By Wikipedia In 1980 Bashir Gemayel, the leader of Lebanon’s Maronite Christian militia, the Lebanese Forces, provided an explanation for his militancy: “With all…
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Amine Pierre Gemayel (born 22 January 1942) 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. Gemayel was elected to the presidency by the National Assembly on 21 September 1982, in place of his brother Bachir Gemayel who had been elected the previous month but had been assassinated before taking office. After obtaining a law degree in 1965 from the St. Joseph University in Beirut, Amine Gemayel concentrated on building up his family's newspaper business. In a 1969 by-election, he was elected to succeed his deceased uncle, Maurice Gemayel, as a member of the National Assembly; he defeated Fuad Lahoud by a margin of 54% to 41%. In 1972, in the last election to be held for 20 years, he was reelected by a large margin. While his younger brother Bashir was regarded as a political radical, espousing the expulsion of Palestinian guerrillas from Lebanese soil and a radical overhaul of the political system, and hinting at a possible peace settlement with Israel, Amine Gemayel was considered more moderate. Always a consensus politician, he avoided, at least in his pre-presidential years, alienating Muslim politicians as his brother had done. When Bashir Gemayel was assassinated, therefore, Amine was regarded as a natural choice to bring together both the supporters of his slain brother, and his Muslim opponents.
