16 Facts About Georges Saadeh

Georges Saadeh was appointed as a minister in several governments and was the head of the Kataeb Party for twelve years.

Georges Saadeh was the third child of a poor Maronite family of six boys.

Georges Saadeh's father was a cavalier in the Lebanese Interior Security Forces.

Georges Saadeh studied Arabic literature at the Lebanese Academy for Fine Arts and then graduated with a PhD from the Salamanca University in Spain.

Georges Saadeh continued to study law, and graduated with a degree in law from the Lebanese University.

Georges Saadeh entered the Kataeb Party at the age of 15.

Georges Saadeh became one of the Kataeb's most acclaimed orators but was still an employee in the Lebanese Ministry of Education when the party asked him to run for the Batroun legislative election in 1968.

Georges Saadeh was elected as a Deputy to the Lebanese Parliament following the 1968 Lebanese General Election, representing the District of Batroun.

Georges Saadeh's tenure lasted from 1968 to 1992, after which he boycotted the 1992 parliamentary elections.

In 1986, Georges Saadeh became the head of the Kataeb Party after winning the party's elections over Dr Elie Karameh.

Georges Saadeh was head of the Kataeb Party from 1986 till his death in 1998 and head of the Lebanese Front after the death of the President of Lebanon Camille Chamoun.

Georges Saadeh was the main supporter of president-elect Bashir Gemayel who was elected at the second round of the 1982 presidential elections.

Georges Saadeh held several ministerial positions: minister of planning in the government of Saeb Salam in 1972, minister of transportation and public works in the government of Rachid El Solh in 1974, and minister of telecommunication in the governments of Salim El Hoss in 1989, of Rachid Karami in 1990, and of Rachid El Solh in 1990.

In 1989, Georges Saadeh became a Christian leader and a supporter of the Taif Agreement.

Georges Saadeh was the subject of an attempted assassination by a car bomb in 1989 in Furn El Chebbak and survived a car bomb targeting the leadership meeting of the Kataeb Party in Beirut in December 1993.

Georges Saadeh was outlived by wife, Lily El Khazen, and three children: Samer, Myra and Rami.