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Iskandar Ghanem

Iskandar Ghanem (Arabic: اسكندر غانم; 1911 – 4 February 2005) was a Lebanese army general who was the commander-in-chief of the Lebanese army in the period from 1971 to 1975. He was close to Suleiman Frangieh and held the post during his presidency.[1]

Iskandar Ghanem
6th Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces
In office
24 July 1971 – 10 September 1975
PresidentSuleiman Frangieh
Preceded byJean Njeim
Succeeded byHanna Said
Personal details
Born
Iskandar Assad Ghanem

1911
Saghbine, Ottoman Empire
Died (aged 94)
Resting placeSaghbine, Lebanon
Children3, including Robert Ghanem
AwardsOrder of the Cedar
Military service
Allegiance French Lebanon
 Lebanon
Branch/serviceArmy of the Levant
Lebanese Army
Years of service1934–1945 (French Lebanon)
1945–1975 (Lebanon Republic)
RankGeneral
Battles/warsSecond World War
1948 Israeli-Arab War
1958 Lebanon Crisis
Lebanese Civil War

Early life and education

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Ghanem was born in Saghbine, West Bekaa, in 1911[2][3] and hailed from a Maronite family.[4] From 1934 he attended the military school and graduated as a second lieutenant in 1937.[3]

Career and activities

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Ghanem was a major in 1958 and worked for the Beirut-based headquarters of the American Brigadier General Sidney S. Wade who was commanding the landing force of the Sixth Fleet which had been tasked to assist the Lebanese Army during the turmoil between July and October 1958.[5] Later he was dismissed from the Lebanese army, but he rejoined the army on 24 July 1971 when he was promoted to the rank of general.[6][7] Immediately after his promotion Ghanem was appointed commander-in-chief of the army.[8][9] Ghanem replaced Jean Njeim in the post who died in a helicopter crash on 24 July 1971.[8][10]

During his term Ghanem directly report to the President Suleiman Frangieh, although he should have reported to the Prime Minister.[11] In May 1975 he was also named minister of national defense and minister of electrical and hydraulic resources in the military cabinet led by retired brigadier general Nureddine Rifai.[4][11] Ghanem served as commander-in-chief of the army until his removal from office until 10 September 1975.[12][13] Ghanem organized the purge of Chehabist officers from the Lebanon army during his term as commander-in-chief.[14] He was succeeded by Hanna Said in the post in September 1975.[11][12][15]

Following the end of his tenure Ghanem joined the Kataeb Party in 1976.[16]

Controversy

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The Mossad agents attacked the headquarters of Palestinians in Lebanon on 10 April 1973 and killed three Palestinians who were the leaders of the Black September Organization.[17] The Palestinians murdered in the incident were Kamal Nasser, Muhammad Youssef Najjar, and Kamal Adwan.[18] Following the incident the Lebanese Prime Minister Saeb Salam argued that Ghanem did not attempt to resist the Israeli attack disobeying the orders.[11]

Therefore, Salam requested the dismissal of Iskandar Ghanem, and the Sunni community also called for his removal from the post.[17] However, Salam's request was not accepted by the President Suleiman Frangieh which led to the resignation of Salam.[17][19]

The Muslim leaders continued their opposition to Ghanem.[12] The Christian politicians also joined them shortly after the deadly clashes in Sidon in March 1975 demanding the dismissal of Ghanem, and also, two members of the cabinet were resigned from their posts in protest over him.[20] Ghanem was asked to not perform his role as army commander on 1 July, and Colonel Jules Bustante temporarily replaced him in the post.[20]

Ghanem was finally dismissed from office in September 1975.[12] One of the reasons for his removal was his logistical support for the Christian militias.[13] Joseph A. Kéchichian cites the latter as one of the factors led to the disintegration of the Lebanese Army.[13]

Personal life and death

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Ghanem was married and had three sons.[3] One of his children was Robert Ghanem who was a lawyer and served as the education minister in the second cabinet of Rafic Hariri in the mid-1990s.[21]

Iskandar Ghanem died on 4 February 2005.[3] A funeral ceremony was held for him on 7 February in the Maronite Cathedral of Saint George in Beirut.[3] He was buried in Saghbine.[22]

Awards

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Ghanem was the recipient of the Order of the Cedar.[3] He was first awarded the rank of commander and then the rank of grand officer.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Eduardo W. Aboultaif (2016). "The Lebanese Army: Saviour of the Republic?". The RUSI Journal. 161 (1): 74. doi:10.1080/03071847.2016.1152123. S2CID 155411230.
  2. ^ "إسكندر الموقع الرسمي للجيش اللبناني" (in Arabic). Lebanese Army. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Le général Iskandar Ghanem: «un grand homme, un exemple pour son pays»". L'Orient-Le Jour (in French). 7 February 2005. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Military Governments in Lebanon". The Monthly. 9 May 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  5. ^ Jack Shulimson (1966). "Marines in Lebanon 1958" (Technical report). Washington, D.C.: Defense Technical Information Center. p. 23.
  6. ^ "Blast near Israel Kills 4 Lebanese". The New York Times. Beirut. 28 November 1971. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  7. ^ "General Ghanem is Lebanon C-in-C". The Times. No. 58234. Beirut. Agence France-Presse. 26 July 1971. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  8. ^ a b Dan Naor; Eyal Lewin (2021). "The 1967 war as point of departure for the 1982 war in Lebanon: an uncommon interpretation". Middle Eastern Studies. 57 (2): 370. doi:10.1080/00263206.2020.1830375. S2CID 231741619.
  9. ^ "Chronology May 16, 1971-August 15, 1971". The Middle East Journal. 25 (4): 513. Autumn 1971. JSTOR 4324833.
  10. ^ "Funeral of Lebanese Army Commander Killed In Helicopter Crash. 1971". Pathé News. Reuters. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d Thomas Collelo, ed. (1989). Lebanon. A Country Study (3rd ed.). Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division. pp. 188–189. ISBN 978-1162670355.
  12. ^ a b c d Paul Martin (11 September 1975). "Lebanon Cabinet calls on the army to end Muslim-Christian war". The Times. No. 59498. Beirut. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  13. ^ a b c Joseph A. Kéchichian (Winter 1985). "The Lebanese Army: Capabilities and Challenges in the 1980s". Conflict Quarterly. 5 (1): 19–20.
  14. ^ Stéphane Malsagne (2014). "L'armée libanaise de 1945 à 1975". Vingtième Siècle. Revue d'histoire (in French). 124 (4): 15. doi:10.3917/vin.124.0015.
  15. ^ Norman Howard (January 1976). "Upheaval in Lebanon". Current History. 70 (412): 7. JSTOR 45314132.
  16. ^ Samih Farsoun (1976). "Lebanon Explodes: Toward a Maronite Zion". MERIP Reports (44): 17. doi:10.2307/3011713. JSTOR 3011713.
  17. ^ a b c Meir Zamir (January 1990). "The Lebanese Presidential Elections of 1970 and Their Impact on the Civil War of 1975–1976". Middle Eastern Studies. 16 (1): 64. doi:10.1080/00263208008700424.
  18. ^ Rami Siklawi (Summer 2017). "The Palestinian Resistance Movement In Lebanon 1967–82: Survival, Challenges, and Opportunities". Arab Studies Quarterly. 39 (3): 927. doi:10.13169/arabstudquar.39.3.0923.
  19. ^ James R. Stocker (2016). Spheres of Intervention: US Foreign Policy and the Collapse of Lebanon, 1967–1976. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. p. 104. ISBN 9781501704154.
  20. ^ a b Edgar O’Ballance (1999). Civil War in Lebanon, 1975–92. London: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 5, 11. doi:10.1057/9780230374683. ISBN 978-0-312-21593-4.
  21. ^ "Former MP and minister Robert Ghanem, 77 mourned by politicians". Ya Libnan. 10 February 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  22. ^ "Security - Wreaths on deceased Army Commanders' tombs". National News Agency Lebanon. 31 July 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
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