Walid Jumblatt
Walid Jumblatt ( ) born on August 7th 1949 is the main political leader of the community inherited Druze of Lebanon and as an influential community of Druze in the Middle East.
He is the heir to a great Druze feudal families, the Jumblatt who has played an important role in the history of this community since the seventeenth century and especially the nineteenth century. Known affectionately as "Walid Bey" by his supporters, he is alternately Moukhtara traditional house of Jumblatt and Beirut. The president of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP). Connoisseur of the region and follower of sentences shocks, Walid Jumblatt mania as well as the irony Kalashnikov. Its grip on the undisputed Druze community allows it to change its position and its alliances and to keep pace with regional twists to safeguard the interests of his community.
His main opponent at one time was the Druze Sheikh Farid Hamadeh. After Jumblatt's alliance with the Syrian occupier for nearly thirty years, Farid Hamadeh returned exile under pressure from Syria.
Summary |
The War period 1977-1990
After studying at the American University of Beirut and in France, he led a bohemian lifestyle until 1977. The assassination of his father Kamal Jumblatt at the behest of Syrian intelligence in March 1977 propelled him into politics. At the end of the mourning period, he will meet President Hafez al-Assad who, in an allusion to the fate of Kamal in the alert remained famous remarks: "How you remind me of your father the last time I saw him he was sitting on the same chair as you. " The fate of his father will make him be very careful in its relations with Syria. This caution was seen by Lebanese as treason and for half of the Druze (the Yazbak) as a very high treason. ally with the alleged murderers of his father, has contributed significantly to the depression in the occupation of Lebanon and the lack of sovereignty.
To everyone's surprise, the young dandy pre-war turns into a merciless warlord, becoming a major player in the Lebanon war. He takes control of the Progressive Socialist Party , the Druze-majority party founded by his father and being realistic political alliance with Syria, now opposed to the Christian camp. He quickly became a leader of the camp said the Palestinian-progressive and Christian militia fights.
In June 1982, he took advantage of neutrality and does not bind his fighters against the Druze battalion of the IDF deployed its stronghold in the Chouf. This episode earned him harsh criticism of Syria and the pro-Syrian parties. In 1983, following the withdrawal of IDF flash it tries to resume the Lebanese Forces (Christian) control of the Chouf (region populated by Druze and Christians at the time). As for the Israeli withdrawal the PSP quickly won victory after a bloodbath in genuine ethnic cleansing and forced to flee the Christian inhabitants of the Chouf (episode of the war of the mountain ). After the disbanding of Palestinian militias following the Israeli invasion, he finds himself with the most powerful militia camp Palestinian-progressive , encompassing his control over much of West Beirut.
Postwar
In 1989 he accepted the Taif accord, which enshrine the Syrian influence in Lebanon. The PSP disarms and Walid Jumblatt joined the government. As different alliances, it is regularly re-elected in his stronghold in the Chouf and becomes owner of the ministry of displaced several times. It is the subject of sharp criticism from the opposition Christian on the management of funds for war displaced. It will be part of all governments until 1998.
The election of army chief Emile Lahoud in 1998 as President of the Republic, with whom he has a rivalry and personal enmity changer. He refuses to take part in the parliamentary session which saw the election of Emile Lahoud and cracks begin to appear in its alliance with Syria.
The death of Hafez al-Assad in June 2000 and the sidelining of the Chief of Staff Hikmat Chihabi (his main ally in Damascus) weaken the position of Jumblatt Syria. He then tries to pressure Damascus to getting closer to the opponents of Syria in Lebanon. In the summer of 2000 , in preparation for legislative August-September, Jumblatt initiates a reconciliation with the opposition parties Christian. He has called for a "rebalancing" and a "correction" of relations with Syria but cut ties with Damascus. These calls would earn him public threats of death from Assem Qanso , head of the Baath Lebanon, in full session of Parliament ( 6 November 2000 ). Jumblatt joined the new government Hariri who just won the election. The regional changes (death of Hafez al-Assad, resumption of the intifada , the September 11 attacks and war in Iraq ) make him adopt a prudent policy, between Syria and the opposition. Between 2000 and 2004 wages in turn gives it to both sides.
Opposition to Syria
In August 2001 , he was reconciled with the Christian community during the tour of the Maronite Patriarch in the Chouf. In the course of 1993, it gradually redefining its position on the Lebanese political scene and his attitude hitherto very conservative with respect to Syria, raising concerns at the onset of Damascus Multifaith opposition. The quarrel was finally held in September 2004 , when Bashar al-Assad , refused the compromise proposed by Walid Jumblatt, requires a constitutional amendment to extend the mandate of Emile Lahoud. In parliament, Jumblatt is one of the few not to vote for this amendment. The Resolution 1559 (September 2004) reinforces its position. One of his most trusted lieutenants, the MP and former minister Marwan Hamade escaped an assassination attempt in car bomb on October 1, 2004 Full Beirut.
With the Christian parties and progressive manner increasingly clear the Future Movement of Hariri , he becomes a staunch opponent of the Syrian presence in Lebanon after being one of his closest allies in Lebanon. The assassination of Hariri (14 February 2005 ) hastened the end of Syrian influence in Lebanon. Walid Jumblatt is one of the main actors of the Cedar Revolution which ended with the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.
He heads to Parliament the power of the Democratic Gathering , gathering 15 members of Baabda, Aley, the Chouf and Rashaya and along with Saad Hariri and Samir Geagea a leader of the parliamentary majority and the March 14 movement said, referring the popular event which brings in Beirut more than a million Lebanese, a month after the attack against Rafiq Hariri.
On May 7, 2008, in response to decisions and announcements of the Lebanese government, Hezbollah is threatening to "cut the hand" of anyone who "touches the weapons of resistance": both supporters and pro-Syrian allies took control of West Beirut heights of the capital and part of the Chouf. On 10 May he ordered his men to make way for the Lebanese army, but heavy fighting broke out again on 11 between supporters of the majority and the opposition pro-Syrian and pro-Iranian Druze-majority areas south-east of Beirut: Aaytat, Baysour and Choueifat. Reacting to the violence, rival Druze leaders Walid Jumblatt and Talal Arslan, call on their supporters to disarm. "The peace and the end of destruction is of paramount importance," said Walid Jumblatt then, in a speech broadcast on Lebanese television, which leads to the surrender of weapons to the army and the departure of the militia. Follows a series of reconciliation agreements between the two Druze leaders Walid Jumblatt and then with Hezbollah, the SSNP and the FPM, the name of security and harmony in the Mount Lebanon.
At a press conference Aug. 2, 2009, Walid Jumblatt said leave the March 14 movement to adopt a centrist position while remaining faithful at his parliamentary group, the former majority, calling for a return to principles socialists in his party, socialist and left before entering into the circumstances of his visit to the previous U.S. administration, described as a "black spot" in the history of the party.
The final break between March 14 and Jumblatt held January 25, 2011, when he decides to support Najib Mikati , candidate of the pro-Syrian opposition, against his former ally Saad Hariri as prime minister.
Quotes
On 14 February 2007 , during a speech he addressed as follows to President Syrian President Bashar el-Assad : "O tyrant of Damascus, O you of monkeys unknown nature, the snake that all snakes are afraid, You are the shark vomited by the ocean, you wild beast of the desert, you're the only creature half-man, you who are the product of Israel to the detriment of the corpses of South Lebanon, and you the liar 'arch-murderer, you the criminal who sheds the blood in Lebanon and Syria, we take upon yourself the words of the great poet Nizar Qabani: "Every twenty years comes a gunman to kill the unit in the cradle and to kill Dreams. " References Preceded by Walid Jumblatt Followed by Pierre Khoury
1982-1984 
Lebanon
Walid Jumblatt
Minister of Public Works and Transport
1984-1988 Mahmud Tay Abou Dargham
1988 Ibrahim Halawi
1982-1984 Lebanon
Walid Jumblatt
Minister of Tourism
1984-1988 Mahmud Tay Abou Dargham
1988 - Lebanon
Walid Jumblatt
Minister of State in the South and Reconstruction
1984-1988 - Edgar Maalouf
1988-1990 Lebanon
Walid Jumblatt
Minister of Public Works and Transport
1989-1990 Nadim Salem
1990-1992 Elie Hobeika
1992 Lebanon
Walid Jumblatt
State Minister for the Displaced
1992-1998 Anwar el-Khalil
1998-2000
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