National Liberal Party حزب الوطنيين الأحرار
Abbreviation	NLP
President	Camille Dory Chamoun
Vice president	Fady Samaha
General Secretary	François Zaatar[1]
Founder	Camille Chamoun
Founded	10 September 1958; 67 years ago (10 September 1958)
Headquarters	Rue du Liban,Achrafieh,Beirut
Ideology	Lebanese nationalism[2] Civic nationalism Economic liberalism[2] National liberalism Liberal conservatism Federalism[3]
Political position	Centre-right
National affiliation	Strong Republic
Regional affiliation	Arab Liberal Federation
Colours	Red   Gold   White
Military wing	Tigers Militia (1968-1980)
Parliament of Lebanon	1 / 128
Cabinet of Lebanon	0 / 30
Party flag
Website
ahrar.me
Politics of Lebanon Political parties Elections

This article is part of a series on
Maronite politics
People Samir Geagea Émile Eddé Bechara El Khoury Alfred Naqqache Camille Chamoun Suleiman Frangieh Pierre Gemayel Bachir Gemayel Amine Gemayel Michel Aoun Gebran Bassil
Families Chamoun Frangieh Gemayel Khazen Moawad
Parties Lebanese Forces National Bloc Constitutional Bloc Kataeb National Liberal Marada Movement Free Patriotic Movement
Militias Lebanese Forces (Lebanese Resistance) Kataeb Regulatory Forces Tigers Al-Tanzim Guardians of the Cedars
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TheNational Liberal Party (NLP,Arabic:حزب الوطنيين الأحرار,Ḥizb Al-Waṭaniyyīn Al-Aḥrār) is a nationalist political party inLebanon, established by PresidentCamille Chamoun in 1958. It is now under the leadership ofCamille Dory Chamoun,^[4] his grandson, who is the MP for the Maronite seat inBaabda, elected in the2022 Lebanese parliamentary elections allied with theLebanese Forces Party.^[5]

The party has adopted a hard line in regard to the preservation of Lebanese independence, and to the safeguard of the distinctive liberal practices in Lebanon with respect tofreedom of expression andopinion andreligious freedoms. Most Lebanese political parties have a sectarian basis; although the NLP during the civil war was mainly supported by Christians, the NLP is a non-sectarian, national, liberal, political party that adopted the Chamoun'ism (الفكر الشمعوني) that transcends sectarianism and has support among Lebanese citizens of differentreligions or sects.

While in England and the United States,Camille Chamoun developed an appreciation for political, economic, and social liberalism, particularly in the media. After his presidential career ended, he set up the National Liberal Party to represent his views. Politically, he was anti-French and pro-British, and strongly supported independent action.^[6] The ideology of the National Liberal Party was primarily focused on allegiance to Chamoun and support for Lebanese independence. It distinguished itself from other parties mainly by its support for democratic governance and a free enterprise system.^[7]

In 1968, the party joined TheHelf Alliance formed with the two other big mainly Christian parties in Lebanon: theKataeb ofPierre Gemayel, andNational Bloc ofRaymond Eddé. During theLebanese Civil War of 1975–90, the NLP was aligned with the mainlyMaronite Christian alliance who fought theLebanese National Movement (LNM). It had its own armed militia, theTigers. In 1976, the NLP joined with theKataeb Party (Phalange) and theLebanese Renewal Party (LRP) to form theLebanese Front, a political coalition. This was paralleled by the joining of the militias under a central command, theLebanese Forces, headed by Phalange leaderBashir Gemayel. In 1980, Gemayel turned on the Tigers, and in asurprise attack in Safra eliminated the militia. The NLP has survived as a party, however. Nevertheless, with the death ofCamille Chamoun in 1987 and the assassination of his successor and sonDany in 1990, combined with the rise of theLebanese Forces as political party, it seems that the NLP's political influence has considerably declined comparing to the 1960s and 1970s.

Following an ambush inTabarja of a minibus carrying Syrian workers in which the driver was killed, 18 December 1996, and a number of attempted bombings, forty members of the NPL were detained by the security services. Some of those detained were later charged with offences such as having contacts with Israel, inciting Lebanese soldiers to disobey orders and “disturbing Lebanon’s relations with a friendly country”.^[8]

In 2005 the NLP was part of theQornet Shehwan Gathering, opposed to theSyrian occupation of Lebanon, but later "took a long break" from activities in theMarch 14 Alliance but did not withdraw their membership.^[9]

During the2022 Lebanese General election,Camille Dory Chamoun announced his candidacy along with two others in the districts ofMatn,Baabda andChouf, in alliance withLebanese Forces Party and thePSP.^[10] On April 9, Chamoun participated in launching the list inAbadieh.^[11] On May 1, during the opening of its commission headquarters inKeserwan district headed by Chamoun, the party presented its electoral points, which included: sovereignty, positive impartiality, independence of the judiciary, expanded administrative decentralization, restoring confidence in the banking sector, and the return of refugees and displaced persons.^[12] The National Liberal Party was able to secure a single seat through Camille Chamoun inBaabda with 1,876 votes.^[13]

	Leader		From	To
1		Camille Chamoun	1958	1985
2		Dany Chamoun	1985	1990
3		Dory Chamoun	1991	2021
4		Camille Dory Chamoun	2021	present

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