Samy Gemayel

Samy Gemayel is a Lebanese politician currently serving as the seventh President of the Kataeb Party- the Lebanese Social Democratic Party. He holds a Master’s in Public Law from Saint Joseph University in Beirut and diplomas in negotiation and leadership from Harvard University in Boston.

On 8 August 2020, he announced the resignation of his party from parliament following the Beirut Blast that destroyed the city, took the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians - including four (4) Kataeb members, and left more than 300,000 people homeless. Since then he has been working with other groups from the opposition to build an alternative to the current political establishment. 

Samy Gemayel was elected to Parliament in June of 2009 and re-elected for a second mandate in May 2018. He has been recognized by the Lebanese Center of Policy Studies as one of the most active parliamentarians, owing the number of law proposals he has submitted, his active participation in the parliamentary committees, his impressive oversight role and the triumphant requests he presented before the constitutional council. In 2016, Samy Gemayel became the leader of the opposition in Lebanon. In June of 2015, he was elected as President of the Kataeb Party. Since then, he has introduced a new approach to political party practice, one building on deliberative decision-making processes across all party levels.

Following the reunification of the Kataeb in 2005 and the tragic assassination of his elder brother, Pierre, in November of 2006, Samy Gemayel was entrusted with chairing the Kataeb’s Youth and Student Council in 2007. In 2008, he was appointed as coordinator of the Kataeb’s Central Committee.

In 2003, he joined the Kataeb’s Reform Movement that opposed then pro-Syrian Kataeb leadership who took over the party during the Syrian occupation of Lebanon (1990-2005). He led several demonstrations and peaceful sit-ins during that period, often being hit and arrested with several other pro-independence activists. His years of political activism began in 1996 where he was pivotal in establishing what was then known as the Kataeb Base – a platform of students galvanized around ending Syria’s occupation of Lebanon.