Biography
During 15 years of occupation, activist May Akl was part of the anti-Syrian peaceful resistance movement in Lebanon. “It was difficult, but if I had to do it again, I would,” she says, knowing that her struggles produced real change. Since 2005, May has been foreign press secretary for Michel Aoun, currently a member of parliament and formerly Lebanon’s prime minister. For six months, Dr. Akl was the international press officer for then-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri; prior to that, she was a journalist and translator at An-Nahar and The Beirut Times. A founding member of the Free Patriotic Movement political party, Dr. Akl also coordinates relationships between FPM and international NGOs and shapes the party’s media strategy. In 2007, she was a member of the FPM’s Central Committee. Dr. Akl is also a lecturer at St. Joseph University in Beirut, teaching current affairs and translation since 2000. She recently received a PhD in translation studies from St. Joseph University, where she also earned master’s and bachelor’s degrees in translation. (01.2010)