Kataeb Party
The Kataeb Party, officially the Kataeb Party – Lebanese Social Democratic Party (Arabic: حزب الكتائب اللبنانية - الحزب الديمقراطي الاجتماعي اللبناني Ḥizb al-Katā'ib al-Lubnānīya),[4] also known as the Phalanges, is a right-wing Christian political party in Lebanon founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936. The party and its paramilitary wings played a major role in the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), opposing Palestinian forces in the country as well as collaborating with Israel. Pierre's youngest son Bachir, the leader of the party's militia, was elected President in 1982, but was assassinated before he could take office. He was succeeded by his older brother Amine, who led the party through much of the war. In decline in the late 1980s and 1990s, the party slowly re-emerged in the early 2000s and is currently part of the Lebanese opposition. The party currently holds 4 out of the 128 seats in the Lebanese Parliament.
Lebanese Kataeb Party حزب الكتائب اللبنانية
Kataeb
5 November 1936
Current:
Centre-right[1]
Historical:
Right-wing to far-right
Mostly Christianity (Officially Secular)
Helf Alliance (1968–1969)
Lebanese Front (1976–1986)
March 14 Alliance (2005–2016)
Lebanese Opposition (2016–present)[3]
European People’s Party (regional partner)
Green
White
Brown (customary)
"God. Homeland. Family."
Kataeb Regulatory Forces (1961–1980)
Lebanese Forces (1980–1985)
Names[edit]
The Lebanese Phalanges Party is also known as Phalanges Libanaises in French and either Kataeb (الكتائب اللبنانية al-Katā'ib al-Lubnāniyya) or Phalangist Party (حزب الكتائب اللبنانية Ḥizb al-Katā'ib al-Lubnāniyya) in Arabic. Kataeb is the plural of Katiba which is a translation into Arabic of the Greek word phalanx ("battalion") which is also the origin of the Spanish term Falange. In 2021, the party changed its official name to "The Kataeb Party – Lebanese Social Democratic Party" (Arabic: حزب الكتائب اللبنانيّة – الحزب الديمقراطي الاجتماعي اللبناني, Hiẓb al-Katā'ib al-Lubnāniyya – Hiẓb al-dīmūqrāṭī al-ijtimāʿī al-lubnānī).[5]
Main events[edit]
1936–1943[edit]
In 1943, the Kataeb played an instrumental role in attaining Lebanon's first independence from the French mandate. During this period, Kataeb led many social struggles to consolidate national cohesion and promote individual liberties and social welfare.[13] The Kataeb elaborated the first Lebanese "labour charter" in 1937. It was a pioneering initiative as it called for a minimum wage, a limitation of working hours, and paid leaves. The Kataeb was one of the first Lebanese parties to have a solid avant-garde economic program and organized social activism throughout Lebanon.[14]
1941 saw the creation of the first women section in a Lebanese Party. It called openly for stopping any kind of discrimination towards women. Since 1939, the Party has issued Al Amal, a leading bilingual political publication.[27][28]
1943–1958[edit]
The Kataeb Party entered the political and parliamentary scene during the late 1940s after a period in which it refrained from entering the political arena to focus mainly on the promotion of the youth and on social issues, away from the trivialities of post-mandate politics.
Kataeb struggled to preserve Lebanon's independence facing the growing appetite of its neighbors. The Party expanded considerably its presence throughout the territory and attracted thousands of new members, undoubtedly forming one of the largest parties in the Middle East. Kataeb adopted a modern organization which made its fame and became its trademark. In 1958 the Kataeb was the key actor in confronting the coup influenced by pan-Arabists led by Gamal Abdel Nasser, President of the ephemeral United Arab Republic (Egypt, Syria, and Yemen), and succeeded in maintaining Lebanon's independence and liberal identity.[13]
1958–1969[edit]
After having succeeded in preserving the Lebanese formula, Kataeb Party ranks grew considerably and reached 70,000 members, out of a total population of 2.2 million.[13] The Party achieved many electoral successes and became the main Christian component of successive governments. During the ministerial mandates held by its members, it made elementary education mandatory, and improved the public school infrastructure. On a social level, the Kataeb Party introduced "labor laws" and contributed decisively to social security law. The party played a key role in promoting modern institutions that are still today the pillars of the Lebanese administrative system, including the Civil Service Council, the Central Inspection Board, and many others.[13]
Pierre Gemayel, leader of the party and minister of public works, gave Lebanon a large part of its modern infrastructure by completing 440 development projects during his term.[13] Lebanon was at its peak and became a first-tier destination for world tourism. But what was labeled as the "Switzerland of the Middle East" was a shaky construction, with the influx of Palestinian refugees after 1949 setting the stage for an ominous future.[13]
Syrian occupation[edit]
The party, lacking direction, broke down into several rival factions. Georges Saadeh took control of the Party from 1986 until his death in 1998. He took a moderate position toward the Syrian presence. Mounir Hajj became the president of the party in 1999, followed by Karim Pakradouni in 2002. Amine Gemayel left Lebanon in 1988 after his mandate had ended, mainly to avoid a clash with Samir Geagea's Lebanese Forces and avoid more intra-Christian bloodshed. He returned in 2000 to oppose the Syrian role in Lebanon and to back his son Pierre's parliamentary election campaign, which he won.
His sons Pierre and Samy, had returned in 1997 and had been working on reorganizing the popular base of the party. His return was not welcomed by the established leadership of the party who had become government puppets. To distinguish themselves from the official leadership, Gemayel's supporters started referring to themselves as "The Kataeb Base" or "The Kataeb Reform Movement". General consensus amongst Lebanese always recognized Gemayel as the legitimate Leader of the party, not because of lineage but because of most of the popular support.[52][53]
Cedar Revolution[edit]
In March 2005 after the Rafik Hariri assassination, the Kataeb took part in an anti-Syrian presence demonstration, commonly known as the Cedar Revolution. It became a member of the March 14 Alliance, along with the Future Movement, Progressive Socialist Party, Lebanese Forces and other minor parties. The Kataeb won 4 seats in the June 2005 elections, 3 representing the Gemayel Leadership (Pierre Gemayel, Solange Gemayel, and Antoine Ghanem) and 1 representing the official leadership of the Party. They formed one parliamentary bloc after a reconciliation that took place in 2005.
This reconciliation was marketed as a gesture of goodwill from Pierre Amine Gemayel who deemed it was time to turn the page and give those who were unfaithful to the party principles a second chance. Practically, it was a way for Pakradouni and his men to leave the Party with as little humiliation as possible since the reconciliation deal stipulated the resignation of the entire political bureau after 2 years. This reconciliation saw Amine come back to the Party as Supreme President of the Party while Pakradouni stayed on as President.
Samy Gemayel, Amine's second son, had formed his own political ideas and identity at the time, much closer in principle and in a manner to those of his uncle Bachir. He was very opposed to Pakradouni and his Syrian ties and thus was not a fan of this reconciliation. This drew Samy away from the party and prompted him to create a Think-Tank/Research-Center on Federalism named Loubnanouna, "Our Lebanon".
Siniora Government[edit]
In July 2005, the party participated in the Fouad Siniora Government, with Pierre Amine Gemayel as the minister of industry. Pierre played an important role in the reorganization and development of the party. His assassination in November 2006 was a major blow to the party. Syrian intelligence and "Fateh Al Islam" have been accused of the assassination. With 14 March Alliance forces, the party supports the Lebanese government against Hezbollah.[54]
In September 2007 another Kataeb MP, Antoine Ghanem was assassinated in a car bombing. Solange Gemayel remained the party's only MP since Pierre Gemayel's seat was lost to the Free Patriotic Movement of Michel Aoun in a special election in August 2007.
In 2007, Samy Gemayel and most of his Loubnanouna companions rejoined the Kataeb, prompting a renaissance in the party.
2009 elections[edit]
In the 2009 parliamentary elections the Kataeb Party managed to win 5 seats. 1 in the Metn Caza, 1 in the Beirut-1 Caza, 1 in Zahle, 1 in the Aley Caza and another in the Tripoli Caza.[55] The victories in Beirut-1 and Zahle as well as not allowing the opposition's list to win fully in Metn were major upsets to the General Aoun's FPM who is an ally of Iranian-backed Hezbollah, although the opposition's list was not 100% complete, leaving one Maronite seat vacant by purpose for the candidate of the Gemayel family.
These victories enabled Samy Gemayel, Nadim Gemayel (son of the assassinated President Bachir Gemayel), Elie Marouni, Fady el-Haber, and Samer Saade to join the Parliament.
In the first Government of PM Saad Hariri, the Kataeb were assigned the Social Affairs portfolio.
Since the end of Syria's occupation of Lebanon in 2005, the Kataeb Party has been attracted once again to new generations and has regained its role as one of the major political actors in Lebanon. The Party has a large network in Lebanon and abroad and one cannot find a major city or town without a Kataeb presence.
The Party has an active parliamentary group and has MPs elected in nearly all major Christian constituencies such as Beirut, Metn, Zahlé, Aley, and the North. Kataeb Ministers have been particularly active in governments led by the 14 March coalition, namely in the Ministries of Industry, Social Affairs, and Tourism.
The Kataeb Party calls for an objective assessment of the Lebanese political system's limitations in order to guarantee the required political stability, security, and economic prosperity. The series of political crises that Lebanon witnessed since its first independence in 1943 highlighted the shortcomings of the consensual and unitary system and its inadequacy with pluralistic countries such as Lebanon.
During the 2009 parliamentary elections that saw the victory of the Party and its allies, Kataeb presented a comprehensive program under the title of "Pact of Stability". The vision of the Party revolves around the following main ideas:
The Party is strongly concerned about the presence of Palestinian refugees with their regional and domestic ramifications. Notwithstanding that the Kataeb has recently attempted to improve the inhumane living conditions of refugees through Parliament, it remains concerned about latent or gradual attempts to force their permanent settlement in Lebanon.
On 11 March 2018, the Kataeb Party unveiled its 131-point platform, in which they expressed some progressive values such as decriminalizing homosexuality, abolishing capital punishment, removing censorship laws, and adopting a 30% female quota system in the parliament.[56]
The secretary-general of the party, Nazar Najarian, was killed in the 2020 Port of Beirut explosions.[57]
[