For more than 20 years, she was the face and voice of Palestine in France. Former Palestinian diplomat Leila Shahid died at the age of 76 at her home in Lecques, southern France, on Wednesday, February 18, her family told Le Monde. According to her family, Shahid, who had been seriously ill for several years, ended her own life.

In 1993, after having served in Ireland, the Netherlands and Denmark, Shahid was appointed general delegate of Palestine in France, a position she held until 2006. Over the following decade, she represented her country at the European Union in Brussels.

Throughout those years, she embodied the Palestinian cause with intelligence and passion, becoming an essential contact for French public authorities and a frequent guest in the media, where her melodious accent was instantly recognizable.

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