National Liberal Party (Lebanon)
Encyclopedia
The National Liberal Party (NLP, , literally Hizbu-l-waTaniyyīni-l-aHrār) is a center-right political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 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...

, established by President Camille Chamoun
Camille Chamoun
Camille Nimr Chamoun was President of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958, and one of the country's main Christian leaders during most of the Lebanese Civil War ....

 in 1958. It is now under the leadership of Dory Chamoun
Dory Chamoun
Dory Chamoun is a Lebanese politician who leads the National Liberal Party, and is also a prominent member of the Qornet Shehwan Gathering, a coalition of politicians, academics, and businessmen who oppose the pro-Syrian March 8 Alliance and Syrian influence in Lebanon.Dory Chamoun is the elder...

, his son.

Policies

The party has adopted a hard line in regard to the preservation of Lebanese independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....

, and to the safeguard of the distinctive liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

 practices in Lebanon with respect to freedom of expression and opinion
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...

 and religious freedoms. Like most Lebanese political organization, it has a sectarian basis; the NLP is mainly supported by 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...

s. (For more information on this, see Demographics of Lebanon
Demographics of Lebanon
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Lebanon, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....

)

History

In 1968, the party joined The Helf Alliance
Helf Alliance
The Helf Alliance or Tripartite Alliance , was a right-wing coalition formed in 1968 by the big three mainly Christian parties in Lebanon: The Pierre Gemayel's Kataeb, the National Liberal Party of former President Camille Chamoun, and National Bloc of Raymond Eddé. The coalition called for a...

 formed with the two other big mainly 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...

 parties in Lebanon: the Kataeb of Pierre Gemayel
Pierre Gemayel
Sheikh Pierre Gemayel , was a Lebanese political leader...

, and National Bloc
Lebanese National Bloc
Lebanese National Bloc , is a Lebanese conservative political party founded in 1936.The party's founder, Émile Eddé became president the same year under French protectorate. His son, Raymond Eddé, succeeded him as head of the party...

 of Raymond Eddé
Raymond Edde
Raymond Eddé was a Lebanese statesman who served his country for many years as a legislator and cabinet minister. He led the Lebanese National Bloc, an influential political party. The son of former President Émile Eddé, Raymond Eddé was himself a candidate for the presidency in 1958, and was...

. During the Lebanese Civil War
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...

 of 1975-90, the NLP was aligned with the mainly 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...

 alliance who fought the Lebanese National Movement
Lebanese National Movement
The Lebanese National Movement or Mouvement National Libanais in French, was a front of parties and organizations active during the early years of the Lebanese Civil War...

 (LNM). It had its own armed militia, the Tigers
Tigers Militia (Lebanon)
The Tigers Militia , also known as NLP Tigers or Tigers of the Liberals and PNL "Lionceaux" in French, was the military wing of the National Liberal Party during the Lebanese Civil War.- Origins :The NLP militia was first raised in October 1968 by Camille Chamoun at his own home town...

. In 1976, the NLP joined with 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...

 (Phalange) and the Lebanese Renewal Party (LRP) to form the Lebanese Front
Lebanese Front
The Lebanese Front or Front libanais in French, also known as the "Kufur Front", was a coalition of mainly Christian parties formed in 1976, during the Lebanese Civil War...

, a political coalition. This was paralleled by the joining of the militias under a central command, the Lebanese Forces
Lebanese Forces
The Lebanese Forces is a Lebanese political party. Founded as a militia by Bachir Gemayel during the Lebanese Civil War, the movement fought as the main militia within the Christian-dominated Lebanese Front...

, headed by Phalange leader Bashir Gemayel. In 1980, Gemayel turned on the Tigers, and in a surprise attack in Safra
Day of the Long Knives (Beirut)
The Safra massacre, or Day of the Long Knives, occurred in the coastal town Safra on July 7, 1980, during the Lebanese civil war, as part of Bashir Gemayel's effort to consolidate all the Christian fighters under his leadership in the Lebanese Forces.The Phalangist forces launched a surprise...

 eliminated the militia. The NLP has survived as a party, however. Nevertheless, with the death of Camille Chamoun
Camille Chamoun
Camille Nimr Chamoun was President of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958, and one of the country's main Christian leaders during most of the Lebanese Civil War ....

 in 1987 and the assassination of his successor and son Dany
Dany Chamoun
Dany Chamoun was a prominent Lebanese politician. A Maronite Christian and the younger son of former President Camille Chamoun, Dany Chamoun was also a politician in his own right, and was known for his opposition to the occupation of Lebanese territory by foreign forces, whether Syrian or...

 in 1990, combined with the rise of the Lebanese Forces
Lebanese Forces
The Lebanese Forces is a Lebanese political party. Founded as a militia by Bachir Gemayel during the Lebanese Civil War, the movement fought as the main militia within the Christian-dominated Lebanese Front...

 as political party, it seems that the NLP's political influence has considerably declined comparing to the 1960s and 1970s.

In 2005 the NLP was part of the Qornet Shehwan Gathering
Qornet Shehwan Gathering
The Qornet Shehwan Gathering is a Lebanese political organization, comprising politicians, intellectuals, and businessmen, mostly Christian and ranging in ideology from the centre-right to the center-left. The organization is not a political party in the classical sense: its members belong to,...

, opposed to the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, but later left because of what it alleged was "corruption" in this gathering.
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