Sami Gemayel Elected Head of Kataeb Party
MP Sami Gemayel won the internal elections of the Kataeb Party on Sunday, becoming the party's seventh chairman and succeeding his father, former Lebanese president Amin Gemayel.
Gemayel received 339 votes as his only contender, the journalist Pierre Atallah, garnered only 37.
“At this moment, my thoughts go to all the martyrs and all those who fell in order for us to be here today,” the MP said at the party's headquarters in Saifi after his win was declared.
The elections were held on the third day of Kataeb's 30th conference.
Two deputy chiefs and a new political bureau were also elected on Sunday.
“I feel a very heavy burden and I will shoulder a huge responsibility. My daily work will be alongside all Kataeb members, all Lebanese and all decent people,” Gemayel pledged.
“I salute Pierre Atallah and the members of Kataeb and I thank them for the confidence that they placed in me,” he added.
The lawmaker also thanked his father, the party's outgoing chief Amin Gemayel, for “giving the chance to all the members of Kataeb to run in this democratic battle.”
Kataeb has an economic and social plan for Lebanon that would once again give the people hope, Gemayel had declared after announcing his candidacy on Wednesday.
“Kataeb is open to all Lebanese from all over Lebanon, regardless of their sect. It is open to all youths who seek Lebanon's interests,” he stated.
In May, Sami's father Amin had announced that he would not be running for a new term at the head of the party. He had been the head of the party since February 2008.
The young Sami was born on December 3, 1980.
His older brother, Pierre, was a member of parliament and the minister of industry until his assassination on November 21, 2006.
His grandfather, Pierre Gemayel, founded the Kataeb party in 1936. Sami is also the nephew of slain president-elect Bashir Gemayel, who was assassinated in 1982.
After the 2006 assassination of his brother Pierre, Sami rejoined the Kataeb Party to head the Youth and Student Council and he later became the coordinator of the Central Committee.
He had left the party in 2006 to form the Loubnanouna Movement.
Y.R.
almost 10 years
Amin n'a jamais voulu signer cet accord et n'a jamais voulu donner une raison ou un justificatif, ni à son propre père, ni au président Chamoun, ni au Dr Antoine Fattal qui le suppliait à genoux de signer. Cet accord était signé par David Kimhe, Antoine Fattal et Morris Draper (du côté américain). Le parlement Libanais votera à la quasi unanimité l'acceptation de l'accord, puis tout le Gouvernement de Chafic Wazzan, après quoi Amin va le mettrevdans son TIROIR... le reste c'est de l'Histoire....TOUT CE QUE NOUS SUBISSONS actuellement sont les conséquences de cette faute IMPARDONNABLE...
almost 10 years
Je connais la suite. Hélas, Amine voulait renouveler...
Dès que j'ai un moment, je vais mettre les détails et les faits par écrit.
almost 10 years
Hope that he work in a different way, Lebanon need all it's resources to come back to it's glory.
almost 10 years
At least not another old dinosaur with blood on his hands.
almost 10 years
Mega, need we remind of the other old dinosaurs, Aoun, Berri, Nasrallah, wou fi ktir metloun, ma heyk?
almost 10 years
Bachir (Safra massacre) Samir (Ehden, Nahr el mot, Berbara... massacres) Hobeika and Samir (sabra and chatila...) just sayen
almost 10 years
Keserweneh, say what you wish ya man, Bachir did what Camille Chamoun asked of him to do to keep the Christian resistance under a single command. Samir Geagea had nothing to do with Sabra or Chatila, sorry about that you got wrong info here and serves no purpose. Now about Elie Hobeika or HK as he was called, the quadruple agent after Bachir's cowardly assassination by your Syrian friends and Aboul Mich's, HK got orders from the Syrians but HK was not in the vicitnity, so he delegated his own brother Charles Hobeika with Shiite elements of the SLA wearing LF uniforms to go and perpetrate the massacres. They had to act very quickly and reverse all the gains by the LF and the Israelis in Lebanon. next time ya Kesswerneh, get your info more accurately. People like me will counter your false allegations and propaganda.
almost 10 years
Kesserweneh, at the time, your Syrian bosses tapped and intercepted the Israeli communications with the LF command. As they were cleaning up several depots of the PLO and the Syrians in and around Sabra and Chatila, they found a very large stash of Soviet-made equipment there, part of which was telecoms equipment which they did not need, that was when they called their LF allies and asked them if they wanted the equipment otherwise they'd blow up the entire depots. The LF wanted the equipment but before they could act since they were still in a state of shock and disarray over Bachir's death, the Syrians got their dogs to go and commit the worst, one of them HK, the other his brother Charles who today is still at large. I repeat, next time get your facts right because we will not keep silent anymore, just sayin' if you got my drift.
almost 10 years
Lebanese want democracy in Syria but don't want it at home.
how ironic
almost 10 years
Mark, you got it wrong, the Lebanese simply want what most Syrians wanted and still want, a peaceful change. Your playing with words wasn't a smart thing you see?
almost 10 years
True that Mark! Samy didn't even have the right to be a candidate. Shame!
almost 10 years
Wrong that Mark, wrong that Kesserweneh, Kataeb had 3 leaders before then that were not of Gemayel stock, if you please, speak facts, not fiction, nor personal feelings.
almost 10 years
The yellow trolls must be full of hatred to thumb down so many posts, well, well, well, a bad reflection must be for them.
almost 10 years
wow! 90.1%! he beat Assad's 88%! walla manno hayyen sami! chattour!
almost 10 years
still making up stories as you go?
almost 10 years
meanwhile the real kataeb veterans who fought, were jailed, beaten... are left out for the sake of a youngster who did nothing and gave nothing! shame! does anyone remember that when late Pierre was alive Sami founded his own party and when Pierre was murdered he came back to take care of the "family business" a shallow arrivist son of another shallow arrivist
almost 10 years
this is unfortunately the case of most parties (LF: Samir Strida, Kataeb: the whole Gemayel gang, Harriri: Rafic Bahia Saad Ahmad..., PSP: Kamal, Walid Taimour...)Sad but true. So my advice to young kataeb befriend Samy's son when he has one u'll end up a minister.
almost 10 years
Excuse me Kesserweneh, again, you intentionally omitted the old Majnoon of Rabieh, or better known as Claoun. Walaw hal ad mab te2sha3? Sons in law here, daughters in law there, daughters here, daughters there and him above all wants to be president? Rou7 3ammeh, bala tejlit.
almost 10 years
Kesserweneh, no again, Pierre God bless his soul was just as much in the struggle as Sami was. In fact you seem to have forgotten or intentionally overlooked the fact that Sami was always leading the stand against the Syrian army, their stooges in the Lebanese army of then, their Moukhabarat and their stooges at the Lebanese Intelligence. You have forgotten just how many times Sami who had his arms tied to those of the Tayyar then facing our oppressors. Where were you mister, were you with them brave young men? Did you receive beatings like they did? Sami got elected, it's new blood, I loved his speech of yesterday, now that the old man no longer shadows him, let's see what Sami will do. You'll need to relax for a while ya Kesserweneh, no good attempting to distort facts every now and then.
nice going Sheikh Sami.
Kataeb is probably the most advanced party in Lebanon today. 100 percent local agenda, social and economic vision. Democratic system.
It is a breath of fresh air in the dirty lebanese political system.
Also Amine's has too many failures on his hand, so it is good he leaves.