Hypnotic leader of Lebanon's Hizbollah A captivating figure who inspires fear as much as admiration and comfortably switches from funny, sarcastic comments to fiery speeches, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is the leader of Lebanon's paramilitary organisation, the Hizbollah. Though he entered politics at 15, when he joined the Amal movement, his entire career has been shaped by Israel's repeated interventions in Lebanon from the civil war in the mid-1970s and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, which he vigorously opposed. Rising quickly through the Hizbollah ranks, Nasrullah was chosen to take over when Mussawi was assassinated, in 1992, by rocket attack of Israel helicopters. Under his leadership, the Hizbollah developed on two parallel fronts - military and political. He was the man, a symbol of resistance to Israel, and his organisation that fought and drove out the Israelis troops from southern Lebanon in May 2000. Nasrullah was born in east Beirut, son of a vegetable seller. His blend of nationalism and religion was shown to be as potent in Lebanon as it has been elsewhere in the Middle East. He studied theology in Najaf in Iraq.