René Moawad | |
|---|---|
| رِينِيه مُعَوَض | |
 Moawad in 1989 | |
| 9thPresident of Lebanon | |
| In office 5 November 1989 – 22 November 1989* | |
| Prime Minister | Salim Al-Huss |
| Preceded by | Salim Al-Huss(acting) |
| Succeeded by | Salim Al-Huss(acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1925-04-17)17 April 1925 Zgharta,Greater Lebanon |
| Died | 22 November 1989(1989-11-22) (aged 64) Beirut, Lebanon |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingMichel Moawad |
| Alma mater | Saint Joseph University |
| Profession | |
| *Moawad's term was disputed byMichel Aoun | |
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René Anis Moawad (Arabic:رينيه أنيس معوض; 17 April 1925 – 22 November 1989) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 9thpresident of Lebanon for seventeen days, from 5 to 22 November 1989, before his assassination by unknown assailants.[1]
Mouawad was born in 1925 to parents Anis Moawad and Evelyn Shalhoub.[2][3] He was educated at De La Salle School inTripoli, before pursuing his secondary education atCollège Saint Joseph – Antoura des Pères Lazaristes. He went toSaint Joseph University inBeirut and graduated with alaw degree in 1947. He subsequently joined the law firm ofAbdallah El-Yafi, a formerprime minister; before opening his own law firm in Tripoli in 1951.[4]
Moawad made his first foray intopolitics in 1951, when he unsuccessfully contested aZgharta seat in theNational Assembly. Although he was defeated, the election forged a crucial alliance between him and theFrangieh clan. He was subsequently elected to the National Assembly in 1957, and reelected in 1960, 1964, 1968, and 1972, the last parliamentaryelection held before his election to the presidency (thecivil war that raged from 1975 to 1990 prevented further elections from being held in the meantime).
In 1952, Moawad was briefly arrested and detained inAley for participating in the national uprising that forced the resignation of PresidentBechara El Khoury, Lebanon's first post-independence leader. He also fell out with Khoury's successor,Camille Chamoun, when the latter hinted at a possibleconstitutional change to extend his six-year term, which was due to expire in 1958. He went into exile inLatakia,Syria. It was during his exile that he won his first election to the National Assembly.
Moawad became a strong supporter of Chamoun's successor,Fuad Chehab. He chaired the Parliamentary Law Committee and the Finance and Budget Committee. He served as Minister of Posts and Telecommunications in the government ofPrime MinisterRashid Karami (also aChehabist) from 31 October 1961 to 20 February 1964. He later served as Minister of Public Works, again under Karami, from 16 January to 24 November 1969, during the presidency of Chehab's successor,Charles Helou. In 1970, he supported Chehabist presidential candidate and old friendElias Sarkis against his old allySuleiman Frangieh. Frangieh won the election by a single vote.
On 25 October 1980, Moawad returned to the Cabinet as Minister of National Education and Fine Arts, in the government of President Elias Sarkis (who had succeeded Frangieh in 1976) and Prime MinisterShafik Wazzan, a position he held until the expiry of Sarkis's term on 24 September 1982. The strength of his alliance with Suleiman Frangieh was severely tested in that year, when Moawad voted to supportBachir Gemayel, Frangieh's rival, for the presidency. Despite Frangieh's anger, their friendship was so deep that it survived the test.
Following theTaif Agreement to end thecivil war, the National Assembly met on 5 November 1989 at theQoleiat air base in North Lebanon and elected Moawad as President of Lebanon. The post had been vacant since the expiration ofAmine Gemayel's term in 1988. The National Assembly had failed to elect a successor at that time. Seventeen days after being elected, as he was returning from Lebanon's Independence Day celebrations on November 22, 1989, a 250 kgcar bomb was detonated next to Moawad's motorcade in WestBeirut, killing him and 23 others.[5][6] Chawki Choweiri, Lebanon'sUN representative, said "This is the major catastrophe of the years of catastrophes we have had so far. We may have lost one of the last opportunities to unite the nation."
To this day, the identity and motives of those responsible remain a matter of debate.[7] Returning from theCedar Revolution protest against theSyrian occupation on 14 March 2005,Nayla Moawad declared, "The independence of Lebanon was regained on March 14, and on March 14 I felt that I avenged (my husband's) assassination."
AMaronite Christian noted for his moderate views, Moawad had given some citizens hope that the longcivil war in Lebanon could be ended. He was an example of non-violence and accommodating and accepting others in the Arab world, his culture of non-confrontation, troubleshooting conflict and his courage led all of the Lebanese parties to accept him as a president to end the war. Before he died, Moawad had addressed the nation with these words: "There can be no country or dignity without unity of the people, and there can be no unity without agreement, and there can be no agreement without conciliation, and there can be no conciliation without forgiveness and compromise." He was succeeded byElias Hrawi.
As the son of Anis Bey Mouawad,[8] who had beenmayor of the municipality, and his wifeEvelyn Shalhoub, Moawad was the scion of a prominent Zgharta family, but he was the first member of the family to represent the constituency in Parliament.
In 1965, Moawad marriedNayla Moawad,[9] a relative of Moawad's old political opponent Bechara El Khoury. Despite the historical animosity between their two families, as well as the fact that she was fifteen years his junior, the marriage was evidently a happy one. Their daughter Rima Moawad[10] is now a lawyer and a graduate ofHarvard University in theUnited States, while their son Michel Moawad[11] is a lawyer and businessman who graduated fromSorbonne University inParis.
Moawad's widow Nayla founded the René Moawad Foundation, to further the goals of dialogue, peace, and social justice, to which he had dedicated his life.Nayla Moawad was elected to theNational Assembly in 1991. She was a member of the oppositionQornet Shehwan Gathering, which opposed theSyrian military presence in Lebanon. In 2004 she announced her candidacy for the Presidency to succeedÉmile Lahoud, whose term legally ended in November.
Moawad's son, Michel, founded a new political party in 2006 calledIndependence Movement. The movement is part of the anti-SyrianQornet Shehwan Gathering and theMarch 14 Alliance. In 2005–2009 it had 3Maronite Christian MPs for theZgharta District in the Lebanese Parliament,Nayla Moawad, Jawad Simon Boulos[12] andSamir Frangieh.[13] Since 2009, the party has been led byMichel Moawad, Jawad Simon Boulos and Youssef Bahaa El Douaihy.
Originally called the Hamidi Public Garden and for decades referred to by the public as the Sanayeh Garden,The René Moawad Garden was constructed in the first decade of the 20th century.[14] It was renamed in honor of President René Moawad following his assassination near the garden.[15]
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| Preceded by | President of Lebanon 1989 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
