Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
name	Amine Gemayel
order	President of Lebanon
term start	23 September 1982
term end	22 September 1988
predecessor	Elias Sarkis
successor	Selim Hoss
birth date	January 22, 1942
birth place	Bikfaya, Lebanon
religion	Maronite Catholic
party	Kataeb Party

Amine Pierre Gemayel () (born 22 January 1942) was President of Lebanon from 1982 to 1988 and is the leader of Kataeb Party.

Born in the Lebanese village of Bikfaya, Amine Gemayel () is the son of Pierre Gemayel, founder of the Kataeb Party. Gemayel was elected to the presidency by the National Assembly on 21 September 1982, in place of his brother Bachir Gemayel who had been elected the previous month but had been assassinated before taking office.

After obtaining a law degree in 1965 from the St. Joseph University in Beirut, Amine Gemayel concentrated on building up his family's newspaper business. In a 1969 by-election, he was elected to succeed his deceased uncle, Maurice Gemayel, as a member of the National Assembly; he defeated Fuad Lahoud by a margin of 54% to 41%. In 1972, in the last election to be held for 20 years, he was reelected by a large margin.

While his younger brother Bashir was regarded as a political radical, espousing the expulsion of Palestinian guerrillas from Lebanese soil and a radical overhaul of the political system, and hinting at a possible peace settlement with Israel, Amine Gemayel was considered more moderate. Always a consensus politician, he avoided, at least in his pre-presidential years, alienating Muslim politicians as his brother had done. When Bashir Gemayel was assassinated, therefore, Amine was regarded as a natural choice to bring together both the supporters of his slain brother, and his Muslim opponents.

The Gemayel presidency, 1982-1988

''' Amin never promised the Israelis anything in order to be elected president, but he promised that he would follow the path of his brother Bashir whatever that path was. Therefore, once elected, Amin refused to meet any Israeli official. With foreign armies occupying two-thirds of the country (Syria in the north and east, Israel in the south), and private armies independent of government control occupying most of the rest, Gemayel's government lacked any real power. His efforts to reach a peace settlement with Israel were stymied by Syria and by Muslim politicians at home. His government found itself largely unable to collect income tax, as warlords controlling the ports and major cities pocketed the tax take themselves. Many criticized Gemayel for not moving decisively enough to assert the authority of the government, but others have pointed out that with most of the country under foreign occupation, there was little that he could do. He managed to keep a semblance of constitutional order. At one point, he was offered $30 million by Rafik Hariri if Gemayel appointed him Prime Minister. Gemayel refused the offer, and many years later Gemayel narrated the details on a live televised interview.Source: Interview with Maguy Farah on MTV c.1998. This order began to unravel in 1988. Gemayel, whose term was due to end on 23 September, was constitutionally barred from reelection. Amine Gemayel opposed Dany Chamoun for the presidential elections, a man known for his strong anti-Syrian views, and the son of former president Camille Chamoun, or General Michel Aoun, the commander of the army. Chamoun and Aoun were both unacceptable to Syria and to Muslim politicians in Lebanon. A constitutional crisis developed. Fifteen minutes before the expiry of his term, Gemayel appointed Aoun to the post of Prime Minister, who takes on the role of Acting President if the presidency is vacant. He did so to preserve the tradition that the president, and by implication anyone acting in that role, should be a Maronite Christian , thereby going against the tradition of reserving the premiership for a Sunni Muslim. Muslim politicians and warlords refused to accept the Aoun government, instead recognizing a rival government of Selim al-Hoss, whom Gemayel had dismissed in favour of Aoun.

Post-presidential years

Hoping that his absence would help to heal the divisions of Lebanon, Gemayel went into exile for the next twelve years, living variously in Switzerland, France, and the United States, where he lectured at Harvard University's Center for International Affairs (1988–1989) and at the University of Maryland, College Park. In 2000, however, he returned to Lebanon and began to organize the opposition to the government of President Émile Lahoud, whom he regarded as a Syrian puppet. Unable to regain control of the then pro-Syrian dominated official Kataeb Party, he founded a new party, Al qaida al Kataebiya, which claimed to be the true successor to the old Kataeb Party founded by his father. He also joined the Qornet Chehwan Gathering, a group of anti-government politicians (only Christian) leading numerous different political parties.

In 2003, Amine Gemayel attempted to act as an intermediary between U.S. President George W. Bush and the Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein. Although his efforts to forestall the ensuing Iraq War were not successful, they fuelled speculation that he might be a candidate for Secretary General of the United Nations when Kofi Annan's term expired.

After the Cedar Revolution the Kataeb factions were united under the leadership of Gemayel. In the August 2007, after Gemayel's son Pierre was assassinated, by-elections in the Metn region were held, and Amine ran for his late son's seat. Amine lost by a small margin to an unknown candidate presented by Michel Aoun as a member of the Free Patriotic Movement. Gemayel is a member of the Club of Madrid, an independent non-profit organization composed of 81 democratic former Presidents and Prime Ministers from 57 different countries.

Gemayel's family

Gemayel married Joyce Tyan in December 1967. They had a daughter (Nicole) and two sons, Pierre and Sami). Pierre Gemayel was elected to Parliament in 2000, and established his reputation as a moderate opposition politician before being appointed to the Cabinet in 2005. He was assassinated by unidentified assailants in Jdeideh, a Beirut suburb, on 21 November 2006. Amine Gemayel angrily blamed Syria for the murder of his son.

Gemayel is fluent in English and French, and is regarded as a scholar of Classical Arabic.

See also

List of Presidents of Lebanon

References

Category:1942 births Category:Living people Category:People from Matn District Category:Lebanese Maronites Category:Presidents of Lebanon Category:Kataeb Party politicians

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Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
Name	Pierre Amine Gemayel
Birth date	September 23, 1972
Death date	November 21, 2006
Occupation	Former Minister of Industry
Nationality	Lebanese
Education	}}

Pierre Amine Gemayel (Arabic: ; commonly known as Pierre Gemayel Jr., or simply Pierre Gemayel; September 23, 1972 – November 21, 2006) 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. He was a vocal critic of Syria's military presence in and political domination of Lebanon, and an active member of the anti-Syrian and pro-Western parliamentary majority, the March 14 Alliance.

He was serving as Minister of Industry when he was assassinated on November 21, 2006. He was the third member of his family to be assassinated in 25 years. His uncle Bachir Gemayel was assassinated in 1982, also at age 34, and Bachir's 1-year-old daughter was killed in a car bomb attack in 1980, initially supposed to target him.

Gemayel was the fifth prominent anti-Syrian figure to be killed in Lebanon in two years.

Political family

His family has long been involved in Lebanese politics. Gemayel, a Maronite Christian, was the son of former President Amine Gemayel and a grandson of Pierre Gemayel (after whom he was named), who founded the Kataeb Party, also known as the Phalange, a right-wing party supported largely by Maronite Christians and one of the major players on Lebanon's political scene.

He was also a nephew of former president-elect Bachir Gemayel, who was assassinated in Beirut in 1982.

Law studies and career

Gemayel was educated in law in Beirut and Paris, and began his legal career at a firm in Beirut. A short while later he took over the legal practice of his father.

Political career

He started his political life in the year 2000, when he was elected to Parliament in the Matn District as an independent. An active member of the Kataeb movement (an offshoot of the Kataeb Party), he rejoined his father in the Qornet Shehwan Gathering. He was re-elected in 2005.

He was well known for his opposition to Syrian occupation and influence in Lebanon. He was against the mandate ruling of President Émile Lahoud, and took part in the Cedar Revolution after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

In July 2005, he was named Minister of Industry in Fouad Siniora's government.

Assassination

On November 21, 2006, the day before Lebanon's Independence Day, at least three to four gunmen opened fired at close range on Gemayel with five different types of silenced automatic weapons, all using 9 mm bullets, after ramming his car from the front in the Jdeideh suburb of Beirut with a Honda CRV with tinted windows that they were driving. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead. His bodyguard Sameer Chartouni was also killed. The method by which Gemayel was assassinated is much more brazen than that used in the past - gunmen killing in broad daylight, rather than anonymous car bombs detonated remotely.

Gemayel's killers issued a communique in which they referred to themselves the "Fighters for the Unity and Liberty of Greater Syria." They said that they killed Gemayel because he was "one of those who unceasingly spouted their venom against Syria and against [Hizbullah], shamelessly and without any trepidation."

A report by Arab language Kuwaiti daily ''Al Seyassah'' alleged that an editor from the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency contacted a Lebanese pro-Syrian newspaper 55 minutes prior to the assassination to inquire about the murder. The story claims the SANA reporter called back 10 minutes later to apologize for the original call. ''Al Seyassah'' further states it did not name the Lebanese newspaper to protect its identity.

Lebanese law requires the dissolution of the government if one third of the 24-member Cabinet resign or become unavailable. It has been speculated that Gemayel’s assassination was an attempt by pro-Syrian groups to reach the required third, and so force the current Government from power. With the recent resignation of six Hezbollah MPs from the Cabinet, added to Gemayel’s death, the resignation or death of only two more ministers would topple the government.

Others have, however, put forward many conspiracy theories regarding the murder such as a possible false flag operation. Many have questioned Syria's interest in targeting the Christian society as that could have the effect of destabilising a rival Christian party, namely Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement which, together with Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah's Shi'i Hezbollah, forms the largest parliamentary pro-Syrian block. However the pro-Syrian coalition managed to establish a sit-in, later growing into a protest camp, in the martyr's square downtown Beirut, to insist on their demands.

Lebanese reaction

Saad Hariri, the majority leader of the Lebanese Parliament and the head of the Current for the Future political movement, accused Syria of ordering the killing. The Syrian government denied any involvement, and condemned the killings

Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt also blamed Syria for the assassination, and said he expected more such killings aimed at undermining the Lebanese parliament's ruling majority. "I bluntly accuse the Syrian regime," Jumblatt said.

Samir Geagea, the leader of The Lebanese Forces, one of the major Christian parties, demanded President Émile Lahoud resign, and also accused Syria of ordering the killing.

Michel Aoun, leader of The Free Patriotic Movement, strongly condemned the murder, and argued that it was aimed at generating chaos and uncertainty, primarily among the Christian society in Lebanon.

Similar remarks and condemnation were issued by almost all of the major Lebanese political players.

World reaction

In an emergency session, the U.N. Security Council condemned Gemayel's assassination.

Pope Benedict XVI condemned the “unspeakable” assassination in a message read at Gemayel's funeral by a Jesuit priest.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair condemned the murder. Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in the United Kingdom, called the killing "contrary to the interests of all in the region" in a press conference aired on Al Jazeera English approximately an hour after Gemayel's death was confirmed.

In the US, the White House also condemned the murder. U.N. Ambassador John R. Bolton said Gemayel's assassination brought new attention to the danger that Syria and Iran are attempting, through allies such as Hezbollah, to conduct a coup d'état against the Lebanese government, and came the closest of any administration official to blaming Damascus. "One pattern we discern in these political assassinations of Lebanese leaders — journalists, members of parliament — they are all anti-Syrian. So I suppose one can draw conclusions from that," he said.

Family

Gemayel married Patricia Daif, a Lebanese Christian, in 1999, and they had two sons, Amine and Iskander (Alexander). The wedding was held in Limassol, Cyprus, so that Gemayel's father, who was then exiled from Lebanon, could attend. (source)

See also

List of assassinated Lebanese people

Kataeb

References

External links

Lebanese Kataeb Official Site

News coverage

Pierre Gemayel's father calls for calm, ''Al Jazeera English'', November 21, 2006

Obituary, ''BBC News'', November 21, 2006

Who killed Lebanon's Minister?, ''Ya Libnan'', November 21, 2006

Prime Minister Siniora remembers Gemayel, ''Ya Libnan'', November 21, 2006

Lebanon mourns its fallen minister, ''Ya Libnan'', November 22, 2006

Category:Lebanese Maronites Category:Assassinated Lebanese politicians Category:Deaths by firearm in Lebanon Category:People from Beirut Category:1972 births Category:2006 deaths Category:People murdered in Lebanon Category:Lebanese anti-Syrian activists Category:Kataeb Party politicians Category:Members of the Parliament of Lebanon Category:Government ministers of Lebanon Category:Terrorism deaths in Lebanon

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