Lebanese politician Dory Chamoun. (Photo released by the NLP)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese politician Dory Chamoun died on Monday, aged 94. Born in Deir al-Qamar (Chouf) in 1931, Chamoun was the eldest son of former President Camille Chamoun and led the National Liberal Party (NLP) from 1991 to 2021.
He served as president of the Deir al-Qamar municipality from 1998 to 2008 and as a Chouf MP from 2009 to 2018. His son, Camille Chamoun, was elected as a Chouf MP in 2022 and has led the NLP since 2021.
Dory Chamoun’s good-natured character and his frank, straightforward manner of speaking almost made him an outsider on the Lebanese political scene, even though he was born and brought up in the shadow of a father whose imposing stature dominated Lebanon’s contemporary history for decades.
As the eldest son of President Camille Chamoun, he seemed intent on leaving the task of carrying on the family tradition to his younger brother Dany, who played an important role during the Lebanese Civil War. Indeed, upon the death of the old "Tiger" in 1987, it was Dany who took over the leadership of the NLP, one of the country’s main Christian political parties.
But Dany and his family were brutally murdered in Baabda on Oct. 21, 1990, a week after the Syrian operation that led to the downfall of General Michel Aoun, of whom Dany was the principal ally. Dory Chamoun found himself forced to take up the mantle. Four years later, whilst Syria was still exercising control over the country, Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces (LF), was found guilty of ordering the assassination, and was later imprisoned.
This marked the beginning of Dory Chamoun's long period of virtually clandestine and solitary opposition to Syria's occupation of Lebanon, a role he fulfilled with courage, as the leading Christian figures were absent from the political scene at the time. But the NLP was decimated; most of its members were drawn into General Aoun’s faction, which Dory Chamoun viewed with great suspicion.
In 2005, when Samir Geagea was granted amnesty following Syria'a departure, he stated that there had never been sufficient evidence at his trial to prove the LF leader’s involvement in the 1990 tragedy. The two men found themselves allies within the anti-Syrian March 14 Coalition, which emerged from the Cedar Revolution.
It was not until 2009 that Dory Chamoun regained the parliamentary seat for the Chouf district that his father had once held. Around ten years later, he withdrew completely from the political arena, passing the torch to his son, Camille, who is currently the MP for Baabda and a member of the LF parliamentary group.
The NLP was founded by Camille Chamoun in the 1960s. During the Civil War, its militia allied with fellow Christian far-right party, the Kataeb, before the rupture.
In a statement, the NLP paid tribute to its former leader, describing him as “a man of unwavering principles and courageous positions” whose long political career was closely tied to the party and the “sovereign cause.”
“For decades, he led the party with wisdom and courage, guiding it through its most critical times. He was an authentic voice and a faithful representative of his people and his nation, whether as president of the Deir al-Qamar municipality or as an MP for the Chouf district,” the party said.
Tributes from the political world
Numerous political figures described as "sovereignists" paid tribute to the deceased, sending condolences to his family.
“He was a loyal friend and our comrade-in-arms within the March 14 movement, but also during the years of threats, assassinations, and attacks, which claimed the lives of many activists working for true freedom for the Lebanese people, in the face of all forms of control,” said former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, former head of the Future Movement and former political leader of the Sunni community, on X.
MP and former minister Ashraf Rifi, for his part, remarked that “Lebanon has lost an authentic Lebanese figure, who carried on the legacy of former President Camille Chamoun during the most difficult times, and who remained committed to the principles of sovereignty, independence, and a free Lebanon."
MP Nehmat Frem also paid tribute to “the man who entered public life bearing a great national name, but who left his own mark on Lebanese politics." "Dory Chamoun defended Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence, as he was convinced of Lebanon’s right to become a free state, fully in control of its own decisions,” he emphasized on X.
The Maronite League also paid tribute to the former president of the NLP, noting that he had “dedicated his life to defending Lebanon, its freedom, sovereignty, and independence.”
“Dory Chamoun was one of those men who never compromised on their convictions and who, right to the end of their lives, remained committed to the Lebanon in which they believed: a Lebanon of freedom, sovereignty, and coexistence in the mountains,” the organization stated in a press release.
