Amal Alamuddin (أمل علم الدين) was born in
Beirut,
Lebanon, on 3 February 1978.[10] Her father is
DruzeLebanese and her mother is a
Sunni Muslim from Lebanon. When she was two years old, her family left Lebanon to escape the
Lebanese Civil War and arrived in the
United Kingdom, where they settled in
Gerrards Cross in
Buckinghamshire.[11] She has three siblings: one sister (Tala Alamuddin) and two half-brothers from her father's first marriage.[12]
Her mother Baria (née Miknass)'s Sunni father is from
Tripoli in the
North Governorate.[16][13] She was a political journalist and foreign editor of the
Saudi-run newspaper al-Hayat.[17] She is a founder of the public relations company International Communication Experts, which is part of a larger company that specialises in celebrity guest bookings, publicity photography, and event promotion.[18]
Clooney attended
Dr Challoner's High School, a girls' grammar school located in Buckinghamshire's
Little Chalfont. She then studied at
St Hugh's College, Oxford, where she received an exhibition grant and the Shrigley Award.[19][20] In 2000, she graduated with a
BA degree in Jurisprudence and is an Honorary Fellow of St Hugh's.[21] Speaking in 2023, Clooney commented "St Hugh’s took a chance on me and it really opened my eyes; it opened my mind; and it has opened so many doors. I have always been so grateful to St Hugh’s for giving me my shot and my legal compass."[22]
She was subsequently based in The Hague working at the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia,[29] where she was Judicial assistant to Judge Patrick Robinson, Presiding Judge. The case charged the former President of former Republic of Yugoslavia with crimes allegedly committed in Kosovo, Croatia, and Bosnia during the war in the former Yugoslavia.[3] Clooney also worked as a Prosecutor at
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon. She prosecuted the case against five people, who were members of Hezbollah, accused of
assassinating former Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri and others in 2005.[30]
In 2010, Clooney was called to the Bar of England and Wales,
Inner Temple. She is a practising barrister at
Doughty Street Chambers.[3] Clooney regularly represents journalists and she is currently leading the international counsel team which is acting for the Filipino journalist and CEO of the news website
Rappler,
Maria Ressa. Ressa faces a series of legal charges that could lead to about 100 years in prison.[31] Ressa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for her 'courageous fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines'.[32] She previously represented Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, two Reuters journalists from Myanmar who were sentenced to seven years in prison by the government of Myanmar for reporting on crimes which were committed against Rohingyas by the Myanmar forces.[33] They were released in May 2019.[34]
Amal represents victims of mass atrocities, including genocide and sexual violence. In 2021, Amal was co-plaintiff's and victims' counsel in the first case in which an ISIS member was convicted of genocide and sentenced to life in prison.[35] In 2023, she filed a civil case on behalf of over 400 Yazidi-American plaintiffs against French cement manufacturer,
Lafarge, for conspiring to provide material support to the jihadist group,
ISIS.[36] The lawsuit seeks to hold Lafarge accountable for its admitted criminal conspiracy with ISIS and obtain compensation for the Yazidi people.[37] Amal's long time client Nadia Murad is the lead plaintiff in the case.[38] After the
Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Amal led a legal task force created at the request of the Government of Ukraine to provide legal advice on the potential avenues to secure criminal accountability for Russia in national jurisdictions, the ICC, and the United Nations.[39]
In 2024, she served on an advisory panel that reviewed the
International Criminal Court prosecutor's investigation into potential
war crimes committed in the
Israel–Hamas war.[40] The panel was convened by the ICC prosecutor
Karim A. A. Khan KC.[41][42] Clooney and seven other legal and academic experts unanimously recommended that an application be made for arrest warrants against the Prime Minister of Israel,
Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of Hamas,
Yahya Sinwar, two other Hamas leaders and the Israeli Minister of Defense,
Yoav Gallant.[43] In a statement, Clooney said there were "reasonable grounds to believe" that all five individuals committed war crimes and
crimes against humanity.[43]
Appointed as Special Adviser to the International Criminal Court Prosecutor,
Karim Khan KC, Without Portfolio.[45]
Appointed to the UK
Attorney General's Office Public International Law Panel (Panel C from 2014 to 2019 and Panel B from 2020), a panel of experts on international law which is called upon to advise and represent the UK in domestic and international courts.[46][47][3]
Appointed as UK Special Envoy on Media Freedom (2019–2020) by the UK Foreign Secretary (2019–2020).[48][3]
Appointed as Deputy Chair of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom (2019–2021) by
Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, former President of the UK Supreme Court.[49][3]
Member of Expert Panel of Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) formed by former UK Foreign Secretary William Hague to gather evidence of sexual crimes committed in conflict zones.[3]
In 2013 she was appointed to a number of United Nations commissions, including as adviser to Special Envoy
Kofi Annan on Syria and as Counsel to the 2013 Drone Inquiry by UN human rights rapporteur
Ben Emmerson KC into the use of drones in counter-terrorism operations.[50][3][51]
Appointed to the
Human Dignity Trust Bar Panel, a small panel of barristers who act pro bono and provide advice on cases challenging discrimination against the LGBT community.[3]
Philanthropy
Clooney is the co-founder and co-president of the Clooney Foundation for Justice, which she co-founded with her husband, George Clooney, in 2016. Their goal is to wage justice to create a world where human rights are protected and no one is above the law. The organization gathers evidence of mass human rights abuses, provides free legal support to victims and works to ensure that perpetrators are held to account. CFJ now operates in more than 40 countries: investigating war crimes in Ukraine, monitoring sham trials targeting women and journalists, and fighting back against a global trend of authoritarianism that seeks to punish those who speak truth to power. Its latest initiative, Waging Justice for Women, uses strategic litigation to reform discriminatory laws and increase accountability for gender-based abuse.[52]
She partnered with the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative in beginning the Amal Clooney Scholarship, which was created to send one female student from Lebanon to the
United World College Dilijan each year, to enroll in a two-year International Baccalaureate (IB) programme.[53]
In 2017, the Clooneys awarded a $1 million grant to the Southern Poverty Law Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, to combat hate groups in America.[55]
In 2018, following the
Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, the Clooneys pledged $500,000 to the
March for Our Lives and said they would be in attendance.[56] They also donated $100,000 to the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, through the Clooney Foundation for Justice, to help migrant children who were separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border.[57]
Amal and George Clooney donated $100,000 to three Lebanese charities, the Lebanese Red Cross, Impact Lebanon, and Baytna Baytak, who helped provide aid to those affected by the
2020 explosion in Beirut.[58]
In 2020, the Clooneys donated $1 million to coronavirus relief efforts. This included money for the NHS to help provide assistance to frontline workers and to The Lebanese Food Bank which helps single mothers, the elderly and vulnerable people who could not work due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.[59] The couple also made a donation to The Mill at Sonning Theatre, located close to their Berkshire home, which helped ensure its survival through the pandemic.[60]
In 2022, Clooney, along with
Michelle Obama and
Melinda French Gates, launched the 'Get Her There' campaign that seeks to catalyse educating and empowering teenage females.[61][62]
Personal life
Clooney is a dual Lebanese-British citizen.[63] She is fluent in English,
French, and
Arabic.[3][64]
In February 2017, it was reported by the American television talk show The Talk that Clooney was pregnant.[79] American actor
Matt Damon, a friend of the family, confirmed the pregnancy on the American television series Entertainment Tonight shortly thereafter.[80] In June 2017, Clooney gave birth to
fraternal twins: a girl and a boy, Ella and Alexander.[81]
Published works
Books
Special Tribunal for Lebanon: Law and Practice, co-edited with D. Tolbert and N. Jurdi (Oxford University Press, 2014).[82]
Clooney, Amal; Webb, Philippa (2020).
The Right to a Fair Trial in International Law. New York: Oxford University Press.
ISBN978-0-198-80839-8.
OCLC994411014. The book was awarded the top prize in academic book publishing, the American Society of International Law Certificate of Merit for High Technical Craftsmanship and Utility to Practicing Lawyers and Scholars, and has been cited by the UK Supreme Court.
"Human Rights", chapter in I. Roberts (ed.), Satow's Diplomatic Practice (7th Edition, Oxford University Press, 2017) (update for 2022 edition in progress).[83]
"The Right to Insult in International Law?", with P. Webb, in Columbia Human Rights Law Review, 2017, Vol. 48, No. 2.[84]
Alamuddin, Amal; Bonini, Anna (2014). "Chapter 4: The UN investigation of the Hariri assassination: The relationship between the UN investigation commission and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon: Problems of Principle and Practice". In Alamuddin, Amal; Jurdi, Nidal Nabil; Tolbert, David (eds.). The Special Tribunal for Lebanon: Law and Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 50–72.
ISBN978-0-19-968745-9.
OCLC861207456.
Alamuddin, Amal (2014). "The role of the Security Council in starting and stopping cases at the International Criminal Court: problems of principle and practice". In Zidar, Andraž; Bekou, Olympia (eds.). Contemporary Challenges for the International Criminal Court. London: British Institute of International and Comparative Law. pp. 103–130.
ISBN978-1-90522-151-6.
OCLC871319445.
Alamuddin, Amal; Webb, Philippa (15 November 2010). "Expanding Jurisdiction over War Crimes under Article 8 of the ICC Statute". Journal of International Criminal Justice. 8 (5): 1219–1243.
doi:
10.1093/jicj/mqq066.
ISSN1478-1387.
OCLC775833494.
Alamuddin, Amal (2010). "II. Before the Trial Begins; 6. Collection of Evidence". In Khan, Karim A. A.; Buisman, Caroline; Gosnell, Christopher (eds.). Principles of Evidence in International Criminal Justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 231–305.
ISBN978-0-19-958892-3.
OCLC663822377.
2016 World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.[3][87]
2018 United Nations Correspondents Association Global Citizen of the Year Award.[88][89]
In 2019,
Charles III launched the Amal Clooney Award to celebrate "incredible young women".[90]
The Simon Wiesenthal Center honoured Amal and George Clooney with its Humanitarian Award at its 2020 virtual gala.[91]
2020 Committee to Protect Journalists Gwen Ifill Award for "extraordinary and sustained achievement in the cause of press freedom".[92][93]
2021 Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press' Freedom of the Press Award.[94]
American Society of International Law "Champion of the International Rule of Law" Award.[3]
In 2021, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center's recognised Amal and George Clooney for their work in social justice and modern-day freedom efforts at the International Freedom Conductor Awards Gala.[95][96]
2022, Fellow of The Society of Writers to Her Majesty's Signet (known as the WS Society)[97]
^Rosenthal, Franz (2014). Gutas, Dimitri (ed.). Man Versus Society in Medieval Islam. Leiden; Boston: Brill. p. 613.
ISBN978-9-004-27089-3.
OCLC892338528.
^"Amal Clooney – the most wanted woman in Britain". Tatler. 19 January 2016.
Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2018. 'I remember her as humane and brainy,' adds
Ghil'ad Zuckermann, now a professor of linguistics at the University of Adelaide, Australia, who was also at St Hugh's with Amal. 'Students were talking about Amal even then, especially those from Middle Eastern backgrounds. I remember being told around 1997, about her famous journalist mother'.
^Alamuddin, A.; Webb, P. (2010). "Expanding Jurisdiction over War Crimes under Article 8 of the ICC Statute". Journal of International Criminal Justice. 8 (5): 1219.
doi:
10.1093/jicj/mqq066.