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| {{Short description|1976–1986 Christian Lebanese nationalist coalition}} | |||
| '''The Lebanese Front''' was a right-wing coalition of mainly ] parties during the ]. It was intended to act as a counter force to the ] (LNM) of ]. | |||
| {{more citations needed|date=November 2008}} | |||
| {{Infobox War Faction | |||
| | name = Lebanese Front | |||
| | native_name = الجبهة اللبنانية | |||
| | war = ] | |||
| | image = | |||
| | native_name_lang = ar | |||
| | caption = | |||
| | active = 1976{{ndash}}1986 | |||
| | leaders = {{Plainlist| | |||
| *{{flagicon image|Flag of Kataeb Party.svg}} ] | |||
| *{{flagicon image|Ahrar flag.gif|22px}} ] | |||
| *{{flagicon image|Marada-flag.png}} ] {{small|(until 1978)}} | |||
| }} | |||
| | ideology = ]<br/>]<br/>Anti-]<br/>'''Factions:'''<br/>]<br/>]<br/>]<br/>]<br/>] | |||
| | position = ] | |||
| | clans = {{flagicon image|Flag of Kataeb Party.svg}} ]<br/>{{flagicon image|Ahrar flag.gif|22px}} ]<br/>{{flagicon image|Marada-flag.png}} ] (until 1978) <br/> {{flagicon image|Flagofgocparty.gif}} ]<br/> {{flagicon image|Al-Tanzim logo.png}} ]<br/>]<br/> ]<br/>]<br/>]<br/>]<br/> (other minor organizations) | |||
| | headquarters = {{Flag|Lebanon}} | |||
| | size = 20,000 {{small|(1976)}} | |||
| | predecessor = | |||
| | allies = {{flagicon|Israel}} ] (IDF)<br/>{{flagicon image|Lebanesearmyfirstflag.png}} ] (AFL)<br/>{{flagicon image|Lebanesearmyfirstflag.png}} ] (SLA)<br/>{{flagicon image|Lebanesearmyfirstflag.png}} ] (LARC)<br/>{{flagicon image|Lebanesearmyfirstflag.png}} ] (sometimes) <br>{{flagicon|Lebanon}} ] (ISF) (sometimes)<br/>{{flagdeco|Syria|1980}} ] (until 1978) | |||
| | opponents = {{Flagicon|Lebanon}} ] (LNM)<br/>{{flagicon image|Lebanese National Resistance Front.jpg}} ] (LNRF)<br/>{{flagicon|PLO}} ] (PLO)<br/>{{flagicon image|Flag of the Lebanese Communist Party.svg}} ] (LCP)<br/>{{flagicon image|Flag of the Progressive Socialist Party.svg}} ] (PLA)<br/>{{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.svg}} ] (SSNP)<br/>{{flagicon image|Marada-flag.png}} ] (from 1978) <br/>{{flagdeco|Syria|1980}} ] (from 1978) | |||
| | area = ], ] and ] | |||
| | status = | |||
| | flag = | |||
| }} | |||
| The '''Lebanese Front'''{{efn|{{langx|ar|الجبهة اللبنانية|al-Jabha al-Lubnaniyya}}}} was a coalition of mainly ] ] parties formed in 1976 by majority ] groups during the ].<ref name="Rabinovich1985">{{cite book|author=Itamar Rabinovich|author-link=Itamar Rabinovich|title=The War for Lebanon, 1970-1985|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2PbLcYdLUgsC&pg=PA8|accessdate=22 October 2012|year=1985|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-0-8014-9313-3|pages=60}}</ref> It was intended to act as a reaction force to the ] (LNM) of ] and other left-wing allies. | |||
| Its main participants were the ] (Phalange) of Pierre Gemayel, ] and his ], the ] (NLP) of ] and the ] of ]. | |||
| ==History== | |||
| Suleiman Franjieh's ] ended its connection with the Lebanese Front in 1978, the year his son Tony and his family was killed. The Kataeb unsuccessfully tried to take over the Marada by force. The kataeb/LF violently took over their allies' militia component, the Ahrar Militia in the early 1980's. The Ahrar ended their connection with the Lebanese Front after the violent incident. | |||
| The Lebanese Front was presided by the former president of Lebanon, ], and its main participants were ], the founder and leader of the then-largest political party in Lebanon, the ], president ], who had just finished his presidential years in office.<ref name=Rabinovich1985/> It also included first class intellectuals, such as distinguished professor of philosophy and eminent diplomat ] who had been president of the ] in 1958, and Fouad Frem al-Boustani, the president of the ]. The front also included religious figures such as ] Charbel Qassis, who was later replaced by Father Bulus Naaman the "head of the permanent congress of the Lebanese monastic orders".<ref name=Rabinovich1985/> For a brief while the poet ] was a member. | |||
| As soon as the war erupted in Lebanon, and before the Lebanese Front was formed, many of the future leaders of the Lebanese Front organized their political parties into militias, most notably Camille Chamoun's ], Pierre Gemayel's influential longstanding Kataeb Party, and Suleiman Frangieh's ]. The number of men totalled around 18,000, which was a relatively large number given that the total population of Lebanon was less than three million. | |||
| The Lebanese Front was a lose political coalition, The members of this coalition broke off as Bashir Gemayel tried to absorb all members under his wing which lead to bloody attacks on his allies. Many believe this caused the breakup of the United Christian Lebanese Front as Bashir Gemayel also had fall outs with the prominent christian families which lead to violence. The members of this coalition created a strong political alliance before the breakup. | |||
| However, the relations among the participants became tense mainly due to Frangieh's pro-Syrian approach.<ref name="O'Ballance1998">{{cite book|author=Edgar O'Ballance|title=Civil War in Lebanon, 1975-92|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iZhJgTkW058C&pg=PR7|accessdate=21 October 2012|date=15 December 1998|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-312-21593-4|pages=7–}}</ref> In addition, in 1978, Suleiman Frangieh's son ] and his family were killed by armed Kataeb militiamen trying to kidnap him acting on orders from ], the son of Pierre Gemayel.<ref name=nytimes92>{{cite news|last=Pace|first=Eric|title=Suleiman Franjieh, Lebanese Ex-Chief, Dies at 82|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/24/nyregion/suleiman-franjieh-lebanese-ex-chief-dies-at-82.html|accessdate=4 July 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=24 July 1992}}</ref> The incident is known as the ]. It was this turning point that prompted Suleiman Frangieh to resign from the Front.<ref name=nytimes92/> | |||
| As the Lebanese Forces developed, under the command of ], later in 1986 ], into one of the strongest militias of the war until Israel stopped funding them with arms in the early mid 80's. Then Samir Geagea led them to war with the General ] and the Lebanses Army which led to the disarmament of the Lebanses Forces. It is presently a political party in the ]. The LF currently hold | |||
| 5 seats (they control 4.0% in parliament) of the 128 seats available in the ]. | |||
| In 1982, the Lebanese Front promoted Bachir Gemayel for the presidency. He was elected as ] by the ] by 58 out of 62 votes from both Christians and Muslims, only to be assassinated three weeks later. | |||
| In the last few years there have been continual attempts to rebuild the coalitian that existed before the incidents of 1978. | |||
| During the second half of the 1980s, most of the prominent leaders of the Lebanese Front died (Pierre Gemayel in 1984, both Chamoun and Charles Malik in 1987) and were replaced by other leaders like ], ] and ]. The Lebanese Front then lived for a short period only. ], son of deceased Camille Chamoun, formed a new Lebanese Front, but a week after the end of the ] in October 1990, Dany was assassinated and the Lebanese Front came to an end. | |||
| ]] | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| ==Notes== | |||
| {{Notelist}} | |||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{refbegin|30em}} | |||
| *], ''Civil War in Lebanon, 1975-92'', Palgrave Macmillan, London 1998. {{ISBN|0-333-72975-7}} | |||
| * Rex Brynen, ''Sanctuary and Survival: the PLO in Lebanon'', Boulder: Westview Press, Oxford 1990. {{ISBN|0 86187 123 5}} – | |||
| *], ''Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War'', London: Oxford University Press, (3rd ed. 2001). {{ISBN|0-19-280130-9}} – | |||
| * Marius Deeb, ''The Lebanese Civil War'', Praeger Publishers Inc., New York 1980. {{ISBN|978-0030397011}} | |||
| * Samir Kassir, ''La Guerre du Liban: De la dissension nationale au conflit régional'', Éditions Karthala/CERMOC, Paris 1994. {{ISBN|978-2865374991}} (in ]) | |||
| {{refend}} | |||
| {{Authority control}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Latest revision as of 18:38, 31 December 2024
1976–1986 Christian Lebanese nationalist coalition | 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. Find sources: "Lebanese Front" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The Lebanese Front was a coalition of mainly right-wing Lebanese Nationalist parties formed in 1976 by majority Christian groups during the Lebanese Civil War. It was intended to act as a reaction force to the Lebanese National Movement (LNM) of Kamal Jumblatt and other left-wing allies.
History
The Lebanese Front was presided by the former president of Lebanon, Camille Chamoun, and its main participants were Pierre Gemayel, the founder and leader of the then-largest political party in Lebanon, the Kataeb Party, president Suleiman Frangieh, who had just finished his presidential years in office. It also included first class intellectuals, such as distinguished professor of philosophy and eminent diplomat Charles Malik who had been president of the United Nations General Assembly in 1958, and Fouad Frem al-Boustani, the president of the Lebanese University. The front also included religious figures such as Father Charbel Qassis, who was later replaced by Father Bulus Naaman the "head of the permanent congress of the Lebanese monastic orders". For a brief while the poet Said Aql was a member.
As soon as the war erupted in Lebanon, and before the Lebanese Front was formed, many of the future leaders of the Lebanese Front organized their political parties into militias, most notably Camille Chamoun's National Liberal Party, Pierre Gemayel's influential longstanding Kataeb Party, and Suleiman Frangieh's Marada Brigade. The number of men totalled around 18,000, which was a relatively large number given that the total population of Lebanon was less than three million.
However, the relations among the participants became tense mainly due to Frangieh's pro-Syrian approach. In addition, in 1978, Suleiman Frangieh's son Tony and his family were killed by armed Kataeb militiamen trying to kidnap him acting on orders from Bashir Gemayel, the son of Pierre Gemayel. The incident is known as the Ehden massacre. It was this turning point that prompted Suleiman Frangieh to resign from the Front.
In 1982, the Lebanese Front promoted Bachir Gemayel for the presidency. He was elected as president by the Lebanese parliament by 58 out of 62 votes from both Christians and Muslims, only to be assassinated three weeks later.
During the second half of the 1980s, most of the prominent leaders of the Lebanese Front died (Pierre Gemayel in 1984, both Chamoun and Charles Malik in 1987) and were replaced by other leaders like George Saadeh, Amin Gemayel and Karim Pakradouni. The Lebanese Front then lived for a short period only. Dany Chamoun, son of deceased Camille Chamoun, formed a new Lebanese Front, but a week after the end of the Lebanese Civil War in October 1990, Dany was assassinated and the Lebanese Front came to an end.
See also
Notes
- ^ Itamar Rabinovich (1985). The War for Lebanon, 1970-1985. Cornell University Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-8014-9313-3. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
- Edgar O'Ballance (15 December 1998). Civil War in Lebanon, 1975-92. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 7–. ISBN 978-0-312-21593-4. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ^ Pace, Eric (24 July 1992). "Suleiman Franjieh, Lebanese Ex-Chief, Dies at 82". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
References
- Edgar O'Ballance, Civil War in Lebanon, 1975-92, Palgrave Macmillan, London 1998. ISBN 0-333-72975-7
- Rex Brynen, Sanctuary and Survival: the PLO in Lebanon, Boulder: Westview Press, Oxford 1990. ISBN 0 86187 123 5 –
- Robert Fisk, Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War, London: Oxford University Press, (3rd ed. 2001). ISBN 0-19-280130-9 –
- Marius Deeb, The Lebanese Civil War, Praeger Publishers Inc., New York 1980. ISBN 978-0030397011
- Samir Kassir, La Guerre du Liban: De la dissension nationale au conflit régional, Éditions Karthala/CERMOC, Paris 1994. ISBN 978-2865374991 (in French)