” in addition to her defense of women victims of mass atrocities and sexual violence who will obtain justice.
Alamuddin was particularly honored, with her photo featured on the cover, for her work with Yazidi victims of “ISIS” in Mount Sinjar, Iraq. Reports noted that the Lebanese lawyer does not like to speak about herself; she is an activist specializing in international law and human rights, born on February 3, 1978. In 2013, she met the handsome Hollywood star and most eligible bachelor George Clooney during an event that brought them together with friends at Lake Como in Italy. Ever since the American magazine “People” announced the news of Clooney and Alamuddin”s engagement in April 2014, the lawyer has been under the microscope of the global press.
Daughter of the Mountain
The daughter of the mountain lived in Beirut. She is the daughter of journalist Baria Alamuddin (at the now-defunct London-based newspaper “Al-Hayat”), while her father worked as a professor of tourism studies. She spent her childhood years and forged her first friendships at the “Collège Louise Wegmann”—one of Beirut's elite Francophone schools—before being forced to leave Lebanon with her family following the 1982 Israeli invasion.
Amal, who left as a child with her family for London, lived in an apartment near the “Harrods” department store and attended the “Lycée Français.” As the Lebanese war dragged on and their return was delayed, the family relocated to an area slightly outside the British capital. Throughout her academic journey, Amal attended top British universities, graduating from “Oxford” with a degree in international law and human rights, followed by a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from New York University.
Her name became associated with numerous prominent and complex cases. Passionate about working in international affairs, she joined the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, where she collaborated with International Criminal Court prosecutor Serge Brammertz, who also went on to head the Independent International Investigation Commission tasked with probing the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and who asked her to join the team of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. She relocated to Lebanon before being forced to leave a second time due to the Israeli aggression in 2006.
With Kofi Annan
In 2012, she also worked with Kofi Annan when he served as the UN Special Envoy to Syria. She acted as defense counsel for “WikiLeaks” founder Julian Assange, and for former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko while the latter was imprisoned.
In late 2016, Amal and George Clooney established the “Clooney Foundation for Justice.” It runs the “TrialWatch” program to monitor trials where human rights are at risk, seeking to achieve justice through accountability for international crimes and human rights abuses, including the trials of journalists and other vulnerable and marginalized groups, as well as the LGBTQ+ community. The foundation also assists children in conflict zones around the world.
Most Influential Figures
She was ranked among the most influential figures in Britain on the London Evening Standard's “The 1000 Power List of 2014,” surpassing Princess Kate Middleton. Alamuddin secured fourth place on the list, standing as the highest-ranking woman behind three men. The British newspaper emphasized that Amal's selection was not due to her marriage to George Clooney, but rather because of her defense of Greek heritage and the role she played between Athens and London to recover ancient Greek sculptures.
