National Liberal Party (Lebanon)
Encyclopedia : N : NA : NAT : National Liberal Party (Lebanon)
The National Liberal Party (NLP, Arabic Hizbu-l-waTaniyyīni-l-aHrār) is a political party in Lebanon, established by President Camille Chamoun in 1958. It is now under the leadership of Dory Chamoun, his son.
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 to freedom of expression and opinion and religious freedoms. Like most Lebanese political organization, it has a sectarian basis; the NLP is mainly supported by Christians. (For more information on this, see Demographics of Lebanon)
During the Lebanese Civil War of 1975-90, the NLP was aligned with the mainly Maronite Christian alliance who fought the Lebanese National Movement (LNM). It had its own armed militia, the Tigers. In 1977, the NLP joined with the Kataeb Party (Phalange) and the Lebanese Renewal Party (LRP) to form the Lebanese Front, a political coalition. This was parallelled by the joining of the militias under a central command, the Lebanese Forces, headed by Phalange leader Bashir Gemayel. In 1980, Gemayel turned on the Tigers, and in a surprise attack in Safra eliminated the militia on request of Camille Chamoun some say. The NLP has survived as a party, however.
In 2005 the NLP was part of the Qornet Shehwan Gathering, opposed to the Syrian presence in Lebanon, but later left because of what it alleged was "corruption" in this gathering.
External links
- [Lebanese Politics] - lebanese political discussions
- [Official Web Site]
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