AMINE GEMAYEL, SHEIKH

Former President of Lebanon

Sheikh Amine Gemayel, the eighth President of the Lebanese republic was born in the village of Bikfaya - Lebanon in 1942, to a family which has played a major political role in modern Lebanon. His father, Sheikh Pierre Gemayel, founded in 1936 the democratic and social party: The Lebanese Kataeb. His brother Sheikh Bashir was elected President in August 1982, ( Bashir was assassinated three weeks later ). Sheikh Amine Gemayel graduated from Saint-Joseph University with a law degree; He started practicing as attorney at law in 1965. In 1970 at the age of 28, Sheikh Amine Gemayel was elected to the Lebanese parliament, and became thus the youngest member. On September 21st 1982, he was elected President of the Lebanese Republic by 77 votes out of 80. His term of office ended in September 1988, ( Six years as per the Lebanese Constitution ). He then joined the Center for International Affairs at Harvard University as fellow and lecturer (1988-1989).

He is affiliated with the University of Maryland as a distinguished visiting professor. From 1990 to July 2000, he resided in Paris as an exiled leader of the opposition, and lectured extensively on Lebanon and the Middle East in various countries worldwide. Since July 2000, he lives and pursues his political agenda in Lebanon.

Career history

When he became President, the new head of state set himself three main objectives which form the basis of his political activity today:
- Re-establishing the independence and sovereignty of Lebanon.
- Maintaining an effective dialogue between Lebanon's different communities.
- Restoring and modernizing the institutions of the state.

Concerning Syria, in 1982, presided by Amine Gemayel, the Lebanese government dissolved the Arab Dissuasion Force which legitimised Syrian military presence in Lebanon and in September 1983, he addressed a letter to the Syrian President Hafez El Assad requesting the withdrawal of his forces from the country.

As for the PLO in 1987 he annulled the Treaty of Cairo signed with the PLO in 1969,which authorized them to use Lebanon as a base for military operations against Israel. His position on the Israeli issue, is the implementation of the SC/UN resolution 425 - 426, and that he is opposed to any measures which would work against restoring Lebanon's sovereignty.

On the domestic front, Amine Gemayel's activities are aimed at establishing strong foundations for intercommunal dialogue. He is also working towards restoring the state's role by making its institutions credible, efficient and unified. Paradoxically, although the major criticisms of Amine Gemayel during his presidency were his desire to appear as the President of all Lebanon and the pre-eminence of the state, today, these are the factors which give him credibility in the eyes of the Lebanese people.

Currently, he is continuing his battle to restore Lebanon's independence and sovereignty,and endow it with democratic institutions. Apart from his political activities, in 1976, Amine Gemayel created the INMA Foundation,a non-profit organization, which brings together a number of institutions dealing with social, political, and economic issues concerning Lebanon and the Middle East. One of these is Beit-al-Mustakbal, (the house of the future), which is a combination of think-tankand research center, publishing a quarterly journal in three languages called: Haliyyat (Panorama of Events).

Publications:
1986: Peace and Unity ( Colin and Smythe ).
1988: L'Offence et le Pardon ( Gallimard ), reflections on the events in Lebanon.
1990: Mediation d'espoir ( JC. Lattes ), a collection of lectures delivered in the United States in 1989.
1992: Rebuilding Lebanon's Future, published by Harvard University ( C.F.I.A. ).