Creation The
Syrian–Lebanese Communist Party was a Communist party operating in
Syria and
Lebanon, founded in 1924 by the Lebanese-Egyptian
Fu'ad al-Shamali, the Lebanese
Yusuf Yazbek and the Armenian
Artin Madoyan. It was the second Communist party to be formed in the
Levant, after the
Communist Party of Palestine. In Lebanon, the party initially used the name
Lebanese People's Party, in an attempt to evade the ban on "
Bolshevik" activities. The party was declared illegal by the
Mandatory authority at first, but the ban was relaxed under the French
Front Populaire government, and again in 1941. The party took a new option of collaboration with the nationalist movement and playing down its socialist themes in 1936, in accordance with the
7th World Congress of the Comintern in 1935. The joint Syrian-Lebanese party was divided into the
Syrian Communist Party and the Lebanese Communist Party, but the decision, taken at the end of 1943, was only implemented in 1964. In between, common central committee and political bureau were maintained. The party was active against the government during the
1958 uprising. In 1965, the LCP decided to end its isolation and became a member of the Front for Progressive Parties and National Forces, which later evolved into the
Lebanese National Movement (LNM) under
Druze leftist leader
Kamal Jumblatt. In the mid-1960s, the
U.S. State Department estimated the party membership to be approximately 3,000. The 1970s witnessed something of a resurgence of the LCP. In 1970, Kamal Jumblatt, as Minister of the Interior, legalized the party. This allowed many LCP leaders, including Secretary General Nicolas Shawi, to run for election in 1972. Although they polled several thousand votes, none of them succeeded in gaining a seat.
During the Lebanese Civil War During the early 1970s, the LCP established a well-trained militia, the
Popular Guard, of some 5,000 armed men which participated actively in the fighting at the start of the
Lebanese Civil War. The LCP was a member of the predominantly leftist and Muslim
Lebanese National Movement which was allied with the
PLO, even though its leaders and a significant part of its members were
Christian (particularly
Greek Orthodox and
Armenian). In 1975, the party had around 40,000 members (excluding supporters). Their confessional identity was roughly divided into: 50%
Shia Muslims, 30%
Christians and the remaining 20%
Sunnis and Druze. Throughout the 1980s, the LCP generally declined in influence. In 1983, the
Tripoli-based
Sunni Islamic movement,
Islamic Unification Movement (Tawhid), reportedly executed fifty Communists. In 1987, together with the Druze
Progressive Socialist Party, the LCP fought a week-long battle against the
Shi'a militants of the
Amal in West
Beirut, a conflict that was stopped by Syrian troops. Also in 1987, the LCP held its Fifth Party Congress and was about to oust
George Hawi, its
Greek Orthodox leader, in favor of Karim Mroue, a Shi'a, as secretary general. However, Hawi remained in his post. Hawi, who had been a rising opponent of the party's complete dependence on the
Soviet Union, was reportedly unpopular for his idealism and unwillingness to compromise his ideology.
Khaled Hadadi was elected in the 9th Congress in December 2003 as the head of the party.
Saadallah Mazraani, who was vice general secretary under Dahrouj, remained in the same position under Hadadi. On 21 June 2005,
George Hawi, a former secretary general of the LCP, was killed by the explosion of a car in Beirut. Hawi, a critic of Syria, Allies of Hawi accused pro-Syrian forces in the Lebanese-security apparatus for the assassination.
Émile Lahoud, then president of Lebanon, and the Syrian government denied this allegation. ==Electoral results==