Iskandar Ghanem (, 1911–2005) was a Lebanese army general who was the commander-in-chief of the Lebanese army in the period from 1971 to 1976. He was close to

Suleiman Frangieh Suleiman Kabalan Frangieh, last name also spelled ''Frangié,'' ''Franjieh,'' or ''Franjiyeh'' (, 15 June 1910 – 23 July 1992), was a Lebanese Maronite politician who was President of Lebanon from 1970 to 1976. Early life and education Sulei ...

and held the post during his presidency.

Biography

Ghanem was born in

Saghbine Saghbine ( ar, صغبين), is a village located in the Western Beqaa District of the Beqaa Governorate in Lebanon. History In 1838, Eli Smith noted it as Sughbin''; a Maronite and Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Rom ...

, West Bekaa, in 1911 and hailed from a

Maronite The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the larges ...

family. 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 and appointed commander-in-chief of the army. Ghanem replaced Jean Njeim in the post who died in a helicopter crash on 24 July 1975. In May 1975 Ghanem was also named

minister of national defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

and minister of electrical and hydraulic resources in the military cabinet led by retired brigadier general Noureddine Abdullah Rifai. Ghanem served as commander-in-chief of the army until his retirement in January 1976. Ghanem's successor was Hanna Said.

Controversy

The

Israeli forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

attacked the headquarters of Palestinians in Lebanon on 10 April 1973 and killed three Palestinians who were the leaders of the

Black September Organization The Black September Organization (BSO) ( ar, منظمة أيلول الأسود, translit=Munaẓẓamat Aylūl al-Aswad) was a Palestinian militant organization founded in 1970. Besides other actions, the group was responsible for the assassi ...

. Upon this incident due to pressures from the Sunni community

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Saeb Salam Saeb Salam (17 January 1905 – 21 January 2000) ( ar, صائب سلام) was a Lebanon, Lebanese politician, who served as List of Prime Ministers of Lebanon, Prime Minister six times between 1952 and 1973. Following his death, the Lebanese ...

requested the dismissal of Iskandar Ghanem, but Salam's request was not accepted by the President Suleiman Frangieh which led to the resignation of Salam.

Personal life and death

Ghanem was married and had three children. One of his children was

Robert Ghanem Robert Ghanem (8 May 1942 – 10 February 2019) was a Lebanese lawyer and politician. Early life Ghanem hailed from a Maronite family. He was the son of Lebanese army general Iskandar Ghanem. Career Robert Ghanem was a longtime deputy of the N ...

who was a lawyer and served as the education minister in the second cabinet of Rafik Hariri in the mid-1990s. Iskandar Ghanem died in 2005.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghanem, Iskandar 1911 births 2005 deaths Lebanese Maronites Defense ministers of Lebanon Commanders of the Lebanese Armed Forces People from Western Beqaa District