Pax Syriana: Elite Politics in Postwar Lebanon

Who’s Who of Lebanese Politics

223 Who’s Who of Lebanese Politics Aoun, Michel. (Maronite.) Lebanese general who was appointed at the end of an interim government at the end of Amin Gemayel’s presidential term. He led a military campaign to expel Syria from Lebanon. He attempted to dissolve the parliament in 1989 while the deputies were meeting in Ta’if. Aoun was driven out of the presidential palace by a military campaign on orders of the new president, Elias Hrawi. He went into exile to France and returned only in 2005. al-Assad, Bashar. (Alawi.) Son of Hafez al-Assad and president of Syria from 2000 to the present. al-Assad, Hafez. (Alawi.) President of Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000. Baroud, Ziad. (Maronite.) Lawyer and human rights activist. He served as secretary-general of the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections in 2004–5 and was appointed as the minister of the interior and municipalities in the cabinet under Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. He has retained his office in the cabinet of Saad Hariri but has not been reappointed in the Mikati cabinet formed in June 2011. Berri, Nabih. (Shi‘i.) A leader of AMAL, one of the important Shi‘a militias that fought in the Lebanese civil war. In the mid-1990s, he was one of the “Troika,” formed by President Elias Hrawi, Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, and himself as Speaker of the parliament. Chamoun, Camille. (Maronite.) President of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958. Chamoun, Dory. (Maronite.) Son of Camille Chamoun and leader of the National Liberal Party since 1990. Chidiac, May. (Maronite.) A prominent journalist working as an anchor for LBCI, she was seriously injured in a car bomb in September 2005. After treatment and surgeries, she reappeared on television on May 25, 2006. She published her biography in French in 2007 and in February 2009 announced her resignation from the station. 224  Who’s Who of Lebanese Politics Chiha, Michel. (Maronite.) One of the architects of the Lebanese political system and the brother-in-law of Lebanese president Bishara al-Khoury. Fayyad, Ali. (Shi‘i.) Former director of the Consultative Centre for Studies and Documentation, Hezbollah’s main think tank. He is also a member of Hezbollah ’s political bureau. Fayyad was elected to the Lebanese Parliament in 2009. Frangieh, Suleiman. (Maronite.) President of Lebanon from 1970 to 1976. It was during his presidency that the Lebanese civil war erupted. Fuleihan, Basil. (Protestant.) Elected to the Lebanese Parliament in 2000 and became the minister of economy and trade. Fuleihan was riding in Rafiq Hariri’s motorcade at the time of the prime minister’s assassination on February 14, 2005, and was critically injured in the attack. He succumbed to his injuries on April 18, 2005. Geagea, Samir. (Maronite.) Leader of the Christian militia-political party known as the Lebanese Forces. He was the only Lebanese warlord tried for war crimes. In early April 1994, the authorities arrested Geagea in association with several assassinations of political leaders that occurred during the civil war. His death sentence was commuted to life in prison, but he was released after eleven years following the Cedar Revolution in 2005. Geagea, Setrida. (Maronite.) Wife of Samir Geagea and member of parliament since 2005. Gemayel, Amin. (Maronite.) President of Lebanon from 1982 to 1988. He succeeded his younger brother, Bashir, as president following Bashir’s assassination . He was the leader of the Kata’eb Party until the conclusion of his presidency in 1988, when the party fractured and he left Lebanon. He returned to Lebanon in 2000, and after the Cedar Revolution in 2005 he was able to reunite the Kata’eb Party and resume his leadership role in the organization. Gemayel, Bashir. (Maronite.) Son of Pierre Gemayel and younger brother of Amin. He emerged as a leader first of the Kata’eb Party and then of the Lebanese Forces. His attack in 1975 against a bus carrying Palestinians in retaliation for an attempted assassination of his father is often regarded as the opening salvo of the Lebanese civil war. Following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, he was elected president of Lebanon. He was assassinated before he could assume the office. Gemayel, Nadim. (Maronite.) Son of Bashir Gemayel, he was elected to the parliament in 2009. Who’s Who of Lebanese Politics  225 Gemayel, Pierre. (Maronite.) Founder of the Kata’eb (Phalangist) Party and father of Bashir and Amin Gemayel. Gemayel...