Melhem Khalaf

Melhem Emile Khalaf is a Lebanese lawyer, politician and human rights activist. He is currently a member of the Lebanese parliament since 2022, as part of the Forces of Change bloc, and was president of the Beirut Bar Association between 2019 and 2021.

Early life Melhem Khalaf was born in the Ras Beirut neighborhood of Beirut, Lebanon on January 20, 1962 to a Greek Orthodox family of lawyers from Baskinta. He received his secondary education in the Collège Notre Dame de Jamhour. After obtaining a law degree from Saint Joseph University of Beirut, he continued his studies at the University of Montpellier in France where he obtained a doctorate in law.

Career Khalaf was registered as a trainee lawyer in the Beirut Bar Association. He then moved to the general roll, practicing the profession in his office in Beirut. He has been involved in union work since his membership, through his appointment to several committees within the association. In 1985, during the Lebanese Civil War, he founded a politically and religiously independent Lebanese non-governmental called Offrejoie aimed to unite Lebanese youth during times of sectarian conflict. It was created after Khalaf's experience as a Lebanese Red Cross volunteer in which they saw people's suffrage during the war.

During the 2019 Beirut Bar Association elections Khalaf ran as an independent candidate and won with 2,341 votes, defeating candidates backed by major political parties. Khalaf's contenders were Nader Gaspard, Saadeddine Al Khatib, and Ibrahim Moussallem. Pierre Hanna, who was backed by the Lebanese Forces, Progressive Socialist Party and the Future Movement, as well as twelve other candidates who either dropped out or were not voted in, competed for council positions. This occurred during the 17 October Revolution were protested called for the removal of Lebanon's ruling class. As Bar Association president, Khalaf advocated for reforms to the legal system and pushed for greater independence of the judiciary. He sought to distance the Bar Association from political interference.

Melhem Khalaf became widely known for his 722-day sit-in at the Lebanese Parliament, which he began on January 19, 2023, in an effort to pressure lawmakers into electing a new president after Lebanon had been without one since October 31, 2022. Khalaf, alongside fellow Change MP Najat Saliba, aimed to end the political deadlock that had gripped the country. While Saliba ended her sit-in after eight months, Khalaf continued until the election of Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun as president. After the election, Khalaf was seen leaving Parliament with suitcases, wearing a scarf in the colours of the Lebanese flag, and was accompanied by other MPs from the October 7, 2019, protest movement.