Amine Gemayel

Biography

Amine Gemayel was born on January 22, 1942, in Bikfaya, the older brother of Bashir Gemayel and son of Phalange founder Pierre Gemayel. Where Bashir was impulsive and militarily aggressive, Amine was known as the politician of the family — a lawyer and parliamentarian who had served in the Lebanese Chamber of Deputies since 1970 and who preferred negotiation to confrontation. This difference in temperament made the two brothers rivals as much as allies during the early years of the civil war. Following Bashir's assassination on September 14, 1982, the Lebanese parliament turned to Amine as a unifying figure who might bridge the communities that his brother had so polarized. Amine was elected president on September 21, 1982, just seven days after his brother's death. He inherited a country under Israeli military occupation in the south and west, Syrian military presence in the north and east, and a traumatized population reeling from the Sabra and Shatila massacre. Amine's six-year presidency from 1982 to 1988 was marked by a series of failures that culminated in the country's most chaotic period. He signed the May 17, 1983 agreement with Israel — a quasi-peace treaty that required Israeli withdrawal in exchange for Lebanese sovereignty concessions — but was forced to abrogate it under Syrian pressure in 1984. The abrogation was a humiliation that illustrated how thoroughly Syria controlled Lebanese decision-making. The US Marine withdrawal after the barracks bombing removed his main external support. By the end of his term in 1988, Lebanon was effectively ungovernable. The parliament failed to elect a successor, and Amine appointed General Michel Aoun as prime minister — an appointment whose legitimacy was disputed and which triggered a new round of fighting. After his term ended, Amine went into exile. He returned to Lebanon after the Taif Agreement and eventually became a significant figure in post-2005 Lebanese politics, running unsuccessfully for president in 2016.

Key Battles