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

Bachir Pierre Gemayel
President-elect of Lebanon
In office August 23, 1982
Preceded by	Elias Sarkis
Succeeded by	Amine Gemayel
Personal details
Born	(1947-11-10)November 10, 1947 Achrafieh, Beirut
Died	September 14, 1982(1982-09-14) (aged 34) Achrafieh, Beirut
Political party	Lebanese Forces
Spouse(s)	Solange Totonji
Religion	Maronite Catholic

Lebanon

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Lebanon

Constitution Constitution of 1926 Presidency President Michel Suleiman Government Prime Minister Najib Mikati Cabinet Legislature Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri Current members Political parties Lebanese Forces Movement of the Future Kataeb Party Hezbollah Free Patriotic Movement Syrian Social Nationalist Party Elections Presidential 2008 Parliamentary 2009 Local 2010 Other issues Governorates Districts Municipalities Armed Forces Human rights Foreign relations

Other countries · Atlas Politics portal view talk edit

Bachir Gemayel (10 November 1947 – 14 September 1982) (first name also spelled Bashir and surname also spelled al-Jumayyil, El Gemaiel, Joomayyeel) (بشير الجميّل) was a Lebanese politician, militia commander, and president-elect. He was a senior member of the Phalange party and the commander of the Lebanese Forces militia amid the first several years of the Lebanese Civil War (1975–90). He was elected president on August 23, 1982 while the country was torn by civil war and occupied by both Israel and Syria. He was assassinated on September 14, 1982, along with 26 others, when a bomb exploded in the Beirut headquarters of the Phalange. The bomb was planted by Habib Tanious Shartouni.^[1] The FBI blamed the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.^[2]

Early life[link]

Bachir As A Child

Bachir was born on November 10, 1947 in the Achrafieh neighborhood of Beirut, the youngest of six children. The Gemayel family is originally from the Bikfaya village in the Matn District of Lebanon and is one of the most influential Christian families in Lebanon. His father was Pierre Gemayel, who founded the Phalange party in 1936 as a youth movement. The Phalange, a conservative party that though is officially secular, is supported mostly by Maronite Christians. Gemayel attended College de Notre Dame de Jamhour and the Institution Moderne du Liban (I.M.L) - Fanar. He completed his formal university education at St. Joseph University (Université Saint-Joseph - U.S.J.) in Beirut. After teaching for three years at the Lebanese Modern Institute, he graduated in 1971 with a degree in Law and another in Political Sciences in 1973. In 1971, Gemayel also took another law qualification from the American and International Law Academy in Dallas, Texas. Qualifying in 1972, he joined the bar association and opened an office in Hamra, West Beirut.^[3]

Early Activities in the Kataeb Party[link]

Before 1976, Bachir was known as the son of Pierre Gemayel. He became a member of the Kataeb Party when he was 12 years old.^[4]

Bachir realized the dangers that surrounded Lebanon in 1958, so he spent a lot of time with the organized forces of the Kataeb Party.^[5] He attended the meetings organized by the Kataeb Student Section, and he was the president of the Kataeb Circle in St. Joseph University between 1965 and 1971.^[6]

In the late 1960s, he underwent military training in Bikfaya, and he was appointed the military leader of a Kataeb group. Then, in the early 1970s, he formed the “Bikfaya Squad” where he became acquainted with the basics of military resistance.^[7] In 1968, he participated in a student colloquium organized by the newspaper Orient, following events which occurred across Lebanese universities between the Islamic and leftist students supporting Palestinians in Lebanon on one side, and Lebanese and nationalist students (who Bachir represented) on the other.

Bachir With His Father Pierre

Bachir With Kataeb Forces

After the continuous battles between the Lebanese Army and the PLO, Bachir gathered a group of students, and they started training in far mountains. This was the basis of what will later form the Lebanese Forces. At this time, he was under the command of William Hawi.^[8]

In 1970, Bachir was briefly kidnapped by Palestinian militants in Lebanon and taken to the Tel al-Zaatar refugee camp. He was released 8 hours later.

Bachir became a member of the “BG Squad” formed by William Hawi. He was a revolutionary in the party. He became close with Jean Nader, leader of Achrafieh at that time, and he became the Vice President of Achrafieh. This situation continued from 1971 till 1975.^[9]

Bachir became the head of the “BG Squad” after its members found him as a leader more close to their views. This group was formed of 12 specially trained members such as Fouad Abou Nader, Fadi Frem, Elie Hobeika and others. They were fierce fighters, and they were known for their violent battles. This group was out of the direct control of the party.^[10] He had his own views and principles, and he wanted to run for the Vice Presidency of the party, but his men said to him that they want him as the leader of the “Lebanese Forces” and not the VP of a party. In addition, many members of the party did not want him as the VP because he was the son of Pierre Gemayel, the founder and president of the party. The elections were cancelled and they weren’t done until after his assassination.^[11]

He submitted his resignation from the party in 1976, but it was rejected. This was because the Kataeb Party had approved the entrance of the Syrian Army to Lebanon to stop the war, but Bachir refused this and he was strongly against the Syrian intervention because he believed that Syria wanted to annex Lebanon. He came to this conclusion because the Syrian officials repeatedly stated that Lebanon is part of Syria and that the Syrian Army doesn’t need anyone’s permission to enter Lebanon. Plus, at that time, the Syrian educational system used to teach that Lebanon is a Syrian district.^[12]

Military Command[link]

In 1975, Gemayel was accused by the LNM of being responsible for the Black Saturday massacre of Palestinians and Lebanese Muslims. According to Phalange member Karim Pakradouni, Bachir admitted to him that while being in an emotional state for the killing of four Phalangists earlier that day, he ordered his militiamen into the streets. Bachir added that when the situation developed into something he did not agree with and civilians were being killed, he tried to stop the killings but failed to.^[13] However, according to Michel Samaha, another Phalange member, Bachir was outside Beirut and that Bachir arrived after the killing of civilians had started. Michel Samaha added that Bachir was one of the many senior members of the Phalange Party who tried to stop this massacre.^[13]

Bachir in the Street

Christian East Beirut was ringed by heavily fortified Palestinian camps from which kidnappings and sniping against Lebanese civilians became a daily routine. Christian East Beirut became besieged by the PLO camps, with severe shortages of food and fuel. This unbearable situation led the Kataeb Forces and their allied Christian militias to besiege the Palestinian camps embedded in Christian East Beirut one at a time and bring them down. On January 18, 1976, Bachir led the invasion of the heavily fortified Karantina camp that was located near the strategic Beirut Harbor : About 1,000 PLO fighters and civilians were killed.^[14] The Palestinian PLO and al-Saiqa forces retaliated by attacking the isolated defenseless Christian town of Damour about 20 miles south of Beirut on the coast, during the Damour massacre in which 1,000 Christian civilians were killed and 5,000 were sent fleeing north by boat, since all roads were blocked off.^[15] The Maronites retaliated with the invasion of the Tel al-Zaatar camp that same year (The camp was placed under siege for 52 days by the Tigers militia led by Dany Chamoun). Bachir played an important role in the last stages of the battle : he sent a group of his forces that moved through the sewers and they blew up the ammunition storage in the camp. This incident was considered to be the lethal blow that led the fall of the camp.^[16] The Christian militias also fought against the PLO and LNM militias at the Battle of the Hotels in central Beirut. Bachir led the battle for the Holiday Inn that had an important strategic location. The battle was a success for Bachir's troops, and they were able to move the PLO out of the hotel. After insuring the safety of the rear lines and their effectiveness (necessary for the safety of Christian East Beirut), Bachir and his troops decided to abandon the hotel.^[17]

Bachir Attending Mass At A Training Camp

In 1976, with the death of William Hawi, who died due to a sniper shot in the battle of Tall Al-Zaatar, Bachir became head of the Kataeb militia. Later that year, he became a leading member of the Lebanese Front, a coalition of several Christian parties, and commander of their military wing, the Lebanese Forces. A military coalition of several Christian militias which not only opposed the PLO but also the Syrian troops, who had entered Lebanon at first to assist in defeating Palestinian militants, before turning into occupiers.^[18]

Bachir Giving A Speech At "Don Bosco" Training Camp

Bachir led his troops in the infamous “Hundred Days War” in Lebanon in 1978, in which the Lebanese Forces successfully resisted the Syrian shelling and attacking of Eastern Beirut for about three months before an Arab-brokered agreement forced the Syrians to end the siege. Syrians took high buildings such as Burj Rizk Achrafieh and Burj El Murr using snipers and heavy weapons against civilians. The soldiers stayed for 90 days. Another major clash took place near the Sodeco area in Achrafieh where the Lebanese Forces fought ferociously and led the Syrian army out of the Rizk Building.^[19] This War led to the withdrawal of the Syrian troops from East Beirut and the free Christian Areas. At this time, Israel was the primary backer of the Lebanese Front’s militia.

In 1981 at Zahlé in the Beqaa, the largest Christian town in the East, confronted one of the biggest battles – both military and political – between the Lebanese Forces and the Syrian occupying forces. The Lebanese Forces were able to confront them and reverse the result of the battle of 1981 with the help of 92 Lebanese Forces soldiers (L.F Special Forces: The Maghaweer) sent from Beirut as well as the towns inhabitants. Regardless of the very bad weather and heavy bombing, convoys were sent in the snow to Zahle. Two Lebanese Forces soldiers died on a hill due to bad weather, they were found later holding each other… till they died. The battle of Zahle gave the Lebanese Cause a new perspective in the International Communities, and by some was regarded as military and diplomatic victory . It strengthened Bashir Gemayel's position because of his leadership and important role in this battle. The battle started in April the 2nd 1981, and finished with a cease fire and Lebanese Police were sent to Zahle. The 92 Lebanese Forces returned to Beirut on 1 July 1981.^[20] (See: Battle of Zahleh for more details)

Tensions within the Lebanese Front[link]

Bachir With Camille Chamoun

Despite their increasing success in their battle against the PLO, and the Syrian troops, there are two factors that led to the Lebanese Front’s demise.

Following the killing of many Phalangist members, in addition to a senior Phalangist by members of the Marada militia, which was led by fellow member of the Lebanese Front, Tony Frangieh, Bachir called for a meeting to decide on what to do about this situation. At first, the decision was to capture Tony Frangieh, and force him to surrender the members of the Marada miltia who killed the Phalangists. However, there was concerns about the consequences of this move. So, the decision was changed after many talks between the Phalangists present at the meeting. It was decided that the goal of the operation would be to capture the members of the Marada militia who killed the Phalangists and it would be done on Tuesday to be sure that Tony Frangieh would have finished his weekend vacation and left Ehden. On June 23, 1978, Bachir sent a squadron of his men led by Samir Geagea and Elie Hobeika to Ehden, but what Bachir did not know is that Tony Frangieh never left Ehden since his car didn't work. As soon as the squadron arrived, bullets were flying all over their heads, so they retaliated and this led to the killing of Tony Frangieh and his family, in addition to tens of members of the Marada militia. Bachir was very angry about what happened, but he stood by his men. ^[21]

In 1980, in order to stop the clashes happening inside the Christian areas, between the Kataeb Militia and the Tigers Militia, and in order to eliminate the possibility of an Intra-Christian war, Bachir sent his troops to the town of Safra, where Dany Chamoun and members of his Tigers Militia were vacationing. With full support from Dany’s father, former president Camille Chamoun, the Tigers under the control of Elias el Hannache were exterminated in what was later named Safra massacre. Dany’s life was spared and he sought refuge in West Beirut, but Camille Chamoun’s support of the attack was interpreted as him believing that his son’s militia was getting too out of control.^[22]

Israeli invasion of Lebanon and Bachir's election[link]

Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982. Defense Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, met with Bachir months earlier, telling him that the Israeli Defense Force were planning an invasion to uproot the PLO threat to Israel and to move them out of Lebanon.^[23] While Bachir did not control Israel’s actions in Lebanon, the support Israel gave the Lebanese Forces, militarily and politically, angered many Lebanese Muslims and leftists.

Bachir met with Hani Al-Hassan (representative of the PLO) and told him that Israel will enter and wipe them out. Bachir told him to leave Lebanon peacefully before it was too late. Hani left and no reply was given to Bachir.^[24]

Celebrations In Sassine Square After Bachir's Election

Bachir With Philip Habib, who played an important role in Bachir's election

Israel invaded and the PLO were expelled from Lebanon in August 1982. During the invasion, the Israelis wanted the Lebanese Forces to assist the Israeli Army militarily by fighting the Palestinians and Muslims in West Beirut; however, Bachir refused that because he said that his forces will not assist an invading army. By now, Bachir had announced his candidacy for president. He was backed by the United States, who sent peacekeeping troops to oversee the withdrawal of the PLO from Lebanon. Bachir had requested that they stay longer to keep Lebanon stable until he could reunite it, but his request was denied. On August 23, 1982, being the only one to declare his bid, Bachir was elected president.

On 1 September 1982, two weeks before his assassination and only one week after his election, Bachir met the Israeli Prime minister Menachem Begin in Nahariya. During the meeting, Begin demanded that Bachir sign a peace treaty with Israel as soon as he took office in return of Israel's earlier support of Lebanese Forces and he also told Bachir that the IDF will stay in South Lebanon if the Peace Treaty wasn't signed. Bachir was furious at Begin and told him that the Lebanese Forces didn't fight for seven years and that they didn't sacrifice thousands of soldiers to free Lebanon from the Syrian Army and the PLO so that Israel can take their place. Bachir also added that he will not sign the Peace Treaty without national consensus on the matter. The meeting ended in rage and both sides weren't happy with each other.^[25]

Begin was reportedly angry at Bachir for his public denial of Israel's support. Bachir refused signing a peace treaty arguing that time is needed to reach consensus with Lebanese Muslims and the Arab nations. This angered the Israelis because they knew that it is almost impossible for the Lebanese Muslims to agree on a Peace Treaty. They realized that Bachir was starting to distance himself from them.^[26]

On September 12, in an attempt to fix the relations between Begin and Bachir, Ariel Sharon had a secret meeting with Bachir in Bikfaya. During the meeting, Bachir told Sharon that the Lebanese Army would soon enter into the Palestinian Camps to disarm any remaining fighters. They also agreed that the Lebanese Army would attack the Syrian Army in Mount Sannine and take control of the mountain, and, if needed, the Israelis would assist the Lebanese Army by air raids. In addition, Sharon tried to convince Bachir about signing a Peace Treaty, but Bachir did not change his position on this matter.^[27]

Time as President elect[link]

August 25 : Deployment of International Separation Forces (mainly American, French, and Italian).

August 30 : Yasser Arafat leaves Beirut to Athene.

September 1 : Meeting between Presidents Bachir and Elias Sarkis with American Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger.

September 2 : Opening the path of Sodeco that used to be considered as a separation line between East and West Beirut.

September 4 : The Lebanese Army enters West Beirut for the first time since 1973.

September 9 : The Lebanese Army enters the Palestinian Camp Bourj el-Barajneh and that was restricted since 1969 by the Cairo Agreement.

September 10 : The International Separation Forces leaves Lebanon after completing its task.

September 11 : Beirut's economic market resumes its activities. Bachir meets with former Lebanese Prime Minister Saeb Salam.

September 13 : Beirut's seaport resumes its activities.

During these 21 days, fighters from the Lebanese Forces were prohibited from wearing their army clothes and also from carrying their weapons in the streets. The Lebanese Army was the only armed force in the streets.

Institutions[link]

Al-Ashbal : its first camp was organized under the patronage of Bashir in Jbeil scout camping grounds (1975).

Popular Committees : launched by Bashir in 1976, their aim is the people’s participation in the organization of daily life.

Hamat Airport : created by Bashir in 1976 for special tourist trips and for the export of agricultural products....

Radio Free Lebanon : founded by Bashir in 1978 to explain to the world the reality of the Lebanese cause.

Radio 102 : out of Bashir’s desire for a commercial station in order to alleviate the burden of the war (1979).

Delta Computer : founded in 1979 as a specialized information body related to all components of social organization.

Help Lebanon : founded to take care of children and alleviate the consequences of the war.

Lebanese Forces Television (LBC) : launched in 1980 as a national, educational, cultural and non-commercial television.

Gamma Group : an institution including specialists to plan the building of a modern state in all of its sectors (1982).

The Lebanese Cultural Association : created in 1982 to deal with intellectual, literature and artistic affairs as well as Lebanese civilization.

Achrafieh Merchants Committee : created in 1982 to revive the economy and trade and organize the market.

Achrafieh Festival Committee : created in 1982 to organize fairs and exhibitions and to encourage artistic activities.^[28]

Assassination[link]

Bachir During A Kataeb gathering

On September 14, 1982, Bachir was addressing fellow Phalangists at their headquarters in Achrafieh for the last time as their leader and for the last time as commander of the Lebanese Forces. At 4:10 PM, a bomb was detonated at the headquarters, killing Bachir and 26 other Phalange politicians. Whereas rumors spread that Bachir had gotten out alive, it was confirmed the next morning by the Lebanese Prime Minister Shafik Wazzan that Bachir was indeed assassinated.^[29]

Habib Shartouni, a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party and also a Maronite Christian, was later arrested for the assassination. His sister was living in the apartment above the room Bachir was in. He had visited her the previous day and planted the bomb in her apartment. The next day, he called her and told her to get out of the building. Once she was out, he detonated the bomb from a few miles away from the building. When he came back to check on his sister, he was immediately arrested. He later confessed to it, saying he had done this because “Bachir had sold the country to Israel.” A reporter was heard telling him "You didn't kill a man, you killed a country." He was imprisoned for 8 years, until Syrian troops took over Lebanon at the end of the war and freed him on October 13, 1990. Amin Gemayel didn't condemn Habib Shartouni because of immense Syrian pressure.^[30]

Condemnations poured in from around the world, including from the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 520 as well as from American President Ronald Reagan. Reagan had been one of Bachir's most staunch supporters, saying "this promising young leader had brought the light of hope to Lebanon."^[31]

Various theories exist as to other parties that had a hand in the assassination. Many point fingers at the Syrian government and then-Syrian President Hafez al-Assad for having knowledge of the assassination attempt and for backing Shartouni.^[32] Another theory claims that Israel secretly ordered the assassination after they began to feel Bachir was going to delay the process of peace between Lebanon and Israel and rather wait for Arab backing and Lebanese consensus on the issue. Even after they kept pressuring him, Bachir refused to immediately give Israel peace.^[33]

Bachir Gemayel's older brother Amine Gemayel was then elected as president, serving from 1982 to 1988. Rather different in temperament, Amine Gemayel was widely regarded as more moderate than his brother. Many of Bachir's followers were dissatisfied with Amine. Eventually, the Lebanese Forces became independent from the Phalange and its own political party.

Family[link]

Gemayel's widow, Solange Gemayel, works to keep his legacy alive through the Bachir Gemayel Foundation, a political and informational organization.

Gemayel's first daughter Maya was murdered in 1980 at 18 months of age by a car bomb intended for Gemayel himself.^[34] He has two surviving children: His second daughter, Youmna, was born later in the year and received her degree in political science in Paris. She is now working towards her Masters in Management at ESA (École supérieure des affaires) in Beirut. Gemayel's son, Nadim, who was born months before Bachir was killed, was a law student and political activist, and was elected as a member of the Lebanese Parliament in 2009.

Books about Bachir[link]

• ضمير وتاريخ
• تاريخ في رجل
• رجل النهضة
• Words From Bachir - Understanding the Mind of the Founder of the Lebanese Forces

See also[link]

• Kataeb Party
• Kataeb Regulatory Forces
• Lebanese Forces
• Pierre Gemayel
• Solange Gemayel
• Nadim Gemayel
• Samir Geagea
• Waltz with Bashir

Notes[link]

References[link]

• بشير الجميل، تاريخ في رجل - جورج حايك
• قصة الموارنة في الحرب - جوزيف أبو خليل
• السلام المفقود - كريم بقرادوني
• Les Secrets De La Guerre En Liban - Alain Menargues
• President Bachir Gemayel Community Site
• 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).
• The War Of Lebanon (Documentary Series By Al-Jazeera)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bachir Pierre Gemayel

External links[link]

• All About Bachir
• Bachir Gemayel Community Site (Bachir Gemayel Foundation site)
• Liberty Front presents President Bachir Gemayel
• Lebanese Forces Resistance Official Website
• The Lebanese Phalanges - Kataeb

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

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2010)

Camille Nemr Chamoun كميل نمر شمعون
Personal details
Born	(1900-04-03)3 April 1900 Deir el Qamar, Lebanon
Died	7 August 1987(1987-08-07) (aged 87) Beirut
Political party	National Liberal Party
Religion	Christian Maronite

Camille Nimr Chamoun (Arabic: كميل نمر شمعون, Kamīl Sham'ūn) (April 3, 1900 – August 7, 1987) was President of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958, and one of the country's main Christian leaders during most of the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990).

Early years[link]

Camille Nimr Chamoun was born at Deir el-Qamar on 3 April 1900, into a prominent Maronite family. He was educated in France and became a lawyer. He was first elected to the Lebanese parliament in 1934, and was reelected in 1937 and 1943. A champion of independence from France, he was arrested on 11 November 1943, and was imprisoned in Rashaïa castle, where he was held for eleven days, along with Bishara el-Khoury and Riad el-Solh, who were to become the first President and Prime Minister, respectively, of the new republic. Massive public protests led to their release on 22 November, which has since been celebrated as the Lebanese Independence Day.

Chamoun was reelected to parliament, now called the National Assembly, in 1947 and 1951. He was frequently absent, however, as he served as ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1944 to 1946, and as ambassor to the United Nations thereafter.

Revolt of 1958[link]

Universal Newsreel about developments in the Middle East during 1958, including a meeting between Camille Chamoun and Robert Daniel Murphy

When President Bishara el-Khoury was forced to resign amid corruption allegations in 1952, Chamoun was elected to replace him. Near the end of his term, Pan-Arabists and other groups backed by Nasser, with considerable support in Lebanon's Muslim (particularly Sunni) community, attempted to overthrow Chamoun's government in June 1958 after Chamoun tried to illegally seek another term as president. Chamoun appealed to the United States for help under the new Eisenhower Doctrine, and American marines landed in Beirut. The revolt was squashed, but to appease Muslim anger, General Fuad Chehab who although Christian enjoyed considerable popularity in the Muslim community, was elected to succeed Chamoun. The American diplomat Robert D. Murphy, sent to Lebanon as personal representative of President Eisenhower, played a significant role in allowing Chamoun to finish his mandate term normally and Chehab be elected according to the constitutional procedures.

Founding the NLP[link]

On his retirement from the presidency, Chamoun founded the National Liberal Party (al-Ahrar). As the leader of this party, Chamoun was elected to the National Assembly again in 1960, much to the consternation of President Chehab. He was defeated in 1964, due to changes to the boundaries of his electoral district, which he and his supporters protested as deliberate gerrymandering. He was reelected to the National Assembly, however, in 1968, and again in 1972—Lebanon's last parliamentary election held in his lifetime. Following the election of 1968, the National Liberal Party held 11 seats out of 99, becoming the largest single party in the notoriously fractured National Assembly. It was the only political party to elect representatives from all of Lebanon's major religious confessions.

During the Civil War[link]

In the 1970s and 1980s, Chamoun served in a variety of portfolios in the Cabinet. This was during the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), in which Chamoun and the NLP participated through the party's militia, the "Tigers" (in Arabic, nimr means tiger). In the early stages of the war, he helped found the Lebanese Front, a coalition of mostly Christian politicians and parties, whose united militia—dominated by the Kataeb Party—became known as the Lebanese Forces (LF). Chamoun was chairman of the Front in 1976–1978.

Though initially aligned with Syria, and inviting its army to intervene against the leftist Lebanese National Movement (LNM) and its Palestinian allies in 1976, Chamoun then gravitated towards opposition to the Syrian presence. In 1980, the NLP's Tigers militia was virtually destroyed by a surprise attack from Chamoun's Christian rival, Bashir Gemayel, and the LF forces under his command. After the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, Chamoun decided to enter a tactical cooperation with Israel, in order to oppose what he considered a Syrian occupation.

Death and legacy[link]

In 1984, Chamoun agreed to join the National Unity government as Deputy Prime Minister, a post he held until his death in Beirut on 7 August 1987, at the age of 87. He is remembered as one of the main Christian nationalist leaders, and one of the last significant figures of Lebanon's pre-war generation of politicians, whose political influence was eclipsed during the war by that of younger militia commanders.^{[citation needed]}

Camille Chamoun was survived by his two sons, Dany and Dory, both of whom became politicians in the NLP.

See also[link]

• List of Presidents of Lebanon
• National Liberal Party

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Camille Nimr Chamoun

References[link]

• Documentary on Camille Chamoun in 39 episodes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxFDRDuL6f8

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

Sheikh Pierre Gemayel
William Hawi, Chief of the Kataeb Security Council, and Pierre Gemayel
Member of Parliament for Beirut
In office 1960–1984
Personal details
Born	(1905-11-06)6 November 1905 Bikfaya, Ottoman Lebanon, Ottoman Empire
Died	29 August 1984(1984-08-29) (aged 78) Bikfaya, Lebanon
Nationality	Lebanese
Political party	Kataeb Party
Relations	Pierre Amine Gemayel
Children	Bachir Gemayel Amine Gemayel
Alma mater	Saint Joseph University
Occupation	Pharmacist, Politician
Religion	Maronite Christian

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

Lebanon

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Lebanon

Constitution Constitution of 1926 Presidency President Michel Suleiman Government Prime Minister Najib Mikati Cabinet Legislature Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri Current members Political parties Lebanese Forces Movement of the Future Kataeb Party Hezbollah Free Patriotic Movement Syrian Social Nationalist Party Elections Presidential 2008 Parliamentary 2009 Local 2010 Other issues Governorates Districts Municipalities Armed Forces Human rights Foreign relations

Other countries · Atlas Politics portal view talk edit

Sheikh Pierre Gemayel (Arabic: الشيخ بيار الجميّل‎) (November 6, 1905 – August 29, 1984) (last name also spelt Jmayyel, Jemayyel or al-Jumayyil, Sheikh is an honorific title in Arab countries), was a Lebanese political leader. He is remembered as the founder of the Kataeb Party (also known as the Phalangist Party), as a parliamentary powerbroker, and as the father of Bachir Gemayel and Amine Gemayel, both of whom were elected to the Presidency of the Republic in his lifetime. He opposed the French Mandate over Lebanon in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and advocated an independent state, free from foreign control. He was known for his deft political maneuvering, which led him to take positions which were seen by supporters as pragmatic, but by opponents as contradictory, or even hypocritical. Although publicly sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, he later changed his position due to Palestinian support of the Lebanese National Movement and its calls to end the National Pact and establish non-sectarian democracy.

A controversial politician, he survived several assassination attempts. Several of his descendants were less fortunate. His son, Bachir Gemayel was assassinated on 14 September 1982 after being elected to the Presidency. His grandson Pierre Amine Gemayel, a Cabinet Minister, was similarly assassinated. Several other descendants of Pierre Gemayel have also been murdered.

Early life[link]

Bachir Gemayel with his father Pierre Gemayel and William Hawi's family at the Kataeb anniversary event in 1977

Pierre Gemayel was born on 6 November 1905, in the city of Bekfayya, Lebanon ].^[1] He was raised in the village of Bickfayya, Lebanon where his family had played a prominent role since 1540. His father Amine Bachir Gemayel, known as Abou Ali, and his uncle were forced to flee to Egypt after being sentenced to death in 1914 for opposing Ottoman rule, returning to Lebanon only at the end of World War I.

Gemayel, a Christian Maronite, was educated at Jesuit school. He went on to study pharmacology at the French Faculty of Medicine in Beirut, where he later opened a pharmacy. He also took an interest in sport, and attended the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin.^[2] On his return to Lebanon later that year, he founded Al Kataeb Al Loubnaniyyah party (also known as Les Phallanges Libanaises in French, or the Lebanese Phalangist party in English), with Georges Naqqache, Charles Helou, Chafic Nassif and Hamid Franjieh, who was later replaced with Emile Yared, modelling the party after the Spanish and Italian Fascist parties he had observed there.^[3][4][5][6]

Charles Helou, who later served as Lebanon's President from 1964 to 1970, worked with Pierre Gemayel in the early organization of the party. By the time of his presidency, however, Helou was no longer a party member, and Gemayel unsuccessfully opposed him in the presidential election of 1964.

Independence and Post-Independence leader[link]

In the years before and after Lebanon's independence, Gemayel's influence and that of the Kataeb Party was limited. It survived a French attempt to forcibly dissolve it in 1937 and took part in an uprising against the French Mandate in 1943, but despite its membership of 35,000, it operated on the fringes of Lebanese politics. It was not until the Civil War of 1958, that Gemayel emerged as a leader of the far right-wing separatist (mainly Christian) movement that opposed a Nasserist and Arab-nationalist inspired attempt to overthrow the government of president Camille Chamoun and supported the return of foreign troops to Lebanon. In the aftermath of the war, Gemayel was appointed a cabinet minister in a four-member Unity government. Two years later, Gemayel was elected to the National Assembly, from a Beirut constituency, a seat he held for the rest of his life. By the end of the 1960s, the Kataeb Party held 9 seats in the National Assembly, making it one of the largest groupings in Lebanon's notoriously fractured and sectarian parliament. Although his bids for the presidency in 1964 and 1970 were unsuccessful, Gemayel continued to hold cabinet posts intermittently throughout the remaining quarter-century of his life.

Lebanon has long been a battleground in the Israeli-Arab conflict, and Gemayel's position was always solid and consistent advocating a Lebanon separated from the other Arab states and linked to France and the West. He opposed the presence of the Palestinian refugees. His supporters viewed this as a sign of strength and patriotism, while his detractors saw it as incoherent. Gemayel reluctantly signed the Cairo Agreement of 1969 under enormous pressure from the international community, which allowed Palestinian guerrillas to set up bases on Lebanese soil, from which to carry out actions against Israel. He later defended his actions, saying that Lebanon really had no choice. In the 1970s, he came to oppose the armed Palestinian presence in Lebanon. The Kataeb created a military Security Council led by William Hawi, which came to be commanded by Gemayel's son Bachir upon the assassination of Hawi.

Gemayel was also to reverse his position on The Syrian intervention in the Lebanese Civil War of 1975 to 1990. He initially welcomed Syrian intervention on the side of the Christians and against the Lebanese National Movement, but he soon became convinced that Syria was occupying Lebanon for reasons of its own. In 1976, he joined other mainly Christian leaders, including former president Camille Chamoun, the diplomat Charles Malik, and the Guardians of the Cedars leader Étienne Saqr, to oppose the Syrians. On October 11, 1978, Gemayel bitterly denounced the Syrian military presence, and the Lebanese Front joined the Lebanese regular army in a successful "Hundred Days War" against the Syrian army.

Later years[link]

Gemayel saw his younger son, Bachir Gemayel, elected President of Lebanon on August 23, 1982, only to be assassinated on September 14, nine days before his scheduled inauguration. Bachir's older brother, Amine Gemayel was elected to replace him. Pierre Gemayel himself initially stayed out of his son's government, but in early 1984, after participating in two conferences in Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland, aimed at ending the civil war and the occupation of the country by Israeli troops which had invaded in 1982, he agreed to serve once more in a Cabinet of National Unity. He was still in office when he died in Bikfaya, on 29 August 1984, aged 79 years.

See also[link]

• Pierre Amine Gemayel
• Bashir Gemayel
• William Hawi

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pierre Gemayel

External links[link]

• Lebanese Kataeb Official Site
• Poème en souvenir de Pierre Gemayel

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