Editing Samir Geagea (section)

{{Short description|Lebanese politician (born 1952)}}
{{Family name hatnote|Farid|Geagea|lang=Lebanese}}
{{pp-pc}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Samir Geagea <br />{{Nobold|{{lang|ar|سمير جعجع}}}}
| image               = Samir Geagea 7 (cropped).jpg
| office1             = [[Lebanese Forces|Executive Chairman of Lebanese Forces]]
| term_start1         = 15 January 1986
| term_end1           = 
| predecessor1        = [[Elie Hobeika]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1952|10|25|df=yes}}
| birth_place         = [[Ain El Remmaneh]], [[Lebanon]]
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Lebanese Forces]]
| otherparty          = [[Kataeb Party]] {{small|(until 1992)}}<br />[[March 14 Alliance]] {{small|(until 2016)}}<br>Lebanese Opposition {{small|(2019–present)}}
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Sethrida Geagea|Sethrida Tawk]]|1990}}
| nationality         = [[Lebanese nationality law|Lebanese]]
| alma_mater          = [[American University of Beirut]]<br />[[Saint Joseph University]]
| signature           = Samir Geagea Signature.svg
| caption             = Geagea in 2019
| blank1              = Religion
| data1               = [[Maronite Church|Maronite Catholicism]]
}}
{{Maronite Politics sidebar}}
'''Samir Farid Geagea''' ({{langx|ar|سمير فريد جعجع}},&nbsp;{{small|[[Lebanese Arabic]]:}} {{IPA|ar|saˈmiːɾ faˈɾiːd ˈʒaʕʒaʕ|}} {{Pronunciation|En-us-Samir Geagea from Lebanon pronunciation (Voice of America).ogg|listen}}, also spelled '''Samir Ja'ja'''' ; born 25 October 1952) is a Lebanese politician and former militia commander who has been the leader of the Lebanese Forces [[Lebanese Forces|political party]] and [[Lebanese Forces (militia)|former militia]] since 1986.<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-samir-geagea-hezbollah-israel-gaza-01ea179f1b6f5a4b131a2b1f715d883f "Lebanese Christian leader says Hezbollah’s fighting with Israel has harmed Lebanon,"] AP.</ref>

Born in [[Ain El Remmaneh|Ain al-Remaneh]], Geagea joined the Christian<ref>[https://lobelog.com/isis-improves-hezbollahs-standing/ "ISIS Improves Hezbollah’s Standing,"] ''Lobe Log''.</ref> [[Kataeb Party]] in his early years. He led the Northern Front in the Lebanese Forces from 1979 to 1984.<ref name="newlebanon.info">{{cite web|url=https://www.newlebanon.info/lebanon-now/288110/%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%87%D9%88-%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%AC%D8%B9%D8%AC%D8%B9 |title=من هو سمير جعجع؟ |publisher=Newlebanon.info |date= 25 October 2016|accessdate=2022-12-25}}</ref> In March 1985, after the deterioration of the Christian political situation in the eastern regions after the assassination of the Lebanese Forces leader [[Bachir Gemayel]], he led, jointly with [[Elie Hobeika]] and [[Karim Pakradouni]], an uprising that led to control of the political situation without any bloodshed.<ref name="newlebanon.info"/> On 15 January 1986, Geagea led a movement against the tripartite agreement sponsored by Syria to become the commander of the Lebanese Forces after the overthrow of Elie Hobeika, head of the executive body at the time and one of the signatories of the tripartite agreement.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lebanese-forces.com/person/politicians-samir-geagea/|title = د . سمير جعجع}}</ref>

Geagea initially supported the "[[War of Liberation (1989–1990)|War of Liberation]]" declared by disputed Prime Minister General [[Michel Aoun]] against the Syrian Army. On 31 January 1990, the Lebanese Forces led by Geagea under the name "elimination war", declared a war on General Michel Aoun and the [[Lebanese Armed Forces|Lebanese armed forces]].<ref name="newlebanon.info"/> Under Geagea, the Lebanese Forces agreed to the [[Taif Agreement|Taif Accord]] peace agreement that ended the [[Lebanese Civil War|civil war]] and ceded control of its territory to the [[Lebanese Armed Forces|Lebanese Army]], and sold their arms to the enemy [[Israel]] in 1991. In accordance with the agreement, he immediately dissolved the military and security arm of the Lebanese Forces and surrendered all its military assets to the Lebanese Army. But as Beirut was under the control of the [[Syrian Army]], the party members were subject to pressure and Syrian forces refused to withdraw as set out in the agreement.<ref name="reuters.com">{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/what-is-lebanese-forces-party-2021-10-21/|title = Factbox: What is the Lebanese Forces party?|newspaper = Reuters|date = 21 October 2021}}</ref><ref name="samirgeagea.info">{{Cite web|url=https://samirgeagea.info/samir-geagea-biography/|title=Samir Geagea Biography|website=Dr. Samir Geagea|accessdate=25 December 2022}}</ref>

On 24 January 1990, Geagea was appointed a Minister of State in the first post-war cabinet, led by Prime Minister [[Omar Karami]]. Geagea rejected the position due to the flagrant control of the cabinet by the Syrian regime. On 16 May 1992, Geagea was again appointed as a minister in the [[Rachid Solh|Rashid El Solh]] cabinet, only to refuse it again for the same reasons. In 1994, Geagea was arrested and put on trial for bombing a church and political killings in the war. He denied the accusations and claimed he was the target of a political prosecution fabricated by the Syrian-Lebanese security apparatus.<ref name="reuters.com"/><ref name="samirgeagea.info"/>

Geagea spent 11 years in solitary confinement. Following the [[Cedar Revolution]], and the subsequent withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon, a [[2005 Lebanese general election|newly elected Lebanese Parliament]] voted to grant him amnesty on 18 July 2005.<ref name="BBC">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4693091.stm Amnesty for Lebanese ex-warlord], ''BBC News'', 18 July 2005. Retrieved on 7 July 2009.</ref>