Antoine "Tony" Suleiman Frangieh (; 1 September 1941 – 13 June 1978) was a Lebanese politician and militia commander during the early years of the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

. He was the son of

Suleiman Frangieh Suleiman Kabalan Frangieh (15 June 1910 – 23 July 1992) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 5th president of Lebanon from 1970 to 1976. Early life and education Suleiman Frangieh was a scion of one of the leading Maronites, Maronite f ...

, a former Lebanese president. Tony Frangieh was an active participant in Lebanese politics and a member of the Marada Brigade, a Christian militia group that was founded in 1975 by his father.

Education and early political career

Frangieh was educated at the College Des Frères Tripoli, first in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

then in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, at the latter from 1958 to 1960. He was furthering his studies before his death. Frangieh began his career dealing with his family business. On 25 October 1970, he succeeded his father, Suleiman Frangieh, as a member of the

Lebanese Parliament The Lebanese Parliament (, ) is the unicameral national parliament of the Lebanon, Republic of Lebanon. There are 128 members elected to a four-year term in Electoral district, multi-member constituencies, apportioned among Lebanon's divers ...

for

Zgharta Zgharta (, ), also spelled Zghorta, is a city in North Lebanon, with an estimated population of around 50,000. It is the second biggest city in Northern Lebanon after Tripoli, Lebanon, Tripoli. Zgharta is officially the Zgharta-Ehden municipality ...

, following his father's election to the Presidency. He was also appointed the minister of posts and telecommunications in his father's government.

Civil war and death

At the end of the 1960s, when factions within Lebanon started to form militias, the Frangieh clan formed the Marada Brigade, also known as the

Zgharta Liberation Army The Zgharta Liberation Army – ZLA (), also known as Zghartawi Liberation Army, was the paramilitary branch of the Lebanese Marada Movement during the Lebanese Civil War. The militia was formed in the late 1960s by the future President of Lebano ...

(ZLA), under the command of Tony Frangieh. The Marada/ZLA mainly operated out of Tripoli and northern Lebanon, the base of the

Frangieh family Frangieh (: "Franc", meaning " occidental" in Arabic), also spelled Frangié, Franjieh, or Franjiyeh, is a prominent Lebanese political family. * Bassam Frangieh (born 1949), scholar of contemporary Arabic literature and culture. Distant relative ...

. The Lebanese Civil War witnessed many shifting alliance, with former allies turning into foes. One such falling out occurred between two of the leading Maronite clans, the Frangiehs and the Gemayels. The Frangiehs, who were close to

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, were critical of Phalangist

Kataeb Regulatory Forces The Kataeb Regulatory Forces – KRF () or Forces Régulatoires des Kataeb (FRK) in French language, French, were the military wing of the right-wing Christianity in Lebanon, Lebanese Christian Kataeb Party, otherwise known as the 'Phalange', fr ...

' militia leader

Bachir Gemayel Bachir Pierre Gemayel (, ; 10 November 1947 – 14 September 1982) was a Lebanese militia commander who led the Lebanese Forces, the military wing of the Kataeb Party, in the Lebanese Civil War and was elected President of Lebanon in 1982. ...

's growing alliance with

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Militiamen from the Phalange RF and Marada also clashed over protection rackets. This conflict led to the murder of Tony Frangieh, his wife, Vera (née el Kordahi), and his three-year-old daughter Jihane by Phalangist militiamen, known as the

Ehden massacre The Ehden massacre () took place on 13 June 1978, during the 1975–1990 Lebanese Civil War. It was an inter-Christian attack between Maronite clans. A Kataeb militia attacked the summer house of the Frangieh family in Ehden leading to the de ...

. His son,

Suleiman Suleiman (; or dictionary.reference.comsuleiman/ref>) is the Arabic name of the Jewish and Quranic king and Islam, Islamic prophet Solomon (name), Solomon. Suleiman the Magnificent (1494–1566) was the longest-reigning sultan of the Ottoman E ...

, was in Beirut during the massacre. Under cover of darkness on 13 June 1978, a combined force of 1,200 Phalangists led by

Elie Hobeika Elie Hobeika (also transliterated as Hubayqa; ; 22 September 1956 – 24 January 2002) was a Lebanese militia commander in the Lebanese Forces militia during the Lebanese Civil War and one of Bachir Gemayel's close confidants. He became infa ...

and

Samir Geagea Samir Farid Geagea (, , 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 ...

, attacked and killed Tony Frangieh and his immediate family, thereby eliminating one of the protagonists vying for political power in the Christian Lebanese community. After the massacre, Suleiman Frangieh was reported to have been depressed, swearing to take revenge and declaring in an interview "the family will exact its retribution." However, in a later interview with the Lebanese political channel ' OTV', Suleiman Frangieh stated, "That was the past and it must be forgotten, I do not seek revenge because God is the only judge, thus their conscience will haunt them for the rest of their lives." Many commentators consider the murder of Tony Frangieh to be one of the factors in the longevity of the Lebanese Civil War and as the starting point of a deep divide between Lebanese Christians. Some 20,000 mourners attended his funeral, including then-Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Hoss on 14 June 1978.

Personal life

Frangieh had two children, Suleiman Frangieh Jr. and Jihane, with Vera Frangieh, whom he married in 1962. His son Suleiman first became the Minister of Public Health at the age of 22, and later served as the Minister of Interior from 2004 to 2005. He is known to have served with the Marada Brigade in the 1980s.

References

External links

Al-Marada official site
(in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

)
Chamussy (René) – Chronique d’une guerre: Le Liban 1975-1977 – éd. Desclée – 1978
(in French)
Tony Frangieh on Ehden Family Tree Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frangieh, Tony 1941 births 1978 deaths Assassinated Lebanese politicians 20th-century Lebanese politicians Lebanese Maronites People murdered in Lebanon Members of the Parliament of Lebanon Postal services ministers of Lebanon Marada Movement politicians Tony People killed in the Lebanese Civil War People from Zgharta Children of presidents of Lebanon Lebanese warlords Asian politicians assassinated in the 1970s Politicians assassinated in 1978

Education and early political career

Civil war and death

Personal life

See also

References

Further reading

External links