Joyce Gemayel (born Joyce Tayan) is the wife

First Lady

First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...

 of former President of Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

, Amin Gemayel (1982-1988), and mother of the assassinated politician Pierre Amine Gemayel

Pierre Amine Gemayel

Pierre Amine Gemayel was a Lebanese politician in the Kataeb Party, better known in English as the Phalange Party. Lebanon's second-youngest MP, he was a rising star in his party...

.

She married into the Gemayel family in 1967, becoming part "of one of Lebanon's most prominent Christian political dynasties", and raised three children, Pierre, Sami and Nicole, as Maronite Christians.

Images of her grieving her son were widely used in global media reports, illustrating the "tears and cries of anger" of the mourners. Subsequently, and alongside her husband, Gemayel has spoken out against political killings in Lebanon, and encouraged Christian Lebanese to be "united" in opposition to Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

n influence in the country.