René Moawad
Encyclopedia
René Moawad was President of Lebanon
for 17 days in 1989, from the 5th to the 22nd of November, when he was assassinated by unknowns. Syria accused Michel Aoun
of the assassination.
A Maronite Christian noted for his moderate views, Moawad had given some citizens hope that the long civil war
in Lebanon could be ended. He was an example of non-violence and accepting the other in the Arab world, his culture of non-confrontation and troubleshooting conflict and his courage led all of the Lebanese parties to accept him as a president to end the war. Before he died, Moawad had addressed the nation with these words: "There can be no country or dignity without unity of the people, and there can be no unity without agreement, and there can be no agreement without conciliation, and there can be no conciliation without forgiveness and compromise." He was succeeded by Elias Hrawi
.
, before pursuing his secondary education at the Saint Joseph College
in Aintoura
. He went to Saint Joseph University in Beirut
, graduating with a law degree in 1947. He subsequently joined the law firm of Abdallah El-Yafi
, a former Prime Minister before opening his own law firm in Tripoli in 1951.
in 1951, when he unsuccessfully contested a Zgharta
seat in the National Assembly
. Although he was defeated, the election forged a crucial alliance between him and the Frangieh clan. He was subsequently elected to the National Assembly in 1957, and reelected in 1960, 1964, 1968, and 1972 - the last parliamentary election
held before his election to the presidency (the civil war
that raged from 1975 to 1990 prevented further elections from being held in the meantime).
In 1952, Moawad was briefly arrested and detained in Aley
for participating in the national uprising that forced the resignation of President Bechara El Khoury
, Lebanon's first post-independence leader. He also fell out with Khoury's successor, Camille Chamoun
, when the latter hinted at a possible constitutional
change to extend his six-year term which was due to expire in 1958. He went into exile in Latakia
, Syria
. It was during his exile that he won his first election to the National Assembly. Rene travelled to Egypt
and met president Nasser, and proposed to him the idea of revoking the Lebanese citizenship of Dr Charles Malik.
Moawad became a strong supporter of Chamoun's successor, Fuad Chehab
. He chaired the Parliamentary Law Committee and the Finance and Budget Committee. He served as Minister of Posts and Telecommunications in the government of Prime Minister Rashid Karami
(also a Chehabist) from 31 October 1961 to 20 February 1964. He later served as Minister of Public Works, again under Karami, from 16 January to 24 November 1969, in the presidency of Chehab's successor, Charles Helou
. In 1970, however, he broke with the Chehabists to support the election to the presidency of his old ally, Suleiman Frangieh
, against the Chehabist candidate, Elias Sarkis
. Frangieh won by a single vote.
On 25 October 1980, Moawad returned to the Cabinet as Minister of National Education and Fine Arts, in the government of President Elias Sarkis (who had succeeded Frangieh in 1976) and Prime Minister Shafik Wazzan
, a position he held until the expiry of Sarkis's term on 24 September 1982. The strength of his alliance with Suleiman Frangieh was severely tested in that year, when Moawad voted to support Bachir Gemayel
, Frangieh's rival, for the presidency. Despite Frangieh's anger, their friendship was so deep that it survived the test.
to end the civil war
, the National Assembly met on November 5 at the Qoleiat air base
in North Lebanon and elected Moawad President of Lebanon 409 days after Amine Gemayel
vacated this position upon the expiration of his term in 1988. The National Assembly had failed to elect a successor at that time. Seventeen days later, as he was returning from Lebanon's Independence Day celebrations on November 22, 1989, a 250 kg car bomb
was detonated next to Moawad's motorcade in West Beirut
, killing him and 23 others. Chawki Choweiri, Lebanon's UN representative, said "This is the major catastrophe of the years of catastrophes we have had so far. We may have lost one of the last opportunities to unite the nation."
No credible investigation into the murder has ever been carried out. To this day, the identity and motives of those responsible remain a matter of debate. Returning from the Cedar Revolution
protest against the Syrian occupation on 14 March 2005, Nayla Moawad
declared, The independence of Lebanon was regained on March 14, and on March 14 I felt that I avenged (my husband's) assassination].
of the municipality, and his wife Evelyn Shalhoub, Moawad was the scion of a prominent Zgharta family, but he was the first member of the family to represent the constituency in Parliament.
In 1965, Moawad married Nayla Najib Issa El-Khoury, a relative of Moawad's old political opponent Bechara El Khoury. Despite the historical animosity between their two families, as well as the fact that she was fifteen years his junior, the marriage was evidently a happy one. Their daughter Rima Moawad, born 1966, is now a lawyer and a graduate of Harvard University
in the United States
, while their son Michel Moawad, born 1972, is a lawyer and businessman who graduated from Sorbonne University in Paris
.
Moawad's widow Nayla founded the René Moawad Foundation, to further the goals of dialogue, peace, and social justice, to which he had dedicated his life. Nayla Moawad
was elected to the National Assembly in 1991. She is a member of the opposition Qornet Shehwan Gathering
, which opposed the Syrian military
presence in Lebanon. In 2004 she announced her candidacy for the Presidency to succeed Émile Lahoud
, whose term legally ended in November.
Moawad's son, Michel, founded a new political party in 2006 called Independence Movement
. The movement is part of the anti-Syrian Qornet Shehwan Gathering
and the March 14 Alliance
. In the 2005-2009 it had 3 Maronite Christian MPs for the Zgharta District
in the Lebanese Parliament, Nayla Moawad
, Jawad Simon BOULOS and Samir Frangieh. Since 2009, the party has been led by Michel René Moawad, Jawad Simon Boulos and Youssef Bahaa El Douaihy.
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...
for 17 days in 1989, from the 5th to the 22nd of November, when he was assassinated by unknowns. Syria accused Michel Aoun
Michel Aoun
Michel Naim Aoun is a former Lebanese Army Commander and he is one of the allies of Hezbollah. From 22 September 1988 to 13 October 1990, he has served as Prime Minister of the legal one of two rival governments that contended for power. He declared "The Liberation War" against the Syrian...
of the assassination.
A Maronite Christian noted for his moderate views, Moawad had given some citizens hope that the long 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...
in Lebanon could be ended. He was an example of non-violence and accepting the other in the Arab world, his culture of non-confrontation and troubleshooting conflict and his courage led all of the Lebanese parties to accept him as a president to end the war. Before he died, Moawad had addressed the nation with these words: "There can be no country or dignity without unity of the people, and there can be no unity without agreement, and there can be no agreement without conciliation, and there can be no conciliation without forgiveness and compromise." He was succeeded by Elias Hrawi
Elias Hrawi
Elias Hrawi was a President of Lebanon, whose term of office ran from 1989 to 1998.He was a native of the Beqaa valley. He was elected on 24 November 1989, two days after the assassination of René Moawad, who had held office for just seventeen days...
.
Education and early career
Mouawad was educated at De La Salle School in TripoliTripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
, before pursuing his secondary education at the Saint Joseph College
Collège Saint Joseph - Antoura
The Saint Joseph College in Aintoura, Lebanon is the oldest francophone school in the Middle East. It was established in 1884 by the Lazarist priests...
in Aintoura
Aintoura
Antoura is a town in the Mount Lebanon Governorate.-History:The towns and the University was the scene of an "ethnic cleansing" event when the Ottoman Turkish authorities under direct instructions from Jamal Pasha followed a policy of "Turkification" that affected over 1300 Armenian and Kurdish...
. He went to Saint Joseph University in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, graduating with a law degree in 1947. He subsequently joined the law firm of Abdallah El-Yafi
Abdallah El-Yafi
Abdallah El-Yafi was the Prime Minister of Lebanon 12 times between 1938 and 1969.-Early life and education:Abdallah El-Yafi was born in Beirut, Lebanon on September 7, 1901 into a Muslim Sunni family to parents Aref El-Yafi and Jamila Ostwani, a Damascene.Raised with two brothers, he first...
, a former Prime Minister before opening his own law firm in Tripoli in 1951.
Parliamentary career
Moawad made his first foray into politicsPolitics of Lebanon
Lebanon is a parliamentary republic within the overall framework of confessionalism, a form of consociationalism in which the highest offices are proportionately reserved for representatives from certain religious communities. The constitution grants the people the right to change their government...
in 1951, when he unsuccessfully contested a Zgharta
Zgharta
Zgharta, or Zghorta is a large town in North Lebanon, with an estimated population of around 70,000.Zgharta is about 150 metres above sea level and lies between the rivers of Jouit and Rashein...
seat in the National Assembly
Parliament of Lebanon
The Parliament of Lebanon is the national parliament of Lebanon. There are 128 members elected to a four-year terms in multi-member constituencies, apportioned among Lebanon's diverse Christian and Muslim denominations. Lebanon has universal adult suffrage...
. Although he was defeated, the election forged a crucial alliance between him and the Frangieh clan. He was subsequently elected to the National Assembly in 1957, and reelected in 1960, 1964, 1968, and 1972 - the last parliamentary election
Elections in Lebanon
Elections in Lebanon gives information on election and election results in Lebanon.- Parliamentary electoral system :Lebanon's national legislature is called the Assembly of Representatives...
held before his election to the presidency (the 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...
that raged from 1975 to 1990 prevented further elections from being held in the meantime).
In 1952, Moawad was briefly arrested and detained in Aley
Aley
Aley is a picturesque town in Mount Lebanon. It is located 17 km uphill from Beirut, just south of the summer resort of Bhamdoun and north of the strategic town of Souk El Gharb.-Demographics:...
for participating in the national uprising that forced the resignation of President Bechara El Khoury
Bechara El Khoury
Bechara El Khoury was the first post-independence President of Lebanon, holding office from 21 September 1943 to 18 September 1952, apart from an 11-day interruption in 1943...
, Lebanon's first post-independence leader. He also fell out with Khoury's successor, 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 ....
, when the latter hinted at a possible constitutional
Constitution of Lebanon
The Constitution of Lebanon was adopted on 23 May 1926.The most recent amendment of the Constitution was for the Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation , in October, 1989....
change to extend his six-year term which was due to expire in 1958. He went into exile in Latakia
Latakia
Latakia, or Latakiyah , is the principal port city of Syria, as well as the capital of the Latakia Governorate. In addition to serving as a port, the city is a manufacturing center for surrounding agricultural towns and villages...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. It was during his exile that he won his first election to the National Assembly. Rene travelled to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and met president Nasser, and proposed to him the idea of revoking the Lebanese citizenship of Dr Charles Malik.
Moawad became a strong supporter of Chamoun's successor, Fuad Chehab
Fuad Chehab
Fuad Chehab Fuad Chehab Fuad Chehab (name also spelt Fouad Shihab, or Chehab, depending on transliteration from the original Arabic, (March 19, 1902 - April 25, 1973) was the President of the Lebanese Republic from 1958 to 1964...
. He chaired the Parliamentary Law Committee and the Finance and Budget Committee. He served as Minister of Posts and Telecommunications in the government of Prime Minister Rashid Karami
Rashid Karami
Rashid Abdul Hamid Karami was a Lebanese statesman. He was one of the most important political figures in Lebanon for more than 30 years, including during much of Lebanese Civil War , and he served as Prime Minister eight times.- Background :Rashid Karami was born in Tripoli, into one of...
(also a Chehabist) from 31 October 1961 to 20 February 1964. He later served as Minister of Public Works, again under Karami, from 16 January to 24 November 1969, in the presidency of Chehab's successor, Charles Helou
Charles Helou
Charles Helou was President of Lebanon from 1964 to 1970.Born in Beirut, Helou was the scion of a powerful Maronite family from Baabda. He graduated with honours from St. Joseph's University in Beirut in 1929, and went on to complete a Law degree in 1934...
. In 1970, however, he broke with the Chehabists to support the election to the presidency of his old ally, Suleiman Frangieh
Suleiman Frangieh
Suleiman Kabalan Frangieh, last name also spelled Frangié, Franjieh, or Franjiyeh , was President of Lebanon from 1970 to 1976...
, against the Chehabist candidate, Elias Sarkis
Elias Sarkis
Elias Sarkis was the President of the Lebanese Republic from 1976 to 1982.-Early career:Born in Shabbaniah, Sarkis graduated with a Law degree from Saint Joseph University in 1948. After joining the judicial corps in 1953, he became a judge with the Accounting Department...
. Frangieh won by a single vote.
On 25 October 1980, Moawad returned to the Cabinet as Minister of National Education and Fine Arts, in the government of President Elias Sarkis (who had succeeded Frangieh in 1976) and Prime Minister Shafik Wazzan
Shafik Wazzan
Shafik Dib al-Wazzan was the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1980 until 1984. In December 1991, Wazzan was wounded when a car bomb exploded in the Beirut neighborhood of Basta as he was passing through in an armored car....
, a position he held until the expiry of Sarkis's term on 24 September 1982. The strength of his alliance with Suleiman Frangieh was severely tested in that year, when Moawad voted to support Bachir Gemayel
Bachir Gemayel
Bachir Gemayel was a Lebanese politician, militia commander, and president-elect...
, Frangieh's rival, for the presidency. Despite Frangieh's anger, their friendship was so deep that it survived the test.
Election and assassination
Following the Taif AgreementTaif Agreement
The Taif Agreement was an agreement reached to provide "the basis for the ending of the civil war and the return to political normalcy in Lebanon." Negotiated in Taif, Saudi Arabia, it was designed to end the decades-long Lebanese civil war, politically accommodate the demographic...
to end the 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...
, the National Assembly met on November 5 at the Qoleiat air base
Rene Mouawad Air Base
Rene Mouawad Air Base , formerly and still sometimes known as Kleyate Airport , used to be a military-civil joint airport in northern Lebanon, located near the town of Kleyate and 6 km from the Lebanese-Syrian border.-History:In the early 1960's, the air base was a small airport owned by an...
in North Lebanon and elected Moawad President of Lebanon 409 days after Amine Gemayel
Amine Gemayel
Amine Pierre Gemayel was President of Lebanon from 1982 to 1988 and is the leader of Kataeb Party.Born in the Lebanese village of Bikfaya, Amine Gemayel is the son of Pierre Gemayel, founder of the Kataeb Party...
vacated this position upon the expiration of his term in 1988. The National Assembly had failed to elect a successor at that time. Seventeen days later, as he was returning from Lebanon's Independence Day celebrations on November 22, 1989, a 250 kg car bomb
Car bomb
A car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
was detonated next to Moawad's motorcade in West Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, killing him and 23 others. Chawki Choweiri, Lebanon's UN representative, said "This is the major catastrophe of the years of catastrophes we have had so far. We may have lost one of the last opportunities to unite the nation."
No credible investigation into the murder has ever been carried out. To this day, the identity and motives of those responsible remain a matter of debate. Returning from 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...
protest against the Syrian occupation on 14 March 2005, Nayla Moawad
Nayla Moawad
Nayla Moawad is a Lebanese politician. Outside of Lebanon, she is best known as the widow of former President René Moawad, who was assassinated on 22 November 1989. Within Lebanon, she is a high-profile politician in her own right, having served as a member of the National Assembly since 1991...
declared, The independence of Lebanon was regained on March 14, and on March 14 I felt that I avenged (my husband's) assassination].
Personal life and legacy
As the son of Anis Bey Mouawad, who had been mayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of the municipality, and his wife Evelyn Shalhoub, Moawad was the scion of a prominent Zgharta family, but he was the first member of the family to represent the constituency in Parliament.
In 1965, Moawad married Nayla Najib Issa El-Khoury, a relative of Moawad's old political opponent Bechara El Khoury. Despite the historical animosity between their two families, as well as the fact that she was fifteen years his junior, the marriage was evidently a happy one. Their daughter Rima Moawad, born 1966, is now a lawyer and a graduate of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, while their son Michel Moawad, born 1972, is a lawyer and businessman who graduated from Sorbonne University in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Moawad's widow Nayla founded the René Moawad Foundation, to further the goals of dialogue, peace, and social justice, to which he had dedicated his life. Nayla Moawad
Nayla Moawad
Nayla Moawad is a Lebanese politician. Outside of Lebanon, she is best known as the widow of former President René Moawad, who was assassinated on 22 November 1989. Within Lebanon, she is a high-profile politician in her own right, having served as a member of the National Assembly since 1991...
was elected to the National Assembly in 1991. She is a member of the opposition 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,...
, which opposed the Syrian military
Military of Syria
The Syrian Armed Forces are the military forces of Syria. They consist of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Air Defense Force.-Manpower:The President of Syria is the commander in chief of the Syrian armed forces, comprising some 646,500 troops upon mobilization. The military is a conscripted force;...
presence in Lebanon. In 2004 she announced her candidacy for the Presidency to succeed Émile Lahoud
Émile Lahoud
General Émile Jamil Lahoud is a former President of Lebanon. Lahoud is a Maronite-Catholic, as is required for the Lebanese presidency. Under Lebanon's unwritten constitutional agreement, the National Pact, the presidency is earmarked for Maronite_Catholic, the parliament speaker's post for a Shia...
, whose term legally ended in November.
Moawad's son, Michel, founded a new political party in 2006 called Independence Movement
Independence Movement (Lebanon)
The Independence Movement is a neoconservative and secularist Lebanese political party based in Zgharta , founded in 2006 by Michel René Moawad, son of slain Lebanese President René Moawad and MP and former first lady Nayla Moawad.The movement is part of the anti-Syrian Qornet Shehwan...
. The movement is part of the anti-Syrian 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,...
and the March 14 Alliance
March 14 Alliance
The March 14 alliance , named after the date of the Cedar Revolution, is a coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon that call for sovereignty over all Lebanese territories, led by MP Saad Hariri, younger son of Rafik Hariri, the assassinated former prime minister of Lebanon, as...
. In the 2005-2009 it had 3 Maronite Christian MPs for the Zgharta District
Zgharta District
Zgharta District is a district of the North Governorate, Lebanon.The administrative center is the town of Zgharta. The district has 57 populated areas with 30 municipalities covering 37 villages. Some areas share the same municipality such as Ehden/Zgharta, Kfarsghab/Morh Kfarsghab or...
in the Lebanese Parliament, Nayla Moawad
Nayla Moawad
Nayla Moawad is a Lebanese politician. Outside of Lebanon, she is best known as the widow of former President René Moawad, who was assassinated on 22 November 1989. Within Lebanon, she is a high-profile politician in her own right, having served as a member of the National Assembly since 1991...
, Jawad Simon BOULOS and Samir Frangieh. Since 2009, the party has been led by Michel René Moawad, Jawad Simon Boulos and Youssef Bahaa El Douaihy.