1947 - 1982
Militia leader; later president of Lebanon.
Bashir Jumayyil (also Gemayel) was the son of Pierre Jumayyil, a right-wing, militant Maronite leader who founded the fascist Phalange party. Bashir Jumayyil grew up in Beirut and joined the Phalange early in his youth. He studied law at Saint Joseph University and was very active in the militarized youth branch of the Phalange. He supervised the anti-Palestinian armed branch of the movement and provoked clashes with Palestinian organizations in Lebanon after forming the BG (his initials, using the French spelling of his name) militia in 1974, a year before the eruption of the Lebanese Civil War. Jumayyil became a key militia leader in the Civil War. He rose to prominence in the battle against the Palestinian refugee camp in Tall al-Zaʿtar in 1976 and was appointed president of the Military Council after the mysterious death of William Hawi. He formed the Lebanese Forces in 1976 as an umbrella group for the right-wing Christian militias under his command. He ruthlessly eliminated his rivals in 1980 and expelled fighters belonging to the National Liberal Party, his former allies. His name is associated with the bloodiest day of the Civil War, Black Saturday, when he and his followers massacred hundreds of innocent Muslim civilians to avenge the death of four members of the party. He led the fight against Syrian forces in 1978 and struck a close alliance with Israel, which propelled him to the presidency after Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982. He was assassinated in a massive car bomb in September 1982, weeks after assuming the presidency. His son Nadim has become active in Lebanese politics in alliance with the forces loyal to General Michel Aown.
Bibliography
Hiro, Dilip. Lebanon: Fire and Embers: A History of the Lebanese Civil War. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1993.
— AS'AD ABUKHALIL
