Nadim gemayel biography sample

The results of Lebanon’s free and fair parliamentary elections in May suggest that Lebanese society seems uninterested in pushing for real political change and maybe rocking the boat at a time of increasing regional turmoil.

But one political party—the Kataeb—was quite vocal about its desire to break with the status quo. That it secured only three seats (down from five in the previous parliament) might indicate that its opposition to the way things are run in Lebanon is irrelevant, but that assessment would be shortsighted.

The story of the Kataeb matters for three reasons: First, the party has been part and parcel of the Lebanese system since the country’s independence. So its decision to rebel against the establishment is intriguing and potentially significant. Second, the party may not have the size or political influence to reform Lebanese politics, but it can be an effective popular vehicle through which change could take place. Third, the party’s message of reform resonates well among the country’s youths, and while they do not represent a political force today, they most likely will in future electoral contests.

To better understand why the Kataeb has apparently transformed and whether it can ultimately succeed in its quest for political change, one has to take a good look at its current young leader, Sami Gemayel. Unlike past Kataeb leaders, Sami’s political maturity did not form during the Lebanese civil war (1975–1990). For example, when pro-Syrian Druze forces notoriously carried out a siege of Deir al-Qamar, a Christian town in the Shuf Mountains in which twenty thousand Lebanese Christians took refuge, Sami was a toddler. When rival Christian forces fought viciously in 1990 following the signing of the Taef Accord, Sami was in the fifth grade.

However, like many of his generation, Sami was not immune to the war’s horrors, as it influenced his political career and agenda years later. When he was two-years-old, his uncle Bashir, perhaps the most ch

This is a list of political families in Lebanon and their prominent members. This list does not include historical monarchies that ruled the region of the Levant but can include its modern-ruling decedents.

Abou Fadel family

The Abou Fadel family is a prominent Greek Orthodox family originating in the village of Ain Aanoub. They are the descendance of Prince Abd al-Masih al-Qandil, affiliated with the Yemeni princes of the Qahtani family of Ghassan.

Notable members:

Aoun family

The Aoun family is a Maronite family that was recently established as political via Michel Aoun's daughters. Aoun's second child, Claudine Aoun, married politician and former brigadier general, Chamel Roukoz. The third, Chantal, is married to Gebran Bassil, whom she met at an FPM conference in Paris in 1996. He served as a minister in different cabinets, and succeeded Aoun as president of the Free Patriotic Movement in 2015. Michel's nephew, Alain Aoun, is a Member of Parliament, elected in 2009, 2018 and 2022.

Notable members:

Arslan family

The Arslan family is a hereditary Druze leadership dynasty descends from the Lakhmids. The family name of Arslan was given to the descendants of the dynasty. The Arslan family was sent to the coast of the Lebanon by the Muslim Khalifa in 634 and they were responsible of guarding the coast and protecting it. They ruled Beirut for 476 years (from 634 until 1110).

Notable members:

El Assaad family

El-Assaad or Al As'ad is a feudal political clan originally from Najd and a main branch of the anza tribe. Unrelated to Syrian or Palestinian Al-Assads, El-Assaad dynasty that ruled most of South Lebanon for three centuries and whose lineage defended fellow denizens of history'sJabal Amel (Mount Amel) principality – today southern Lebanon – for 36 generations, Balqa in Jordan, Nablus in Palestine, and Homs in Syr

I grew up hearing about Bachir el Gemayel – the man of hope for many people – a hope in a country they wish they had. Many of the people I know still look upon his memory and get an undeniable feel of nostalgia on the days when they really believed in the potential of the place they call their land.

I never got the hype. I always thought it’s better to live in the “now” than in the memories of days long past that will not nor can they ever return. For many though, the hope of Bachir lived on with his son Nadim. Today, however, I have to tell those same people who look upon Nadim Gemayel and say “Yalli khallaf ma meit,” hoping he’ll be the man his father was, that on the contrary, yalli khallaf mesh bass meit… Meit w sar trab kamen.

I’m not sure if it’s Nadim turning a show of force from his bodyguards as a personal attack against his sanctity. I’m not sure if it’s Lebanon’s security forces dragging the activists with whom the altercations happened to investigation today, arresting many of them in the process. I’m not sure if it’s the absolute naivety with which he handled the event at hand and expected to get away with it with his reputation unscathed. I’m not sure if it’s his apparent need to be in some form of spotlight… And what better spotlight than a presumed “assassination” attempt by the people opposing the unjust extension of our parliament’s mandate. But Nadim Gemayel has fulfilled what I always thought he would do.

This is the son of a man who supposedly called for democracy and safety.
This is the son of a man who called for the rights of his people, for them not to live in terror, for them not to fear those who think are “higher” than them, for them not to be constantly fearful and paranoid. Yes, yalli khallaf meit.

This man who belongs to our age group, who should understand th

The upcoming Lebanese general election offers an opportunity to observe a monarchical democracy in action as sons and daughter of slain leaders compete in June’s election in unprecedented number.

Nayla Tueni, 26 – the daughter of assassinated journalist and MP Gebran Tueni and granddaughter of current MP Ghassan Tueni – is standing in Achrafiyeh, also known as Beirut District One.

Her maternal grandfather is former minster Michel Murr, whose own son Elias is now Lebanon’s defence minster.

Nadim Gemayel, 27, is also running for election in Achrafiyeh. Like Tueni, politics definitely runs in his family.

Gemayel is the son of Bashir Gemayel, a former president-elect assassinated days before his swearing-in ceremony in September 1982.

Meanwhile the younger Gemayel’s cousin, 29-year-old Sami who is also the son of another former president, is standing for election in the Matn district of Mount Lebanon.

All of the Gemayels belong to the Phalange Party.

And voters, of their own free will, are rushing to usher in their parliamentary representatives on the basis of surname and, effectively, right of succession.

So entrenched is this practice that it transcends regions, but it is especially predominent among Christians. Why?

Lebanese democracy is one of the biggest myths in the modern Middle East.

Since independence in 1943, there have been parties, elections and a parliament but another reality lies behind this apparent democracy. 

Dynastic tendency

Political power, either within parties or as independent politicians, is largely transferred along hereditary lines. Political careers are passed on from father to son, husband to wife and brother to brother.

This dynastic tendency in Lebanese politics is present in nearly every party to the point where it is virtually impossible to distinguish betwe