Lebanon

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Walid Jumblatt (Arabic: وليد جنبلاط‎) (born August 7, 1949) is the current leader of the Progressive Socialist Party of Lebanon and the most prominent leader of the Druze community. He is currently one of the most outspoken anti-Syrian politicians in Lebanon and is allied with the March 14 Alliance, which includes the Future Movement, the Lebanese Forces and the Qornet Chehwan Gathering. This page lists presidents of Lebanon. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This page lists prime ministers of Lebanon. ... Fouad Siniora (alternative spellings: Fouad Sanyoura, Fuad Siniora, Fouad Saniora, Fouad Seniora) (Arabic: ‎, Fuād As-SanyÅ«rah) is the Prime Minister of Lebanon, a position he assumed on 19 July 2005, succeeding Najib Mikati. ... This is the list of the Lebanese government that was formed by Fouad Siniora on 19 July 2005. ... Lebanese parliament building at Place dÉtoile in Beirut The Parliament of Lebanon is the Lebanese national legislature. ... This page lists speakers of the Parliament of Lebanon. ... Political parties in Lebanon lists political parties in Lebanon. ... Elections in Lebanon gives information on election and election results in Lebanon. ... Lebanon is divided into 6 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah). ... The 6 Governorates of Lebanon are divided into 25 Districts (Aqdya, singular - qadaa) -- or 26, counting the Governorate of Beirut which is not subdivided into districts. ... The foreign policy of Lebanon reflects its geographic location, the composition of its population, and its reliance on commerce and trade. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (576 × 768 pixel, file size: 78 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Walid Jumblatt bei einem Vortrag in seiner Residenz in den Chouf Mountains File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (576 × 768 pixel, file size: 78 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Walid Jumblatt bei einem Vortrag in seiner Residenz in den Chouf Mountains File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to... Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... August 7 is the 219th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (220th in leap years), with 146 days remaining. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... The Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) (Arabic al-hizb al-taqadummi al-ishtiraki) is a political party in Lebanon. ... Druze star The Druze or Druz (also known as Druse; Arabic: derzÄ« or durzÄ« درزي, pl. ... Anti-Syrian is a journalistic and political term used to describe a political position, which opposes the Syrian regimes interference in Lebanon. ... The March 14 Alliance is a coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon, led by Saad Hariri, younger son of Rafik Hariri, the assassinated former prime minister of Lebanon. ... The Current for the Future (Tayyar Al Mustaqbal) is a political party in Lebanon, led by Saad Hariri, younger son of Rafik Hariri, the assassinated former prime minister of Lebanon. ... Lebanese Forces (LF) (Arabic: القوات اللبنانية ) is a Lebanese party and a former militia, which played a major role in the civil war that ravaged Lebanon from 1975 till 1990. ... The Qornet Shehwan Gathering is a Lebanese political organization, comprising politicians, intellectuals, and businessmen, mostly Christian and ranging in ideology from the centre-right to the center-left. ...

The origin of the Jumblatt family is the Kurdish Janpoulad family dating back to Janboulad Ibn Kassem al Kirdi al Kaisari, known as Ibn Arabou (1530-1580), and governor of Aleppo. Walid Jumblatt is the son of Kamal Jumblatt, the assassinated founder of the PSP, the party which Walid Jumblatt currently leads. The Jumblatt Family (جنبلاط in Arabic, also transliterated as Joumblatt, Junblat and Junblatt) is an influential Druze family who settled in the Lebanon mountains (coming from Syria) around the 15-16th century, fleeing persecution from the Ottoman governor. ... Kurdish may refer to: The Kurdish people The Kurdish language This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Old Town viewed from Aleppo Citadel Aleppo (or Halab Arabic: ‎, ) is a city in northern Syria, capital of the Aleppo Governorate. ... Kamal Jumblatt (Arabic: كمال جنبلاط; (December 6, 1917 – March 16, 1977) was an important Lebanese politician. ...

During the Israeli occupation and subsequent withdrawal of Lebanon in 1982 and 1983, Jumblatt's militia, backed by Soviet weaponry from Syria and possibly with the aid of Palestinian guerillas, overran sixty Maronite villages, killing thousands, as a retaliation for Maronite hostilities that occurred earlier in the war. Maronite hostilities included forced evacuations and a systematic burning of Druze villages and shrines in addition to thousands of killings and imprisonments that attempted to ethnically cleanse Mount Lebanon of its Druze inhabitants.^{[citation needed]} He secured a Druze victory and solidified his position as leader of the Druze. 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Maronites (Marunoye ܡܪܘܢܝܐܶ; in Syriac, Mâruniyya مارونية in Arabic) are members of an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Pope of Rome. ... Eastern Orthodox shrine Buddhist shrine just outside Wat Phnom. ... Mount Lebanon, as a geographic designation, is the mountain range that extends across the whole country of Lebanon along about 160 km (100 mi), parallel to the Mediterranean coast and rising to 3,090 m (10,137 ft). ...

The BBC describes Jumblatt as "being seen by many as the country's political weathervane." He has a successful record of changing allegiances to ensure that the sectarian interests of the Druze emerge on the winning side of the political issues and conflicts shaping Lebanon, from the turmoil of the 1975-1990 civil war to Lebanon's reconstruction. Like several other sectarian leaders, he was a supporter of the Syrian military presence (described as an occupation by anti-Syrian elements) in Lebanon after the civil war, but since the death of former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in 2000, he has campaigned for the end of Syrian domination of Lebanon. This has pitted him against President Emile Lahoud; who he considers a Syrian puppet, and the Lebanese Shiite party Hezbollah; for whom he had this to say: "Their fighters have done a good job defying and defeating the Israeli army, OK, But the question we ask is where their allegiance goes: to a Lebanese strong central authority or somewhere else?" (Chicago Tibune interview Aug.11, 2006). It has also been argued that his previous support for Syrian intervention was compelled.^{[citation needed]} The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion... Druze star The Druze or Druz (also known as Druse; Arabic: derzī or durzī درزي, pl. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ... Combatants Lebanese Front Syria LNM PLO Commanders Bachir Gemayel Dany Chamoun Kamal Jumblatt Yasser Arafat The multi-sided Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990) had its origin in the conflicts and political compromises after the end of Lebanons administration by the Ottoman Empire and was exacerbated by the nations... Anti-Syrian is a journalistic and political term used to describe a political position, which opposes the Syrian regimes interference in Lebanon. ... This page lists presidents and other Heads of State of Syria. ... Hafez al-Assad (Arabic: ‎ ) (October 6, 1930-June 10, 2000) was president of Syria for three decades. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This page lists presidents of Lebanon. ... Émile Lahoud General Émile Geamil Lahoud (Arabic: اميل لحود) (born January 12, 1936) is the current President of Lebanon. ... For other uses, see Hezbollah (disambiguation). ...

After the assassination of Rafik Hariri in 2005, Jumblatt said that a shaken Hariri had told him months before that he was personally threatened by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a 15-minute meeting in the Syrian capital Damascus in August 2004: "(President) Lahoud is me ... If you and Chirac want me out of Lebanon, I will break Lebanon.". Jumblatt said "When I heard him telling us those words, I knew that it was his condemnation of death." His comments have been included in the FitzGerald Report, the United Nations's report on the investigation of the Hariri assassination. The report criticizes Syria for the political tensions which preceded the assassination. The United States, the European Union and the United Nations have demanded a Syrian pullout from Lebanon and an international investigation into Hariri's murder. Rafik Baha ad-Din Hariri — (November 1, 1944 – February 14, 2005), (Arabic: ‎) a self-made billionaire and business tycoon, was the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 until his resignation on 20 October 2004. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bashar al-Assad (Arabic: ‎, ) (born September 11, 1965) is the President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Regional Secretary of the Baath Party, and the son of former President Hafez al-Assad. ... Damascus at sunset Damascus ( translit: Also commonly: الشام ash-Shām) is the largest city of Syria and is also the capital. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: FitzGerald_Report The report The Report of the Fact-Finding Mission to Lebanon inquiring into the causes, circumstances and consequences of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, 25 February - 24 March 2005, better known as the FitzGerald Report, is the outcome... The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ... The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ...

Jumblatt has publicly spoken of his fear of being assassinated, like Hariri, because of his current stance towards Damascus. The unsuccessful attempt on the life of his closest political ally and friend, MP Marwan Hamadeh, in October 2004 was interpreted by many as an ominous message addressed to Jumblatt.^{[citation needed]} In an interview with The Chicago Tribune, when asked about his concerns for his safety, he answered, "That's trivial; I don't think about it. When they will come, they will come."

See also

• Cedar Revolution
• Kamal Jumblatt
• Progressive Socialist Party

Cedar Revolution has become the most commonly used name for the chain of demonstrations and popular civic action in Lebanon (mainly Beirut) triggered by the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005. ... Kamal Jumblatt (Arabic: كمال جنبلاط; (December 6, 1917 – March 16, 1977) was an important Lebanese politician. ... The Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) (Arabic al-hizb al-taqadummi al-ishtiraki) is a political party in Lebanon. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Walid Jumblatt

• Walid Jumblatt, by Gary C. Gambill and Daniel Nassif, Middle East Intelligence Bulletin, Vol 3, No 5, May 2001
• "It's strange for me to say it, but this process of change has started because of the American invasion of Iraq" quoted in Beirut's Berlin Wall, by David Ignatius, Washington Post, February 23, 2005
• "Rebel with a cause" by Massoud A. Derhally, Arabian Business, March 27, 2005
• "Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt Accuses Hizbullah, Iran and Syria For Lebanon Crisis" Transcript of interview of Walid Jumblatt, broadcast on Al-Arabiya, July 20, 2006
• We Should Treat the Syrian Regime the Same Way It Treats Us: With Car Bombs, Assassinations and Destruction. Bashar Al-Assad Is a Liar. Transcript of interview of Walid Jumblatt, broadcast on Al-Arabiya, December 28, 2006
• Attacks Hizbullah, Iran, and Syria, and Says: I Support a Two-State Solution, Not the Liberation of Jerusalem Transcript of interview of Walid Jumblatt, broadcast on Al-Jazeera TV, January 31, 2007
• On Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad: "An Ape Unknown to Nature, a Creature That Is Only Half-Man." Excerpts from an address delivered by Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, aired on Al-Jazeera TV on February 14, 2007.
• Bush Meets With Anti-Semite Who Celebrated The Killing Of American Soldiers.