Constitutional Bloc (; 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 area'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 Khalil El Khoury (; 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 interruption (11–22 Novembe ...

YaBeyrouth: الملفات الكاملة للأحزاب في لبنان
/ref> and advocating the full independence of Lebanon ruled at the time by the French Mandate and fought for its achievement in 1943. The Bloc also advocated an active role in establishing the

Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...

with Lebanon as an integral part of the

Arab World The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

. It was also active in approving the Lebanese

National Pact The National Pact () is an unwritten agreement that laid the foundation of Lebanon as a multiconfessional state following negotiations between the Shia, Sunni, Maronite, and Druze leaderships. Enacted in the summer of 1943, the National Pact wa ...

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

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

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 for 11 days from 11 to 22 November 1943, was re-elected as first President of the new independent

Lebanese Republic Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

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 (, transliterated as ''Hizb al Ittihad ad Dustuuri'') in opposition to President

Camille Chamoun Camille Nimr Chamoun (, ; 3 April 19007 August 1987) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 2nd president of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958. He was one of the country's main Christian leaders during most of the Lebanese Civil War. Early yea ...

. 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 that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

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