Dany Chamoun was a prominent Lebanese politician. A Maronite Christian, the younger son of former PresidentCamille Chamoun and brother of Dory Chamoun, Chamoun was also a politician in his own right, and was known for his devout defense of Lebanon.
Life and career
Early life and education
Chamoun was born in Deir el-Qamar on 26 August 1934. He was the younger son of the former President Camille Chamoun. He studied civil engineering in the United Kingdom.
Political career
Chamoun reported that he had not had any interest in politics before the Lebanon civil war. He became the National Liberal PartySecretary of Defense in January 1976, after the death of its predecessor Naim Berdkan. As Supreme Commander of the NLP's military wing, the Tigers, he also played a major role in the early years of the Lebanese Civil War. In 1976, the NLP Tigers under Dany's command fought against the PhalangistKataeb Regulatory Forces, Al-Tanzim, and Guardians of the Cedars, who formed a joined militia command under the name Lebanese Forces. By 1980, the Phalangist-dominated Lebanese Forces were under the command of Bachir Gemayel. Rivalry began to arise between Bashir and Dany. Dany's Tigers were eliminated as a military force in a massacre perpetrated on 7 July 1980 by the rival Phalangists. Chamoun's life was spared and he fled to the Sunni Muslim-dominated West Beirut. He then went into self-imposed exile. Chamoun was a supporter of the nationalist Christian cause at heart, however, and he soon returned to the cause to which he, like his father, had dedicated his life. He served as General Secretary of the NationalLiberal Party from 1983 to 1985, when he replaced his father as the party leader. In 1988, he became President of the revived Lebanese Front—a coalition of nationalist and mainly Christian parties and politicians that his father had helped to found. The same year, he announced his candidacy for the Presidency of Lebanon to succeed Amine Gemayel, but Syria vetoed his candidacy. Gemayel's term expired on 23 September 1988 without the election of a successor. Chamoun declared his strong support for Michel Aoun, who had been appointed by the outgoing president to lead an interim administration and went on to lead one of two rival governments that contended for power over the next two years. He strongly opposed the Taif Agreement, which not only gave a greater share of power to the Muslim community than they had enjoyed previously, but more seriously, in Chamoun's opinion, formalized what he saw as the master-servant relationship between Syria and Lebanon, and refused to recognize the new government of the President Elias Hrawi, who was elected under the Taif Agreement.
Assassination
On 21 October 1990, Chamoun, along with his German-born second wife Ingrid, and his two sons, Tarek and Julian, were murdered. On 24 June 1995, the Lebanese Tribunal found Samir Geagea guilty of the assassination of Dany Chamoun and his family. Investigations led to Geagea receiving a life sentence.This verdict is rejected by a part of the Lebanese public opinion and by Dany's brother, Dori Chamoun, who declared that the Syrian occupation army was responsible of the massacre. Geagea was released as a part of a joint goodwill national reconciliation policy, after the Syrian departure.
