The Lebanese Front was presided by the former president of Lebanon,
Camille Chamoun, and its main participants were
Pierre Gemayel, the founder and leader of the then-largest political party in Lebanon, the
Kataeb Party, president
Suleiman Frangieh, who had just finished his presidential years in office. In addition, in 1978, Suleiman Frangieh's son
Tony and his family were killed by armed Kataeb militiamen trying to kidnap him acting on orders from
Bashir Gemayel, the son of Pierre Gemayel. The incident is known as the
Ehden massacre. It was this turning point that prompted Suleiman Frangieh to resign from the Front. In 1982, the Lebanese Front promoted Bachir Gemayel for the presidency. He was elected as
president by the
Lebanese parliament by 58 out of 62 votes from both Christians and Muslims, only to be assassinated three weeks later. During the second half of the 1980s, most of the prominent leaders of the Lebanese Front died (Pierre Gemayel in 1984, both Chamoun and Charles Malik in 1987) and were replaced by other leaders like
George Saadeh,
Amin Gemayel and
Karim Pakradouni. The Lebanese Front then lived for a short period only.
Dany Chamoun, son of deceased Camille Chamoun, formed a new Lebanese Front, but a week after the end of the
Lebanese Civil War in October 1990, Dany was assassinated and the Lebanese Front came to an end. ==See also==