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{{Short description|Lebanese politician (1943–2007)}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
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'''Antoine Ghanem''' ({{lang-ar|أنطوان غانم}}{{lrm}}; 10 August 1943 &ndash; 19 September 2007) was a Lebanese politician and an [[Member of Parliament|MP]] in the [[Lebanese Parliament]]. He was also a member of the [[Kataeb]] party and the [[March 14 Coalition]]. He was killed on 19 September 2007 in a [[car bomb]] explosion in the Sin el Fil suburb of [[Beirut]].<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-09-19-lebanon-explosion_N.htm Blast hits Christian suburb in Lebanon, kills 4], ''[[USA Today]]'', 19 September 2007.</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7003191.stm Lebanese MP 'killed in bombing'], ''[[BBC News]]'', 19 September 2007</ref> He was the eighth anti-Syrian figure assassinated since [[Assassination of Rafic Hariri|the assassination]] of Rafik Hariri on 14 February 2005.<ref name=globe20sep>{{cite news|title=Recent assassinations|url=http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/09/20/recent_assassinations/|accessdate=18 March 2013|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=20 September 2007}}</ref>
'''Antoine Ghanem''' ({{langx|ar|أنطوان غانم}}{{lrm}}; 10 August 1943 &ndash; 19 September 2007) was a Lebanese politician and an [[Member of Parliament|MP]] in the [[Lebanese Parliament]]. He was also a member of the [[Kataeb]] party and the [[March 14 Coalition]]. He was murdered on 19 September 2007 in a [[car bomb]] explosion in the Sin el Fil suburb of [[Beirut]].<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-09-19-lebanon-explosion_N.htm Blast hits Christian suburb in Lebanon, kills 4], ''[[USA Today]]'', 19 September 2007.</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7003191.stm Lebanese MP 'killed in bombing'], ''[[BBC News]]'', 19 September 2007</ref> He was the eighth anti-Syrian figure assassinated since [[Assassination of Rafic Hariri|the assassination]] of Rafik Hariri on 14 February 2005.<ref name=globe20sep>{{cite news|title=Recent assassinations|url=http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/09/20/recent_assassinations/|accessdate=18 March 2013|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=20 September 2007}}</ref>


==Early life and education==
==Early life and education==
Ghanem was born in the Tohwita suburb of [[Beirut]] on 10 August 1943. He attended the Collège Notre Dame in Furn el Chebek and the Collège du Sacré-Cœur in [[Gemmayzeh]], both private [[Catholic schools]]. After earning a degree in law from the [[Université Saint-Joseph]] in [[Beirut]] and the [[University of Lyon]], he taught law for several years at the [[Lebanese University]]. He joined the [[Kataeb Party]] in 1961 and later became head of its [[Baabda District]].
Ghanem was born in the Tohwita suburb of [[Beirut]] on 10 August 1943.<ref name=who>{{cite book|title=Who's Who in Lebanon|year=2007
|location=Beirut|publisher=Publitec Publications|edition=19th|url=https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110945904.476
|isbn=978-3-598-07734-0|page=139|doi=10.1515/9783110945904.476
}}</ref> He attended the Collège Notre Dame in Furn el Chebek and the Collège du Sacré-Cœur in [[Gemmayzeh]], both private [[Catholic schools]]. After earning a degree in law from the [[Université Saint-Joseph]] in [[Beirut]] and the [[University of Lyon]],<ref name=who/> he taught law for several years at the [[Lebanese University]]. He joined the [[Kataeb Party]] in 1961 and later became head of its [[Baabda District]].<ref name=who/>


==Political career==
==Political career==
In [[2000]], Ghanem was [[2000 Lebanese general election|elected]] to [[Lebanese Parliament|the Lebanese Parliament]] for Baabda constituency,<ref name=aps9sep>{{cite news|title=Opposition Candidates Win Elections|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/LEBANON+-+Sept.+3+-+Opposition+Candidates+Win+Elections.-a073739331|accessdate=10 March 2013|newspaper=APS Diplomat Recorder|date=9 September 2000}}</ref><ref name=gam5sep>{{cite journal|last=Gambill|first=Gary C.|author2=Daniel Nassif|title=Lebanon's Parliamentary Elections: Manufacturing Dissent|journal=Middle East Intelligence Bulletin|date=5 September 2000|volume=2|issue=8|url=http://www.meforum.org/meib/articles/0009_l1.htm|accessdate=17 March 2013}}</ref> running on the list of [[Druze]] leader [[Walid Jumblat]]. A member of the block of the "democratic meeting" [[Qornet Chehwan Gathering]],<ref name=qornet>{{cite journal|title=Qornet Shehwan Gathering |journal=Middle East Mirror |url=http://themiddleeastmirror.weebly.com/uploads/7/5/3/0/7530186/qornet_shehwan_gathering.pdf |accessdate=14 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005052919/http://themiddleeastmirror.weebly.com/uploads/7/5/3/0/7530186/qornet_shehwan_gathering.pdf |archivedate=5 October 2012 }}</ref> he enjoyed nevertheless a certain autonomy considering his membership of the [[Kataeb Party]]. He supported [[Amine Gemayel]] in the political struggle within the Kataeb Party, countered the pro-Syrian president of the party [[Karim Pakradouni]] and posted himself as an important speaker within the reforming Movement of the Kataeb Party directed by Gemayel.
In [[2000]], Ghanem was [[2000 Lebanese general election|elected]] to [[Lebanese Parliament|the Lebanese Parliament]] for Baabda constituency,<ref name=aps9sep>{{cite news|title=Opposition Candidates Win Elections|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/LEBANON+-+Sept.+3+-+Opposition+Candidates+Win+Elections.-a073739331|accessdate=10 March 2013|newspaper=APS Diplomat Recorder|date=9 September 2000}}</ref><ref name=gam5sep>{{cite journal|author1=Gary C. Gambill|author2=Daniel Nassif|title=Lebanon's Parliamentary Elections: Manufacturing Dissent
|journal=Middle East Intelligence Bulletin|date=5 September 2000|volume=2|issue=8|url=http://www.meforum.org/meib/articles/0009_l1.htm}}</ref> running on the list of [[Druze]] leader [[Walid Jumblat]]. A member of the block of the "democratic meeting" [[Qornet Chehwan Gathering]],<ref name=qornet>{{cite journal|title=Qornet Shehwan Gathering|journal=Middle East Mirror|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 October 2012
|url=http://themiddleeastmirror.weebly.com/uploads/7/5/3/0/7530186/qornet_shehwan_gathering.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005052919/http://themiddleeastmirror.weebly.com/uploads/7/5/3/0/7530186/qornet_shehwan_gathering.pdf}}</ref> he enjoyed nevertheless a certain autonomy considering his membership of the Kataeb Party. He supported [[Amine Gemayel]] in the political struggle within the Kataeb Party, countered the pro-Syrian president of the party [[Karim Pakradouni]] and posted himself as an important speaker within the reforming Movement of the Kataeb Party directed by Gemayel.


In September 2004, he voted against the extension of President [[Émile Lahoud]]'s term. He actively participated in the [[Cedar Revolution]] after the assassination of former Prime Minister [[Rafiq Hariri]].
In September 2004, he voted against the extension of President [[Émile Lahoud]]'s term. He actively participated in the [[Cedar Revolution]] after the assassination of former Prime Minister [[Rafiq Hariri]].


He was [[2005 Lebanese general election|re-elected]] in 2005 to his post of deputy and seat to the political council of the Kataeb Party, after the reunification of this party and the reconciliation between Gemayel and Pakradouni.
He was [[2005 Lebanese general election|re-elected]] in 2005 to his post of deputy and seat to the political council of the Kataeb Party, after the reunification of this party and the reconciliation between Gemayel and Pakradouni.

==Personal life==
Ghanem was married to Lolla Abdallah Neemeh.<ref name=who/> They had four children.<ref name=who/>


==Assassination==
==Assassination==
Ghanem returned to Beirut from [[Abu Dhabi]] on 16 September 2007,<ref name=nleb11/> just two days before the assassination.<ref name=time07>{{cite news|last=Blanford|first=Nicholas|title=An Assassination in Lebanon|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1663459,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001191917/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1663459,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 October 2007|accessdate=2 July 2012|newspaper=Time|date=19 September 2007}}</ref> Like many other anti-Syrian legislators, he used to travel abroad during the summer months due to safety concerns.<ref name=time07/> According to reports, nearly forty 14 March MPs including him traveled abroad after the assassination of [[Walid Eido]] and returned to Lebanon two days before the assassination.<ref name=dailystar07/> Ghanem and the other MPs stayed at the [[Phoenicia InterContinental Hotel]] under heavy security after their return.<ref name=dailystar07/>
Ghanem returned to Beirut from [[Abu Dhabi]] on 16 September 2007,<ref name=nleb11/> just two days before the assassination.<ref name=time07>{{cite news|last=Blanford|first=Nicholas|title=An Assassination in Lebanon|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1663459,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001191917/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1663459,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 October 2007|accessdate=2 July 2012|newspaper=Time|date=19 September 2007}}</ref> Like many other anti-Syrian legislators, he used to travel abroad during the summer months due to safety concerns.<ref name=time07/> According to reports, nearly forty 14 March MPs including him traveled abroad after the assassination of [[Walid Eido]] and returned to Lebanon two days before the assassination.<ref name=dailystar07/> Ghanem and the other MPs stayed at the [[Phoenicia InterContinental Hotel]] under heavy security after their return.<ref name=dailystar07/>


The car-bomb that killed him along with at least six others, including his two bodyguards, one of whom is Antoine Daou,<ref name=nleb11>{{cite news|title=Gone at 23|url=http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=250327|accessdate=2 July 2012|newspaper=Now Lebanon|date=19 February 2011|author=Ana Maria Luca|author2=Nadine Elali|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120703205342/http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=250327|archive-date=3 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> exploded at a junction of a main street filled with rush hour traffic in the densely populated and mostly Christian neighborhood of Horsh Tabet in [[Sin el Fil]].<ref name=time07/><ref name=dailystar07>{{cite news|last=Ghazal|first=Rym|title=MP Antoine Ghanem assassinated|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/Sep/20/MP-Antoine-Ghanem-assassinated.ashx#axzz1zUoMKoRi|accessdate=2 July 2012|newspaper=The Daily Star|date=20 September 2007}}</ref> The bomb was reported to be booby-trapped.<ref name=dailystar07/> Ghanem was at the age of 64.<ref name=globe20sep/>
The car-bomb that killed him along with at least six others, including his two bodyguards, one of whom is Antoine Daou,<ref name=nleb11>{{cite news|title=Gone at 23|url=http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=250327|accessdate=2 July 2012|newspaper=Now Lebanon|date=19 February 2011|author=Ana Maria Luca|author2=Nadine Elali|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120703205342/http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=250327|archive-date=3 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> exploded at a junction of a main street filled with rush hour traffic in the densely populated and mostly Christian neighborhood of Horsh Tabet in [[Sin el Fil]].<ref name=time07/><ref name=dailystar07>{{cite news|last=Ghazal|first=Rym|title=MP Antoine Ghanem assassinated|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/Sep/20/MP-Antoine-Ghanem-assassinated.ashx#axzz1zUoMKoRi|accessdate=2 July 2012|newspaper=The Daily Star|date=20 September 2007}}</ref> The bomb was reported to be booby-trapped.<ref name=dailystar07/> Ghanem was at the age of 64.<ref name=globe20sep/> According to source who looked into the assassination, it was linked to Unit 121 that was responsible of a large number of assassinations in Lebanon.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2007 |title=Beirut car bomb kills anti-Syrian MP, 7 others |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/economy/beirut-car-bomb-kills-anti-syrian-mp-7-others-idUSL19922394/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-09-19 |title=Beirut car bomb kills anti-Syrian lawmaker |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna20870381 |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Chidiac |first=Emad |date=2022 |title=Lebanon's Unsolved Political Killings: A Brief Recent History |url=https://iranwire.com/en/world/103366-lebanons-unsolved-political-killings-a-brief-recent-history/}}</ref>


===Perpetrators===
===Perpetrators===
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==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=33em}}
{{Reflist}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghanem, Antoine}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghanem, Antoine}}
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[[Category:University of Lyon alumni]]
[[Category:University of Lyon alumni]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of Lebanon]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of Lebanon]]
[[Category:Lebanese anti-Syrian activists]]
[[Category:Kataeb Party politicians]]
[[Category:Kataeb Party politicians]]
[[Category:Lebanese University faculty]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Lebanese University]]
[[Category:Assassinated Lebanese politicians]]
[[Category:Assassinated Lebanese politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Lebanese politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century Lebanese politicians]]
[[Category:People murdered in Lebanon]]
[[Category:People murdered in Lebanon]]
[[Category:Deaths by car bomb in Lebanon]]
[[Category:Deaths by car bomb in Lebanon]]
[[Category:Lebanese Maronites]]
[[Category:Lebanese Maronites]]
[[Category:20th-century Lebanese lawyers]]
[[Category:Asian politicians assassinated in the 2000s]]
[[Category:Politicians assassinated in 2007]]
[[Category:Deaths by explosive device]]

Latest revision as of 09:17, 3 December 2024

Antoine Ghanem
Born10 August 1943
Tohwita, Beirut
Died19 September 2007 (aged 64)
Sin el Fil, Beirut
Resting placeTohwita, Beirut
NationalityLebanese
Alma materUniversité Saint-Joseph
University of Lyon
OccupationLawmaker

Antoine Ghanem (Arabic: أنطوان غانم‎; 10 August 1943 – 19 September 2007) was a Lebanese politician and an MP in the Lebanese Parliament. He was also a member of the Kataeb party and the March 14 Coalition. He was murdered on 19 September 2007 in a car bomb explosion in the Sin el Fil suburb of Beirut.[1][2] He was the eighth anti-Syrian figure assassinated since the assassination of Rafik Hariri on 14 February 2005.[3]

Early life and education

[edit]

Ghanem was born in the Tohwita suburb of Beirut on 10 August 1943.[4] He attended the Collège Notre Dame in Furn el Chebek and the Collège du Sacré-Cœur in Gemmayzeh, both private Catholic schools. After earning a degree in law from the Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut and the University of Lyon,[4] he taught law for several years at the Lebanese University. He joined the Kataeb Party in 1961 and later became head of its Baabda District.[4]

Political career

[edit]

In 2000, Ghanem was elected to the Lebanese Parliament for Baabda constituency,[5][6] running on the list of Druze leader Walid Jumblat. A member of the block of the "democratic meeting" Qornet Chehwan Gathering,[7] he enjoyed nevertheless a certain autonomy considering his membership of the Kataeb Party. He supported Amine Gemayel in the political struggle within the Kataeb Party, countered the pro-Syrian president of the party Karim Pakradouni and posted himself as an important speaker within the reforming Movement of the Kataeb Party directed by Gemayel.

In September 2004, he voted against the extension of President Émile Lahoud's term. He actively participated in the Cedar Revolution after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

He was re-elected in 2005 to his post of deputy and seat to the political council of the Kataeb Party, after the reunification of this party and the reconciliation between Gemayel and Pakradouni.

Personal life

[edit]

Ghanem was married to Lolla Abdallah Neemeh.[4] They had four children.[4]

Assassination

[edit]

Ghanem returned to Beirut from Abu Dhabi on 16 September 2007,[8] just two days before the assassination.[9] Like many other anti-Syrian legislators, he used to travel abroad during the summer months due to safety concerns.[9] According to reports, nearly forty 14 March MPs including him traveled abroad after the assassination of Walid Eido and returned to Lebanon two days before the assassination.[10] Ghanem and the other MPs stayed at the Phoenicia InterContinental Hotel under heavy security after their return.[10]

The car-bomb that killed him along with at least six others, including his two bodyguards, one of whom is Antoine Daou,[8] exploded at a junction of a main street filled with rush hour traffic in the densely populated and mostly Christian neighborhood of Horsh Tabet in Sin el Fil.[9][10] The bomb was reported to be booby-trapped.[10] Ghanem was at the age of 64.[3] According to source who looked into the assassination, it was linked to Unit 121 that was responsible of a large number of assassinations in Lebanon.[11][12][13]

Perpetrators

[edit]

Kuwaiti newspaper Al Seyassah reported that the Ghanem assassination was a direct result of Syria re-opening its borders[14] with Lebanon on 17 September 2007, two days before the assassination.[15] According to Al Seyassah's sources inside Syria, the assassination was performed by Syrian intelligence, who continuously monitored Ghanem's movements. The agents rented two apartments, one near the residence of Ghanem in Qlei'at and the other near the crime scene in Sin el Fil. The sources revealed that the killers left Lebanon immediately after the assassination, completely disguised as Syrian workers.[15]

Burial

[edit]

Ghanem's body was buried in the Beirut suburb of Tohwita.[16]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Blast hits Christian suburb in Lebanon, kills 4, USA Today, 19 September 2007.
  2. ^ Lebanese MP 'killed in bombing', BBC News, 19 September 2007
  3. ^ a b "Recent assassinations". The Boston Globe. 20 September 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e Who's Who in Lebanon (19th ed.). Beirut: Publitec Publications. 2007. p. 139. doi:10.1515/9783110945904.476. ISBN 978-3-598-07734-0.
  5. ^ "Opposition Candidates Win Elections". APS Diplomat Recorder. 9 September 2000. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  6. ^ Gary C. Gambill; Daniel Nassif (5 September 2000). "Lebanon's Parliamentary Elections: Manufacturing Dissent". Middle East Intelligence Bulletin. 2 (8).
  7. ^ "Qornet Shehwan Gathering" (PDF). Middle East Mirror. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2012.
  8. ^ a b Ana Maria Luca; Nadine Elali (19 February 2011). "Gone at 23". Now Lebanon. Archived from the original on 3 July 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  9. ^ a b c Blanford, Nicholas (19 September 2007). "An Assassination in Lebanon". Time. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  10. ^ a b c d Ghazal, Rym (20 September 2007). "MP Antoine Ghanem assassinated". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  11. ^ "Beirut car bomb kills anti-Syrian MP, 7 others". 2007.
  12. ^ "Beirut car bomb kills anti-Syrian lawmaker". NBC News. 19 September 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  13. ^ Chidiac, Emad (2022). "Lebanon's Unsolved Political Killings: A Brief Recent History".
  14. ^ Syria reopens 2 border crossings with northern Lebanon Archived 6 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Ya Libnan, 19 September 2007
  15. ^ a b Syrian plot to kill Lebanon's MP Ghanem exposed Archived 19 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Ya Libnan, 27 September 2007
  16. ^ "March 14 Officials Lay Wreaths at Graves of Cedar Revolution Martyrs". Naharnet. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
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