Nadim Gemayel
Encyclopedia
Nadim Bashir Gemayel is a Lebanese
MP and a senior member of the Kataeb party
, founded by his grandfather Pierre Gemayel
in 1936. He is the son of former Lebanese president-elect Bachir Gemayel
. Nadim currently serves as Vice President of the Kataeb’s Achrafieh
District base.
A leader among Lebanese youth, Gemayel’s struggle against the Syrian presence in Lebanon began during his university years and culminated in what anti-Syrian factions called the Cedar Revolution
of 2005, where he was at the forefront of Lebanon
’s most influential demonstration.
on May 1, 1982 to Solange Gemayel
(née Toutounji), and Bashir Gemayel, a Maronite Christian
from Bikfaya
, Mount Lebanon
. Nadim is the youngest to two sisters, Youmna born in 1980 and Maya in 1978.
Maya was only 18 months old when she was killed in 1980 by a car bomb that was intended for her father.
Nadim Gemayel's father, Bachir Gemayel
, was a prominent Christian
leader and an elected president of the Republic
in (1982). Bashir Gemayel was assassinated on the 14th of September 1982, 21 days after being elected president
. Nadim was only four months old.
The assassin Habib Tanious Shartouni
, a Greek Catholic, said he killed Gemayel because he had "sold the country to Israel".
Following high school, Nadim Gemayel moved to France
to pursue his law degree and graduated from the Pantheon-Assas Paris II University in 2004. He currently practices law with a prominent law firm
which maintains offices in Lebanon
and Qatar
.
In addition to his position inside the Kataeb party
, Nadim Gemayel also serves as co-chairperson of the Bachir Gemayel Foundation, founded in 1982 following the assassination
of his father.
Following Bashir Gemayel's assassination in 1982, Lebanon
entered an era where Syrian control began, and culminated in 1990 with the Syrian takeover of the Presidential Palace
of Baabda
in 1990.
Nadim Gemayel started his struggle against the Syrians by participating and leading Anti-Syrian demonstrations, organizing sit-ins with other Anti-Syrian factions inside the universities, and lobbying for Lebanon during his university years outside Lebanon
.
Nadim Gemayel's most notable appearances, apart from his annual speech, were during the MTV
shutdown in 2002, where he was at the forefront of the demonstration to reopen the station and almost got arrested by security officials, and the 2003 Baabda-Aley elections.
Rafic Hariri in 2005 triggered a series of demonstrations against the Syrian troops and the Lebanese security officials. Those demonstrations culminated on March 14, 2005, which was later on known to anti-Syrian factions as the "Cedar Revolution
".
Nadim Gemayel was present throughout the period and was among many Anti-Syrian political factions to set up a tent with their supporters in Martyrs' Square demanding the resignation of the government and the security officials
, the complete and unconditioned withdrawal of Syrian troops and the establishment of an international commission to investigate the assassination of Prime Minister
Hariri
and past political assassinations.
was followed by an almost complete Syrian withdrawal on April 26, 2005 after international pressure chiefly by the Americans and Europeans.
Despite the Syrian withdrawal, Syria was still present politically through its intelligence officers and the alliances with Lebanese factions it had established.
Nadim Gemayel saw this as Lebanon's second independence and a historic opportunity to launch his political career officially and engage the Kataeb party, to fight Syrian security officials in Lebanon.
On April 26, 2006, the Kataeb district in Achrafieh
, after months of renovation, was opened and launched by Nadim Gemayel.
The ceremony included a speech by Nadim Gemayel embodying his political beliefs and goals, and was finalized by a prayer and lighting candles on his father's memorial.
The election on June 7, 2009 was a very close race to the parliament, Nadim Gemayel won the Maronite seat in Beirut's first district and is now an MP in the new Lebanese Parliament. Nayla Tueni also won the Greek Orthodox seat in the same district.
He also stressed on Hezbollah's weapons, calling them illegitimate and asked that only the Lebanese armed forces carry weapons. He continued "We are with dialogue without any preconditions… What we care for are Lebanon's people and the future of its youth."
Lebanese people
The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....
MP and a senior member of the Kataeb party
Kataeb Party
The Lebanese Phalanges , better known in English as the Phalange , is a traditional right-wing Lebanese political party. Although it is officially secular, it is mainly supported by Maronite Christians. The party played a major role in the Lebanese War...
, founded by his grandfather Pierre Gemayel
Pierre Gemayel
Sheikh Pierre Gemayel , was a Lebanese political leader...
in 1936. He is the son of former Lebanese president-elect Bachir Gemayel
Bachir Gemayel
Bachir Gemayel was a Lebanese politician, militia commander, and president-elect...
. Nadim currently serves as Vice President of the Kataeb’s Achrafieh
Achrafieh
Achrafieh, , is one of the oldest Christian districts of East Beirut, Lebanon.-Overview: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...
District base.
A leader among Lebanese youth, Gemayel’s struggle against the Syrian presence in Lebanon began during his university years and culminated in what anti-Syrian factions called the Cedar Revolution
Cedar Revolution
The Cedar Revolution or Independence Intifada was a chain of demonstrations in Lebanon triggered by the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005.The primary goals of the original activists were the...
of 2005, where he was at the forefront of Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
’s most influential demonstration.
Early life and education
Nadim Gemayel was born in BikfayaBikfaya
Bikfaya is a town in the Matn District region of Mount Lebanon. Its stone houses with red-tiled roofs resting amidst pine and oak forests make Bikfaya one of the most sought-after suburbs of Beirut and one of Lebanon's most popular summer resorts.-Culture:...
on May 1, 1982 to Solange Gemayel
Solange Gemayel
Solange Gemayel is a political figure and former First Lady of Lebanon. The widow of former President-elect Bachir Gemayel , who was assassinated days before he was due to take office in 1982, she helped to found the Bachir Gemayel Foundation, to keep his legacy alive.Solange Tutunji married...
(née Toutounji), and Bashir Gemayel, a Maronite Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
from Bikfaya
Bikfaya
Bikfaya is a town in the Matn District region of Mount Lebanon. Its stone houses with red-tiled roofs resting amidst pine and oak forests make Bikfaya one of the most sought-after suburbs of Beirut and one of Lebanon's most popular summer resorts.-Culture:...
, Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon , as a geographic designation, is a Lebanese mountain range, averaging above 2,200 meters in height and receiving a substantial amount of precipitation, including snow, which averages around four meters deep. It extends across the whole country along about , parallel to the...
. Nadim is the youngest to two sisters, Youmna born in 1980 and Maya in 1978.
Maya was only 18 months old when she was killed in 1980 by a car bomb that was intended for her father.
Nadim Gemayel's father, Bachir Gemayel
Bachir Gemayel
Bachir Gemayel was a Lebanese politician, militia commander, and president-elect...
, was a prominent Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
leader and an elected president of the Republic
President of the Republic
The President of the Republic is a title used for heads of government or heads of state in some republics:*President of Argentina, the Presidente de la República Argentina* President of Brazil, the Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil...
in (1982). Bashir Gemayel was assassinated on the 14th of September 1982, 21 days after being elected president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
. Nadim was only four months old.
The assassin Habib Tanious Shartouni
Habib Tanious Shartouni
Habib Tanious Shartouni is known to be the assassin of the Lebanese president-elect Bachir Gemayel.-Early life:Habib Tanious Shartouni, a Maronite, was born in a small village called Shartoun in Aley Mount Lebanon...
, a Greek Catholic, said he killed Gemayel because he had "sold the country to Israel".
Following high school, Nadim Gemayel moved to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to pursue his law degree and graduated from the Pantheon-Assas Paris II University in 2004. He currently practices law with a prominent law firm
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
which maintains offices in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
.
In addition to his position inside the Kataeb party
Kataeb Party
The Lebanese Phalanges , better known in English as the Phalange , is a traditional right-wing Lebanese political party. Although it is officially secular, it is mainly supported by Maronite Christians. The party played a major role in the Lebanese War...
, Nadim Gemayel also serves as co-chairperson of the Bachir Gemayel Foundation, founded in 1982 following the assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of his father.
Political career
Believing in what he says was his father's dream of freeing Lebanon from all foreign occupiers and unifying its people, Nadim Gemayel started his political struggle at a relatively young age.Syrian Hegemony 1994-2005
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
entered an era where Syrian control began, and culminated in 1990 with the Syrian takeover of the Presidential Palace
Presidential Palace
A Presidential Palace is the official residence of the president in some countries. However, some countries do not call the official residence of a head of state a presidential palace...
of Baabda
Baabda
Baabda is the capital city of Baabda District as well as the capital of Mount Lebanon Governorate, western Lebanon. Baabda was the capital city of the autonomous Ottoman Mount Lebanon....
in 1990.
Nadim Gemayel started his struggle against the Syrians by participating and leading Anti-Syrian demonstrations, organizing sit-ins with other Anti-Syrian factions inside the universities, and lobbying for Lebanon during his university years outside Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
.
Nadim Gemayel's most notable appearances, apart from his annual speech, were during the MTV
Murr Television
Murr Television is a Lebanese television station based in Naccache, a suburb of the capital Beirut. It is owned by Lebanese politician Gabriel Murr and directed by his son Michel Murr...
shutdown in 2002, where he was at the forefront of the demonstration to reopen the station and almost got arrested by security officials, and the 2003 Baabda-Aley elections.
Cedar Revolution 2005
The assassination of former Prime MinisterPrime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Rafic Hariri in 2005 triggered a series of demonstrations against the Syrian troops and the Lebanese security officials. Those demonstrations culminated on March 14, 2005, which was later on known to anti-Syrian factions as the "Cedar Revolution
Cedar Revolution
The Cedar Revolution or Independence Intifada was a chain of demonstrations in Lebanon triggered by the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005.The primary goals of the original activists were the...
".
Nadim Gemayel was present throughout the period and was among many Anti-Syrian political factions to set up a tent with their supporters in Martyrs' Square demanding the resignation of the government and the security officials
Lebanese-Syrian Security Apparatus
The Lebanese–Syrian Security Apparatus is a network of intelligence officers and security leaders in Syria and Lebanon that is believed to have been the actual ruling power behind the government during the Syrian Hegemony period that ended in 2005...
, the complete and unconditioned withdrawal of Syrian troops and the establishment of an international commission to investigate the assassination of Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Hariri
Hariri
Hariri is a surname and derivative of harir which indicates a mercantile background at one point in that field.-Lebanon:*Bahia Hariri, Lebanese politician; sister of Rafic Hariri...
and past political assassinations.
Kataeb
The so-called Cedar RevolutionCedar Revolution
The Cedar Revolution or Independence Intifada was a chain of demonstrations in Lebanon triggered by the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005.The primary goals of the original activists were the...
was followed by an almost complete Syrian withdrawal on April 26, 2005 after international pressure chiefly by the Americans and Europeans.
Despite the Syrian withdrawal, Syria was still present politically through its intelligence officers and the alliances with Lebanese factions it had established.
Nadim Gemayel saw this as Lebanon's second independence and a historic opportunity to launch his political career officially and engage the Kataeb party, to fight Syrian security officials in Lebanon.
On April 26, 2006, the Kataeb district in Achrafieh
Achrafieh
Achrafieh, , is one of the oldest Christian districts of East Beirut, Lebanon.-Overview: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...
, after months of renovation, was opened and launched by Nadim Gemayel.
The ceremony included a speech by Nadim Gemayel embodying his political beliefs and goals, and was finalized by a prayer and lighting candles on his father's memorial.
Parliamentary Elections 2009
Nadim Gemayel decided to run for the Parliamentary elections in Beirut's first District (Ashrafieh, Rmeil, Sayfi) his main rival for the Maronite seat was Massoud Al Achkar. He ran as a Kataeb and March 14 candidate alongside Gebran Tueni's daughter Nayla Tueni.The election on June 7, 2009 was a very close race to the parliament, Nadim Gemayel won the Maronite seat in Beirut's first district and is now an MP in the new Lebanese Parliament. Nayla Tueni also won the Greek Orthodox seat in the same district.
Bashir Gemayel's annual memorial mass
On the 26th anniversary of his father's assassination, Nadim Gemayel addressed the Lebanese and the Christians mainly urging them to unite under one banner to "build a sovereign state".He also stressed on Hezbollah's weapons, calling them illegitimate and asked that only the Lebanese armed forces carry weapons. He continued "We are with dialogue without any preconditions… What we care for are Lebanon's people and the future of its youth."