Samir Farid Geagea born October 25, 1952, is a Lebanese politician. He is also a senior figure in the
March 14 AllianceThe 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...
, alongside
Saad HaririSaad-eddine Rafiq Al-Hariri is a Saudi-Lebanese billionaire who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 2009 until 2011. He is the second son of Rafiq Hariri, the former Lebanese Prime Minister who was assassinated in 2005...
and
Amine GemayelAmine 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...
.
He took leadership of the Lebanese Forces in 1986.
After the civil war, there was increased pressure by Syria on Geagea to accept the Syrian presence or face charges. Prior to his arrest, he was contacted by several sympathetic politicians and warned about the forthcoming proceedings and offered safe passage out of Lebanon. In 1994, four years after the end of the
Lebanese Civil WarThe 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...
, Geagea was tried for ordering four political assassinations, including the assassination of Lebanon's Prime Minister
Rashid KaramiRashid 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...
in 1987, and the unsuccessful attempted assassination of Defense Minister
Michel MurrMichel Murr is a Lebanese politician and businessman. He first occupied the post of Minister of the Interior, as well as being Deputy Prime Minister in Rafik Hariri's first cabinet in 1992 and remained in the post in all subsequent cabinets formed by Hariri, except the last one, in which his son,...
in 1991. He denied all charges, but was found guilty and sentenced to four death sentences, each of which was commuted to life in prison. Geagea was imprisoned in
solitary confinementSolitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
below the Lebanese Ministry of Defense building in Beirut for the next 11 years. He is the only Lebanese militia leader to have been imprisoned for crimes committed during the Lebanese Civil War.
Following the
Cedar RevolutionThe 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...
, and the subsequent withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon, a
newly-elected Lebanese ParliamentThe 2005 Lebanese General Elections were the first elections in thirty years without a Syrian military or intelligence presence in Lebanon. These elections were the first in Lebanese history to be won outright by a single electoral block and were also the first to be monitored by the United...
voted to grant him amnesty on July 18, 2005.
Early life and education
Geagea was born in Ain el Remmaneh, a suburb of
BeirutBeirut 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...
in 1952 to a modest Maronite family from the town of
BsharriBsharri , is a Lebanese town at about 1,450 m of altitude, near the Kadisha Valley. It is located at , in the Bsharri District of the North Governorate. Bsharri is the town of the only remaining Original Cedars of Lebanon...
, Northern Lebanon. His father was an adjutant in the Lebanese Army. He attended "Ecole Bénilde" elementary and secondary school in Furn el-Chebek, which was a free private school. With the aid of a scholarship from the Khalil Gibran association, he studied medicine for a few years at the
American University of BeirutThe American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
and Saint Joseph University. After the outbreak of civil war in 1975, Geagea interrupted his studies. Although he would later continue his studies at
Saint Joseph's UniversitySaint Joseph University is a private Catholic higher institute of education founded by the Jesuits in 1875 in Beirut, Lebanon, known for its school of medicine and its hospital, Hôtel-Dieu de France. The Lebanese state officially recognizes the university and the diplomas it grants in accord with...
, Geagea never practiced medicine. He was an active member of the right-wing Phalangist Party, which became the main Christian fighting force upon the outbreak of the
Lebanese Civil WarThe 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 1975. He is married to Sethrida Geagea.
War Period
Geagea steadily rose through the ranks and led several operations at the request of
Bachir GemayelBachir Gemayel was a Lebanese politician, militia commander, and president-elect...
, then commander of the Phalangist
Kataeb Regulatory ForcesThe Kataeb Regulatory Forces – KRF or RF , Forces Regulatoires du Kataeb in French were the military wing of the right-wing Lebanese Christian Kataeb Party, otherwise known as the Phalange, from 1961 to 1977...
militia. In June 1978, following the murder of a Phalangist party leader in the
North LebanonNorth Lebanon may refer to:*North Lebanon Township, Pennsylvania*North Governorate, Lebanon...
called Joud el Bayeh in a power struggle with former president
Suleiman FrangiehSuleiman Kabalan Frangieh, last name also spelled Frangié, Franjieh, or Franjiyeh , was President of Lebanon from 1970 to 1976...
,
Bachir GemayelBachir Gemayel was a Lebanese politician, militia commander, and president-elect...
ordered Geagea and
Elie HobeikaElie Hobeika was a Lebanese Phalangist and Lebanese Forces militia commander during the Lebanese Civil War, and former MP...
to co-lead a unit to capture the suspects who were taking cover in Frangieh's mansion in
EhdenEhden is a mountainous town situated in the heart of the northern mountains of Lebanon and on the southwestern slopes of Mount Makmal and Kornet el Sawda, the highest peak in Lebanon...
. The convoy was ambushed on the way and Geagea was hit and admitted to Hotel Dieu hospital in
AchrafiehAchrafieh, , 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...
where ironically he was doing his internship, his right hand was partially paralyzed and he never continued his education while the military operation resulted in the murder of
Tony FrangiehAntoine Frangieh was a Lebanese politician and militia leader during the early years of the Lebanese Civil War.- Education and early political career :...
and his family. Geagea was later transported to a hospital in France.
Geagea was appointed head of the
Lebanese ForcesThe 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...
' militia northern Front in the early 1980s, where he commanded around 1,500 battle-hardened soldiers, drawn mainly from his native town of Bsharri and other towns and villages in Northern Lebanon. Geagea led his men in fierce battles against the Syrian Army in El-Koura, Qnat. In 1982-1983, Geagea commanded the Lebanese Forces against Walid Jumblat's
Progressive Socialist PartyThe Progressive Socialist Party or PSP , also known as Parti Socialiste Progressiste in French, is a political party in Lebanon. Its current leader is Walid Jumblatt...
militia, the Palestinians, and the Syrians in a battle for control of the Chouf mountains in central Lebanon.
Lebanese Forces
On March 12, 1985, Geagea and
Elie HobeikaElie Hobeika was a Lebanese Phalangist and Lebanese Forces militia commander during the Lebanese Civil War, and former MP...
orchestrated an internal coup in order to end the leadership of
Fouad Abou NaderFouad Abou Nader is a Lebanese leader.-Personal data:Born in Baskinta, on June 27, 1956. Christian Maronite. Son of Antoine Abou Nader & Claude Pierre Gemayel. Married to Sandra Ghosn. Four children: Anthony, Georges, Maria & Paul...
in the
Lebanese ForcesThe 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...
. Abou Nader was considered to be too close to his uncle, president Amin Gemayel whose policies were not accepted by most LF leaders. On January 15, 1986, Geagea became head of the Lebanese Forces after overthrowing Hobeika, who was widely accused of treachery in the Lebanese Christian sector for agreeing to a Syrian-sponsored accord (the Tripartite Accord). During the following year, Geagea meticulously rebuilt the LF into an organized, well trained and equipped military force, one of the most advanced forces ever on Lebanese soil. He established social security and public services to fill the void that was created by the war-crippled state administration. He also extracted taxes from the Christian region, offered free open-heart operations and twinned Christians cities with foreign cities in Europe and America and tried to open an airport in the Halat region because the Beirut International Airport (located in the west suburb of Beirut) was under the control of the Syrian forces which made the access for Lebanese Christians almost impossible.
The Post-War period
On October 13, 1990, Syria ousted General Michel Aoun from the presidential palace in Baabda. Aoun was heading an interim government which filled the void in the absence of a presidential election after the end of President Amin Gemayel's term in office. With Aoun out of the picture, Geagea was now the only leader in the Christian heartland. Geagea was subsequently offered ministerial portfolios in the new Lebanese government (formed on
Christmas EveChristmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
).
Relation with the Kataeb party
In addition to being the LF leader, Geagea retained his seat in the Kataeb
PolitburoPolitburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
. In 1992, he ran for the Kataeb presidential election but lost to
Georges SaadehGeorges Saadeh was a Lebanese politician. He was appointed as a minister in several governments and was the head of Kataeb party for twelve years.-Early life and education:...
with whom the conflict grew. Later that year, Saadeh dismissed Geagea and all members of what was known as the "Rescue Committee" from the party. The committee was formed by several members of the Politburo and districts leaders loyal to the LF and Geagea.
Arrest and trial
There was increased pressure by Syria on Geagea to accept the Syrian presence or face charges. Prior to his arrest, he was contacted by several sympathetic politicians and warned about the forthcoming proceedings and offered safe passage out of Lebanon. Geagea refused to leave. The Syrians exploited the vulnerabilities of the amnesty law promulgated by then president
Elias HrawiElias 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...
for all the crimes and atrocities committed before 1990. This law also stated that any crime committed after that date will void the effect of the amnesty. On February 27, 1994, a bomb exploded in the Church of Sayyidet Al Najet (Our Lady of Deliverance) in the locality of Zouk killing 9 worshipers and injuring many. It is unknown who perpretated the bombing and it was ultimately attributed to some shadowy groups, but Samir Geagea was accused of the crime solely for the purpose of voiding the effect of the amnesty law of which he benefited, in the same way as all political and militia leaders from other communities and regions were benefiting despite their many unspeakable crimes throughout the Lebanese civil way. It must be noted that Samir Geagea's crimes had been particularly atrocious and heinous, which is one of the main reasons why he was the only leader to be framed and unjustly stripped of his legal amnesty.
On March 23, 1994, the Lebanese government ordered the dissolution of the LF and Geagea's deputy Fouad Malek was taken into custody. Geagea himself was arrested on April 21, 1994, on charges of ordering the church bombing, of attempting to undermine government authority by "maintaining a militia in the guise of a political party", of instigating acts of violence, and of committing assassinations during the
Lebanese Civil WarThe 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...
.
He was accused of the assassinations of Former Prime Minister Rashid Karami, National Liberal Party leader Dany Chamoun and his family , and former LF member Elias Al Zayek. He was also accused of attempting to kill Minister Michel Murr. He was acquitted in the church case but given four life sentences in the other cases.
Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
criticized Samir Geagea's trial and conviction, citing that it was politically motivated and unjust.
Imprisonment
Geagea was incarcerated for 11 years in a small windowless solitary cell in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense in
YarzeYarze is a village in Baabda District southeast of Beirut in Lebanon. The most significant public institution is the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. The city also has the famous The Hope for Peace Monument designed and gifted to Lebanon in 1995 by Arman....
. His health status was jeopardized and he lost weight dramatically due to the unsanitary condition of the ill lit and poorly ventilated prison cell. He was deprived of access to media and the outside world and was only allowed to see his wife and close relatives. All of Geagea’s conversations were monitored and he was barred from talking politics with anyone.
For the duration of his incarceration, Geagea maintained that he meditated and reviewed his actions during the war to determine if what he did was right. He busied himself with reading literature,
Hindu philosophyHindu philosophy is divided into six schools of thought, or , which accept the Vedas as supreme revealed scriptures. Three other schools do not accept the Vedas as authoritative...
,
Christian theology- Divisions of Christian theology :There are many methods of categorizing different approaches to Christian theology. For a historical analysis, see the main article on the History of Christian theology.- Sub-disciplines :...
and
mysticismChristian mysticism refers to the development of mystical practices and theory within Christianity. It has often been connected to mystical theology, especially in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions...
namely the works of Jesuit priest
Teilhard de ChardinPierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ was a French philosopher and Jesuit priest who trained as a paleontologist and geologist and took part in the discovery of both Piltdown Man and Peking Man. Teilhard conceived the idea of the Omega Point and developed Vladimir Vernadsky's concept of Noosphere...
.
Release
Leaders of the
Cedar RevolutionThe 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...
considered the Geagea trials and sentences to be unjust, politically motivated, and orchestrated by the vassal regime that ruled Lebanon during the Syrian occupation to oust Geagea from the political scene and dismantle the
Lebanese ForcesThe 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...
.
When supporters of the Cedar Revolution won the majority in the
2005 parliamentary electionsThe 2005 Lebanese General Elections were the first elections in thirty years without a Syrian military or intelligence presence in Lebanon. These elections were the first in Lebanese history to be won outright by a single electoral block and were also the first to be monitored by the United...
, they lobbied for an amnesty law to free Geagea from his disputed sentences.
The Lebanese Parliament passed an amnesty bill on 18 July 2005 to free Samir Geagea. It was subsequently signed by President
Émile LahoudGeneral 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...
.
Geagea was released from prison on July 26, 2005 and he left Lebanon for medical care. He returned to
LebanonLebanon , 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...
on October 25 (his birthday), and lived in the Cedars region, his ancestral home, in northern Lebanon until December 11, 2006, after which he moved to a hotel in
BzoummarBzoummar also Bzommar is a village in Lebanon. It is located 36 km northeast of Beirut at an elevation ranging between 920 and 950m above the Mediterranean. It is part of the Caza of Keserwan. Bzoummar is home to the 250 year-old Convent of the Armenian Catholic Church that was built in 1749...
in
KeserwanKeserwan is a district in the Mount Lebanon Governorate , Lebanon, to the northeast of the Lebanon's capital Beirut...
. On June 30, 2007, he moved to a new residence in "Me'arab", Keserwan.
Current political activity
On the Lebanese political scene, Geagea and the LF are considered to be the main Christian component of the March 14 Alliance.
In September 2008, Geagea pronounced in front of thousands of rallying supporters in
JouniehJounieh is a Mediterranean coastal city about 16 kilometers north of Beirut, Lebanon. Jounieh is known for its seaside resorts, pubs, restaurants and nightclubs, as well as its old stone souk, ferry, and cablecar , which takes passengers up the mountain to the shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in...
a historical apology . The apology read:
Internationally, Geagea is trying to renew his relations with influential countries such as the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
FranceThe 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...
. On March 19, 2007, he met French president
Jacques ChiracJacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
in the
Élysée PalaceThe Élysée Palace is the official residence of the President of the French Republic, containing his office, and is where the Council of Ministers meets. It is located near the Champs-Élysées in Paris....
. In March 2008, he held talks in the USA with officials at the
White HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, including
Secretary of StateThe United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Condoleezza RiceCondoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
,
NSAThe Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor , serves as the chief advisor to the President of the United States on national security issues...
Stephen HadleyStephen John Hadley was the 21st U.S. Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs , serving under President George W. Bush....
and the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
Gary AckermanGary Leonard Ackerman is the U.S. Representative for , serving since a special election in 1983. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
.
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