Elias Sarkis was a Lebanese lawyer and President of Lebanon who served from 1976 to 1982.
22 Facts About Elias Sarkis
2.
Elias Sarkis was born in Chebanieh, a mixed Christian-Druze mountain village, to a shopkeeping family on 20 July 1924.
3.
Elias Sarkis began to work as a railway clerk during his university education, and then, graduated with a law degree from Saint Joseph University in 1948.
4.
Elias Sarkis was then appointed magistrate of the court of accounts and then, director general of the chamber of the presidency of the Republic in 1953.
5.
Elias Sarkis's appointment was upon the request of then-president Charles Helou, who asked him to reorganize the Lebanese banking systems facing a bank crisis in 1968.
6.
Elias Sarkis contested the presidential election of 1970 as Chehab's protege and was expected to win but was defeated by Suleiman Frangieh by a single vote.
7.
Elias Sarkis was elected President for six-year term on 8 May 1976, while the Lebanese Civil War was raging.
8.
Elias Sarkis was a candidate of Damascus and preferred president of Hafez Assad.
9.
Elias Sarkis's sworn ceremony could not be held at the Assembly, and he had to sworn at a hotel in the eastern city of Shtaura, 25 miles from Beirut.
10.
Elias Sarkis could move to office four months after his election on 23 September 1976, since former President Frangieh objected at first to leave office.
11.
Elias Sarkis could appoint Salim Hoss as prime minister in December 1976.
12.
When Elias Sarkis effectively began to serve as the President, he could not forge a lasting accommodation between Christian and Muslim factions.
13.
President Elias Sarkis tried various initiatives to find a negotiated settlement to the conflict, but all were unsuccessful.
14.
In November 1976, Elias Sarkis wanted to include Druze za'im Kamal Jumblatt in the cabinet.
15.
On 5 March 1980, Elias Sarkis developed his policy as part of his attempts to create national accord: unity, independence, parliamentarian democracy, rejecting the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel.
16.
Elias Sarkis was described as one who was in office but not in power.
17.
Elias Sarkis organized a peacekeeping force involving US, British, French and Italian troops in Beirut after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon to drive out the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1982.
18.
Elias Sarkis gained the respect of many Lebanese during his term, but critics accused him of indecisiveness.
19.
Elias Sarkis was to be succeeded by Bachir Gemayel, who was elected president on 23 August 1982 with 57 votes.
20.
Amine Gemayel, Bachir's brother, was elected in his stead, and Elias Sarkis handed the presidency over to him on 23 September 1982.
21.
Elias Sarkis died in Paris from cancer on 27 June 1985, at the age of 60.
22.
Elias Sarkis's body was buried in his hometown, Chebanieh, on the same day.