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An indirect presidential election was held in the Parliament of Lebanon in 1958 following the crisis. The Parliament of Lebanon elected the commander of the armed forces Fouad Chehab as the next president of Lebanon on 31 July 1958 to succeed Camille Chamoun. Chehab was elected on the second ballot in a 48–7 vote. He defeated Raymond Eddé. [1] [2]
The term of Camille Chamoun, the second president of Lebanon, would have expired on 24 September 1958. Chamoun announced that he would run for president again, which was not permitted in the Constitution of Lebanon. Around the same time, tensions between Maronite Christians and Arab Muslims began to rise after the killing of Nasib Metni, the editor of Al Telegraf , who had been critical of Chamoun's rule. [3] [4] An armed rebellion began on 10 May 1958. [5] The United Arab Republic (UAR) soon became involved in the region and its leader, Gamal Abdul Nasser, began publicly calling for Arab unity. Various nations, including Lebanon, blamed Nasser's actions for the increase in sectarian unrest, and the Lebanese government filed a formal complaint to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 22 May 1958, accusing the UAR of meddling in the nation's affairs. [3]
After various discussions, the UNSC passed a resolution on 11 June 1958 that recommended sending a group to Lebanon "to ensure that there is no illegal infiltration of personnel or supply of arms or other material across the Lebanese borders". A "Group of Three"— Galo Plaza, Rajeshwar Dayal, and Odd Bull— Dag Hammarskjöld, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and members of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization were soon dispatched to Lebanon. The observers were criticized as ineffective, and members of the United States Marine Corps, backed up by the United States Sixth Fleet, were sent into Lebanon on 15 July 1958. Two days later, British forces arrived in the region. [3] By the time of the election, there were 10,000 American troops in Lebanon. [5]
The President of Lebanon is elected by the Parliament of Lebanon. [5] In the lead up to the election, parliament was divided into factions, namely those who supported western nations and Chamoun and those favoring Nasser and the United Arab Republic. Chehab was viewed as a compromise candidate; [6] he was not interested in the presidency until "it became clear that he was the only candidate who had any hope of wide acceptance." As a result, he consented to be nominated on 28 July, only three days before the election. [5]
The election was held on 31 July 1958, and members of parliament voted between two candidates: the commander of the armed forces Fouad Chehab and head of the National Bloc Raymond Eddé. Voting began at 11:34 AM, and on the first ballot Eddé got ten votes and Chehab forty-three—he would have won with a 2/3 majority, or forty-four votes. Although the second ballot only required a simple majority vote, Chehab was elected in a 48–7 vote with one abstention. Though there were sixty-six members of parliament, ten were not present at voting, including Sami as-Solh, the Prime Minister of Lebanon, who felt that an election should not be held until Lebanon was at peace. [5]
Eddé conceded after the election's results were announced. [5] On 4 August, Chehab announced that he would work towards unity and stability in Lebanon and that the foremost of his aims "is the withdrawal of foreign troops." [7] Chehab was elected to a six-year term and took office on 23 September. The capital city of Beirut was patrolled by numerous troops and placed under a lockdown for all of the 23rd as Chehab was sworn in at 10:58 AM. [6] [8]
The United Arab Republic was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1961. It was initially a political union between Egypt and Syria from 1958 until Syria seceded from the union following the 1961 Syrian coup d'état. Egypt continued to be known officially as the United Arab Republic until it was formally dissolved by Anwar Sadat in September 1971.
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The 1958 Lebanon crisis was a political crisis in Lebanon caused by political and religious tensions in the country that included an American military intervention, which lasted for around three months until President Camille Chamoun, who had requested the assistance, completed his term as president of Lebanon. American and Lebanese government forces occupied the Port of Beirut and Beirut International Airport. With the crisis over, the United States withdrew.
Camille Nimr Chamoun OM, ONC was a Lebanese politician who served as the 2nd president of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958. He was one of the country's main Christian leaders during most of the Lebanese Civil War.
Fouad Abdallah Chehab was a Lebanese general and statesman who served as president of Lebanon from 1958 to 1964. He is considered to be the founder of the Lebanese Army after Lebanon gained independence from France, and became its first commander in 1946.
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Raymond Eddé was a Lebanese Maronite statesman who served his country for many years as a legislator and cabinet minister. He led the Lebanese National Bloc, an influential political party. The son of former President Émile Eddé, Raymond Eddé was himself a candidate for the presidency in 1958, and was proposed for the post on numerous subsequent occasions. He is remembered for having held consistent views, which he refused to compromise for the sake of political gain. His supporters called him "Lebanon's Conscience." He was a strong nationalist, who opposed the French Mandate, and later, Syrian, Israeli, and Palestinian military interventions in Lebanon.
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The presidentof the Lebanese Republic is the head of state of Lebanon. The president is elected by the parliament for a term of six years, which cannot be renewed immediately because they can only be renewed non-consecutively. By convention, the president is always a Maronite Christian who fulfills the same requirements as a candidate for the house of representatives, as per article 49 of the Lebanese constitution.
Adel Osseiran, also transliterated Adil 'Usayran or Adil Osseyran, was a prominent Lebanese statesman, a former Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, and one of the founding fathers of the Lebanese Republic.
Abdallah El-Yafi was the prime minister of Lebanon serving twelve times between 1938 and 1969.
Ahmad El-Assaad or Ahmad Al-As'ad was Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament from 5 June 1951, till 30 May 1953.
Emir Khaled Chehab was a Lebanese politician and the 8th Prime Minister of Lebanon, serving for two short terms. The first was between 21 March 1938 until 1 November 1938 during the rule of President Émile Eddé during the French Mandate. He was also the first Prime Minister during the rule of President Camille Chamoun for the period of September 1952 to April 1953, during which time the electoral law to guarantee women's suffrage in Lebanon was passed.
The Syrian coup d'état of 1961 was an uprising by disgruntled Syrian Army officers on 28 September 1961, that resulted in the break-up of the United Arab Republic and the restoration of an independent Syrian Republic.
Sayed Jafar Sharafeddin was a Lebanese Baathist politician, who served as a deputy (member) of the Lebanese parliament.
Joseph Elias Tohme Skaf was a Lebanese politician who is considered one of the most prominent personalities of the Skaff family in the city of Zahle. He held several ministerial positions from 1955 to 1988 under 5 different presidents which include Camille Chamoun, Fouad Chehab, Suleiman Franjieh, Elias Sarkis and Amine Gemayel.
An indirect presidential election was held in the Parliament of Lebanon on August 18, 1964, resulting in Charles Helou being elected President of the Lebanese Republic.
Chehabism is a political ideology in Lebanon which follows the principles of former president and army general Fouad Chehab. The ideology later influenced the presidency of Charles Helou and Élias Serkis.
An indirect presidential election was held in the Parliament of Lebanon in 1952 following the end of Fouad Chehab's military cabinet. The Parliament of Lebanon elected Camille Chamoun as the next president of Lebanon on 23 September 1952 to officially succeed Bechara Khoury's term becoming the second president of the Lebanese Republic. Chamoun won with 74 votes out of the 76 attending MPs.
