This article is about a district in Beirut. For the depopulated Palestinian village see Al-Ashrafiyya

Sassine Square, the heart of Achrafieh

ABC Mall in Achrafieh

Saint Maroun cathedral in Achrafieh

The "Old" and "New" of Achrafieh

The heavy urbanization of Achrafieh

Achrafieh, (Arabic: الأشرفية‎; also spelled Ashrafieh), is one of the oldest Christian^[1] (mostly Greek Orthodox) districts of East Beirut, Lebanon.^[2]

Overview[link]

It is located on a hill in the eastern part of Beirut alongside the shore. Achrafieh is both a residential and commercial district characterized by narrow winding streets and prestigious large apartment and office buildings. It is a prime location for investment and tourism.

Until the 1930s, Achrafieh was largely composed of farmland owned and farmed by several Greek Orthodox Christian families that had ruled the country and the region for centuries. The Lebanese government, which at the time was under French Mandate, partitioned the land in Achrafieh to build roads and highways, forcing these families to eventually sell large parts of their land.

Achrafieh formerly was ruled by seven socially and economically prominent Greek Orthodox Christian families that formed Beirut's High Society for centuries: Trad, Ferneini, Araman, Bustros, Sursock, Fayyad, Tueini.

The area is divided into numerous smaller neighborhoods. Its most prominent ones include: Sassine Square, one of the most prominent political, social and commercial focal points of the Lebanese capital; St Nicolas (where important buildings include the Sursock House, Sursock Museum, the Sofil building and the Ivory building); and Tabaris / Abdel Wahab (among its important buildings: 812 Tabaris, Achrafieh Tower, Yared buildings, Metropolis, and L'Hermitage building, 54).

During Lebanon’s civil war, bombs and rockets wiped out a substantial portion of the Achrafieh’s architectural heritage. The war ended and the shooting has stopped, but the destruction of historic buildings has not. Every day, demolition teams tear down old houses and bulldoze hundred-year-old gardens. Tall concrete towers replace the houses, overshadowing the few historical neighborhoods Achrafieh has left. Historic buildings not only hold sentimental value, they are also economically viable.

Archeological remains were found below new buildings, but developers ignored them. Heritage activists are trying their best to preserve the few old remaining ‘Lebanese houses’ still standing in Achraifeh. But their efforts are largely in vain, as there is no law to protect old homes and preservation is low on the list of priorities for the country’s politicians.

During the Lebanese Civil War, which started in 1975, Achrafieh became a major strategic base for Christian forces. Large numbers of Christian Forces militiamen were stationed there, led by Bachir Gemayel, and as such formed part of Christian East Beirut.

It was announced on August 13, 2009 that Achrafieh's neighborhood of Sodeco would be home to Lebanon's tallest tower, Sama Beirut. When the project is completed in 2014 it will be Lebanon's tallest project, standing at 200 metres (660 ft).

Neighborhoods/Streets of Achrafieh[link]

• Sassine Square
• Tabaris
• Gemmayzeh
• Gouraud
• Monot
• Sodeco
• Sioufi
• Sursock
• Escalier de Saint Nicolas
• Rue du Liban
• Rue Huvellin
• Saint Dimitri (Mar Mitr)

See also[link]

• Article on the history of Ashrafieh and how it evolved through time - Interview with Former Ashrafieh MP Michel Sassine (December 2011): http://www.scribd.com/doc/77669439/Interview-on-the-History-of-Achrafieh-with-HE-Michel-Sassine-Dec-2011

• Grand Lycée Franco-Libanais, a French language secondary school, Les Diablotins, Universite Saint Joseph located in the neighbourhood

mar meter strhit (saint Dimitri)

References[link]

Coordinates: 33°53′15.21″N 35°31′14.72″E / 33.8875583°N 35.5207556°E / 33.8875583; 35.5207556

External links[link]

• SOUWAR.com
• Ikamalebanon.com
• Lebanonatlas.com

Amine Gemayel
President of Lebanon
In office 23 September 1982 – 22 September 1988
Preceded by	Bachir Gemayel
Succeeded by	Selim Hoss
Personal details
Born	(1942-01-22)January 22, 1942 (age 70) Bikfaya, Lebanon
Political party	Kataeb Party
Religion	Maronite Catholic

Amine Pierre Gemayel (Arabic: أمين بيار الجميٌل‎) (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 (French pronunciation: [aˈmin ʒəmaˈjɛl]) ^[1] 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.^[2] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[3] Always a consensus politician, he avoided, at least in his pre-presidential years, alienating Muslim politicians as his brother had done.^{[citation needed]} 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[link]

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.^[4] 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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} 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.

Amin Gemayel's Inauguration, Beirut 1982

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^{[citation needed]}, thereby going against the tradition of reserving the premiership for a Sunni Muslim.^{[citation needed]} 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[link]

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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[5] Gemayel is a member of the Club of Madrid,^[6] an independent non-profit organization, composed of democratic former Presidents and Prime Ministers, which works to promote democratic governance and leadership.

Gemayel's family[link]

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.^[7]

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

See also[link]

• List of Presidents of Lebanon

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amine Pierre Gemayel

References[link]

v t e Presidents of Lebanon French Mandate (1918-1943) office established 1926 · Charles Debbas · Antoine Privat-Aubouard* · Habib Pacha Es-Saad · Émile Eddé · Pierre-Georges Arlabosse* · Alfred Naqqache · Ayoub Tabet* · Petro Trad Lebanese Republic (since 1943) Bechara El Khoury · Émile Eddé · Bechara El Khoury · Fuad Chehab* · Camille Chamoun · Fuad Chehab · Charles Helou · Suleiman Frangieh · Elias Sarkis · Bachir Gemayel† · Amine Gemayel · Michel Aoun* · vacant · René Moawad · Elias Hrawi · Émile Lahoud · Fouad Siniora* · Michel Suleiman denotes acting     †assassinated prior to taking office

Samir Farid Geagea (Arabic: سمير فريد جعجع, also spelled Samir Ja‘ja‘), born October 25, 1952, is a Lebanese politician. He is also a senior figure in the March 14 Alliance,^[1] alongside Saad Hariri and Amine Gemayel.

He took leadership of the Lebanese Forces in 1986. After the civil war, there was increased pressure by Syria on Geagea to accept the Syrian presence or face charges.^{[citation needed]} Prior to his arrest, he was contacted by several sympathetic politicians and warned about the forthcoming proceedings and offered safe passage out of Lebanon.^[2] In 1994, four years after the end of the Lebanese Civil War, Geagea was tried for ordering four political assassinations, including the assassination of Lebanon's Prime Minister Rashid Karami in 1987, and the unsuccessful attempted assassination of Defense Minister Michel Murr in 1991.^[3] He denied all charges, but was found guilty and sentenced to four death sentences, each of which was commuted to life in prison.^[3] Geagea was imprisoned in solitary confinement below the Lebanese Ministry of Defense building in Beirut for the next 11 years.^[3] He is the only Lebanese militia leader to have been imprisoned for crimes committed during the Lebanese Civil War.^[3]

Following the Cedar Revolution, and the subsequent withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon, a newly-elected Lebanese Parliament voted to grant him amnesty on July 18, 2005.^[3]

Early life and education[link]

Geagea was born in Ain el Remmaneh, a suburb of Beirut in 1952 to a modest Maronite family from the town of Bsharri, Northern Lebanon. His father was an adjutant in the Lebanese Army. He attended "Ecole Bénilde" elementary and secondary school in Furn el-Chebek, which was a free private school. With the aid of a scholarship from the Khalil Gibran association, he studied medicine at the American University of Beirut and then at Saint Joseph University. After the outbreak of civil war in 1975, Geagea interrupted his five years studies at the American University of Beirut. Although he would later continue his studies at Saint Joseph's University for two years, successfully completing his MD, Geagea never practiced medicine. He was an active member of the right-wing Phalangist Party, which became the main Christian fighting force upon the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975.^[4] He is married to Sethrida Geagea.

War Period[link]

Geagea steadily rose through the ranks and led several operations at the request of Bachir Gemayel, then commander of the Phalangist Kataeb Regulatory Forces militia. In June 1978, following the murder of a Phalangist party leader in the North Lebanon called Joud el Bayeh in a power struggle with former president Suleiman Frangieh, Bachir Gemayel ordered Geagea and Elie Hobeika to co-lead a unit to capture the suspects who were taking cover in Frangieh's mansion in Ehden.^[5][6] The convoy was ambushed on the way and Geagea was hit and admitted to Hotel Dieu hospital in Achrafieh where ironically he was doing his internship, his right hand was partially paralyzed and he never continued his education while the military operation resulted in the murder of Tony Frangieh and his family. Geagea was later transported to a hospital in France.

Geagea was appointed head of the Lebanese Forces' militia northern Front in the early 1980s, where he commanded around 1,500 battle-hardened soldiers, drawn mainly from his native town of Bsharri and other towns and villages in Northern Lebanon. Geagea led his men in fierce battles against the Syrian Army in El-Koura, Qnat. In 1982-1983, Geagea commanded the Lebanese Forces against Walid Jumblat's Progressive Socialist Party militia, the Palestinians, and the Syrians in a battle for control of the Chouf mountains in central Lebanon.

Lebanese Forces[link]

Samir Geagea and daughter of William Hawi - Leila

On March 12, 1985, Geagea and Elie Hobeika orchestrated an internal coup in order to end the leadership of Fouad Abou Nader in the Lebanese Forces. Abou Nader was considered to be too close to his uncle, president Amin Gemayel whose policies were not accepted by most LF leaders. On January 15, 1986, Geagea became head of the Lebanese Forces after overthrowing Hobeika, who was widely accused of treachery in the Lebanese Christian sector for agreeing to a Syrian-sponsored accord (the Tripartite Accord). During the following year, Geagea meticulously rebuilt the LF into an organized, well trained and equipped military force, one of the most advanced forces ever on Lebanese soil. He established social security and public services to fill the void that was created by the war-crippled state administration. He also extracted taxes from the Christian region, offered free open-heart operations and twinned Christians cities with foreign cities in Europe and America and tried to open an airport in the Halat region because the Beirut International Airport (located in the west suburb of Beirut) was under the control of the Syrian forces which made the access for Lebanese Christians almost impossible.

The Post-War period[link]

On October 13, 1990, Syria ousted General Michel Aoun from the presidential palace in Baabda. Aoun was heading an interim government which filled the void in the absence of a presidential election after the end of President Amin Gemayel's term in office. With Aoun out of the picture, Geagea was now the only leader in the Christian heartland. Geagea was subsequently offered ministerial portfolios in the new Lebanese government (formed on Christmas Eve).^[7]

Relation with the Kataeb party[link]

In addition to being the LF leader, Geagea retained his seat in the Kataeb Politburo. In 1992, he ran for the Kataeb presidential election but lost to Georges Saadeh with whom the conflict grew. Later that year, Saadeh dismissed Geagea and all members of what was known as the "Rescue Committee" from the party.^[8] The committee was formed by several members of the Politburo and districts leaders loyal to the LF and Geagea.

Arrest and trial[link]

There was increased pressure by Syria on Geagea to accept the Syrian presence or face charges. Prior to his arrest, he was contacted by several sympathetic politicians and warned about the forthcoming proceedings and offered safe passage out of Lebanon. Geagea refused to leave.^[9] The Syrians exploited the vulnerabilities of the amnesty law promulgated by then president Elias Hrawi for all the crimes and atrocities committed before 1990. This law also stated that any crime committed after that date will void the effect of the amnesty. On February 27, 1994, a bomb exploded in the Church of Sayyidet Al Najet (Our Lady of Deliverance) in the locality of Zouk killing 9 worshipers and injuring many. It is unknown who perpetrated the bombing and it was ultimately attributed to some shadowy groups, but Samir Geagea was accused of the crime solely for the purpose of voiding the effect of the amnesty law of which he benefited, in the same way as all political and militia leaders from other communities and regions were benefiting despite their many unspeakable crimes throughout the Lebanese civil way.^[5][10] On March 23, 1994, the Lebanese government ordered the dissolution of the LF and Geagea's deputy Fouad Malek was taken into custody.^[11] Geagea himself was arrested on April 21, 1994, on charges of ordering the church bombing, of attempting to undermine government authority by "maintaining a militia in the guise of a political party", of instigating acts of violence, and of committing assassinations during the Lebanese Civil War. He was accused of the assassinations of Former Prime Minister Rashid Karami, National Liberal Party leader Dany Chamoun and his family, and former LF member Elias Al Zayek. He was also accused of attempting to kill Minister Michel Murr. He was acquitted in the church case but given four life sentences in the other cases. Amnesty International criticized Samir Geagea's trial and conviction, citing that it was politically motivated and unjust.^[9][12][13]

Imprisonment[link]

Geagea was incarcerated for 11 years in a small windowless solitary cell in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense in Yarze.^[14] His health status was jeopardized and he lost weight dramatically due to the unsanitary condition of the ill lit and poorly ventilated prison cell.^[15] He was deprived of access to media and the outside world and was only allowed to see his wife and close relatives. All of Geagea’s conversations were monitored and he was barred from talking politics with anyone.^[16]

For the duration of his incarceration, Geagea maintained that he meditated and reviewed his actions during the war to determine if what he did was right. He busied himself with reading literature, Hindu philosophy, Christian theology and mysticism namely the works of Jesuit priest Teilhard de Chardin.^[5][16]

Release[link]

Leaders of the Cedar Revolution considered the Geagea trials and sentences to be unjust, politically motivated, and orchestrated by the vassal regime that ruled Lebanon during the Syrian occupation to oust Geagea from the political scene and dismantle the Lebanese Forces.^[17] When supporters of the Cedar Revolution won the majority in the 2005 parliamentary elections, they lobbied for an amnesty law to free Geagea from his disputed sentences.^[17]

The Lebanese Parliament passed an amnesty bill on 18 July 2005 to free Samir Geagea. It was subsequently signed by President Émile Lahoud.^[3] Geagea was released from prison on July 26, 2005 and he left Lebanon for medical care.^[18] He returned to Lebanon on October 25 (his birthday), and lived in the Cedars region, his ancestral home, in northern Lebanon until December 11, 2006, after which he moved to a hotel in Bzoummar in Keserwan. On June 30, 2007, he moved to a new residence in "Me'arab", Keserwan.

Current political activity[link]

On the Lebanese political scene, Geagea and the LF are considered to be the main Christian component of the March 14 Alliance.^[19]

In September 2008, Geagea pronounced in front of thousands of rallying supporters in Jounieh a historical apology.^[16] The apology read:

"I fully apologize for all the mistakes that we committed when we were carrying out our national duties during past civil war years,... I ask God to forgive, and so I ask the people whom we hurt in the past."^[20]

Internationally, Geagea is trying to renew his relations with influential countries such as the United States and France. On March 19, 2007, he met French president Jacques Chirac in the Élysée Palace.^[21] In March 2008, he held talks in the USA with officials at the White House, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, NSA Stephen Hadley and the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia Gary Ackerman.^[22]

Assassination Attempt[link]

On the 4th of April 2012, at 11h30-11h33 am, gunshots were heard in Geagea's Ma'arab Complex. Geagea's security forces scouted the area, and found shells belonging to a 12.7 caliber sniper rifle. Geagea's account of the story, as described in a press conference immediately following the attempt, claim Geagea to have been walking outside in the garden surrounding his mansion. Geagea bent over to pick up a flower, while bent over, Geagea heard gun shots, and immediately lay low on the ground, while his security forces took care of the situation. The identity of the assailants remains unknown.

^{[23] [24]}

See also[link]

• Bashir Gemayel

References[link]

Jean-Marc Aractingi, La Politique à mes trousses ( Politics at my heels), Editions l'Harmattan, Paris, 2006,Lebanon Chapter (ISBN 978-2-296-00469-6).

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Samir Geagea

• All About Samir Geagea
• Website about Samir Geagea
• Hussain Abdul-Hussain: Lebanon's Samir Geagea: A Maverick --Huffington Post--

Videos

• Best of Hakim Fi Zanzana Part of a documentary (in Arabic) on Samir Geagea's life in prison. It shows how raising a political issue between Geagea and his wife during her visit to him can result in the interruption of the visit.
• Archive of Samir Geagea's Speeches
• Samir Geagea's press conference immediately following his assassination attempt

ref name="LP">{{Cite book | edition = 3 | publisher = Lonely Planet | isbn = 1-74104-609-2, 9781741046090 | page = 436 | last = Carter .| first = Terry | coauthors = Lara Dunston, Amelia Thomas | title = Syria