President Elias Sarkis with his Syrian counterpart Hafez al-Assad. (Credit: OLJ archives)
In the last months of Sleiman Frangieh’s term of office (1970-76), Lebanon was awash with military developments. In view of the presidential elections scheduled for that year, those involved in the negotiations were looking for a consensus figure capable of “managing the crisis.”Frangieh remained in his post until the last day of his term, in September. But, exceptionally, the election of his successor Elias Sarkis did not take place a month earlier, as was customary, but rather several months earlier, in May 1976.The election occurred as negotiations were taking place between Arab states and Americans on the international level, in a context marked by growing pressure. Syrian troops were preparing to enter Lebanon, first to prevent a Palestinian military victory and then to consolidate the influence of the Hafez al-Assad regime in its...
In the last months of Sleiman Frangieh’s term of office (1970-76), Lebanon was awash with military developments. In view of the presidential elections scheduled for that year, those involved in the negotiations were looking for a consensus figure capable of “managing the crisis.”Frangieh remained in his post until the last day of his term, in September. But, exceptionally, the election of his successor Elias Sarkis did not take place a month earlier, as was customary, but rather several months earlier, in May 1976.The election occurred as negotiations were taking place between Arab states and Americans on the international level, in a context marked by growing pressure. Syrian troops were preparing to enter Lebanon, first to prevent a Palestinian military victory and then to consolidate the influence of the Hafez al-Assad regime in...