Constitutional Bloc ( ar, الكتلة الدستورية; transliterated as ''Al Kutla ad Dustuuriyya'') was a Lebanese

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

established in 1934 by

Bechara El Khoury Bechara El Khoury ( ar, بشارة خليل الخوري; 10 August 1890 – 11 January 1964) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 1st president of Lebanon, holding office from 21 September 1943 to 18 September 1952, apart from an 11-day ...

YaBeyrouth: الملفات الكاملة للأحزاب في لبنان
/ref> and advocating the full independence of Lebanon ruled at the time by the

French Mandate The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (french: Mandat pour la Syrie et le Liban; ar, الانتداب الفرنسي على سوريا ولبنان, al-intidāb al-fransi 'ala suriya wa-lubnān) (1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate foun ...

and fought for its achievement in 1943. The Bloc also advocated an active role in establishing the Arab League with Lebanon as an integral part of the

Arab World The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

. It was also active in approving the Lebanese

National Pact The National Pact ( ar, الميثاق الوطني, translit-std=DIN, translit=al Mithaq al Watani) is an unwritten agreement that laid the foundation of Lebanon as a multiconfessional state following negotiations between the Shia, Sunni, and ...

as an agreement between the various Lebanese religious communities, an unwritten agreement that laid the foundation of

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

as a multi-confessional state. Bechara El Khoury, the head of the Constitutional Bloc became President of Lebanon under French Mandate from 21 September 1943 to 11 November 1943, and after a brief taking over by the former President

Émile Eddé Émile Eddé ( ar, إميل إدّه, translit=Imīl Iddah; 5 May 1886 – 28 September 1949) was a Lebanese Maronite Christian lawyer and politician who served as the President of Lebanon for twelve days in 1943. Early life and education Edd� ...

for 11 days from 11 to 22 November 1943, was re-elected as first President of the new independent Lebanese Republic presiding for almost 11 years from 22 November 1943 to 18 September 1952 and his Constitutional Bloc one of the components of the Lebanese Parliament and Government. In the 1950s, the Constitutional Bloc was incorporated as a Lebanese political party known as Constitutional Union Party ( ar, حزب الإتحاد الدستوري, transliterated as ''Hizb al Ittihad ad Dustuuri'') in opposition to President

Camille Chamoun Camille Nimr Chamoun OM, ONC ( ar, كميل نمر شمعون, ''Kamīl Sham'ūn''; 3 April 1900 – 7 August 1987) was a Lebanese politician who served as President of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958. He was one of the country's main Chris ...

. The running of affairs of the party was taken over by Khalil el Khoury. In the 1990s, a renewed interest in the party resulted in the declaration of The Grandsons of Bechara (in

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

أحفاد البشارة transliterated as Ahfaad al Bechara) to revive the legacy and the ideas of the historic founder of the party and former President Bechara El Khoury.

References

{{Authority control 1930s establishments in Lebanon Centrist parties in Asia Defunct political parties in Lebanon Lebanese nationalist parties Liberal parties in Lebanon Political parties established in 1934 Secularism in Lebanon