A Brief History of the Municipality of Jwaya:

The town of Jwaya is currently situated in the Qada’a of Sour (Tyr), Mohafazat Aljanub, South. Lebanon. The Town is probably as ancient as the City of Tyr (refer to Jwaya’s history in Jwaya.com). Talks are under way to probably combine several Towns and Villages under a new Qada’a of Jwaya.

There are no sufficient documented historical evidence concerning the municipality of Jwaya before the 1890s.  However, in the 1890s, during the Ottoman rule of Lebanon, Sayyed Youssef Taher was the unofficial Mayor of Jwaya or so-called Town Chieftain. There was no Municipality in the modern sense of the word at that time. Wh en the French mandate took over Lebanon in 1919, Sayyed Youssef sided with the Arab Revolt against foreign rule and as a result of that the colonials hanged him in Wadi Jilo in 1920.

Sayyed Mohieddine Taher succeeded sayyed Youssef as chieftain and later as the first elected Mayor of Jwaya in 1924. However, due to a feud over an Arabian horse he was murdered in the early 1930s. Probably at the instigation of the French since he was a strong member of the movement for Lebanon’s independence against the French. Sayyed Mohieddine was followed  as mayor, for a short period of 3 months, by Hajj Mohammad Akar as a compromise candidate to solve family feuds in the town. Mr. Akar was succeeded by Sayyed Jawad Taher who stayed in this post until the late 1930s when he was succeeded by Sayyed Ali Taher. The latter remained as Mayor until the first municipal election held after independence in 1953, when Kamel Saidi was elected Mayor.

1953 First Post Independence Elected Council:

Mayor                Mr.Kamel Saidi

Vice Mayor       Mr. Abdullah Jammal

Members          Ibrahim Jaffar

                          Mohammad Khatoun

                          Darwich Jishi

                          Subhi Zaidan

                          Tawfiq Makki

                       Abdulrahman Soufan

                           Fadlallah Taher

                           Mohammad Ali Khatoun

1961 Appointed Council: 

Mayor                         Mr. Ali Mansour

Vice Mayor                 Mr. Abdullah Jammal

                                    Ead Saidi

                                    Darwich Taher

                                    Subhi Zaidan

1963 Elected Council:

Mayor                         Ali Saeed Mansour

Vice Mayor                 Abdullah Jammal

                                    Darwich Taher

                                    Abdullah Schuman

                                    Khalil Dayekh

                                    Khalil Fadlalah

                                    Kamel Fawaz

                                    Fadlalah Nazzal

                                    Ibrahim Jishi

                                    Roda Lakkis

                                    Abdullah Atweh

                                    Neemeh Jaffar

Mr. Ali Mansour resigned as mayor in 1967 and the vice-mayor Mr. Abdullah Jammal took up the responsibilities of the Mayor of Jwaya until May 22^nd 1972. In that year the last four members of the Municipal Council resigned, thus disbanding the Council. Between 1974 and 1998 the Qaemmaqam of Sour (Tyr) was appointed as interim Mayor of Jwaya. This situation lasted until 1998, when the Lebanese government called for Municipal elections all over Lebanon, and the present Council was elected in July 1998 for a period of 6 years. The next election is scheduled by law for June-July 2004, unless the central government decides to change the date.