Joseph Abu Khalil (1925–2019) was a Lebanese politician from the

Kataeb Party The Kataeb Party ( ar, حزب الكتائب اللبنانية '), also known in English as the Phalanges, is a Christian political party in Lebanon. The party played a major role in the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990). In decline in the lat ...

. He served in various posts in the party and edited its official newspaper, ''

Al Amal AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

'', for a long time.

Biography

Being a native of

Beit ed-Dine Beit ed-Dine ( ar, بيت الدين), also known as Btaddine ( ar, بتدين) is a small town and the administrative capital of the Chouf District in the Mount Lebanon Governorate in Lebanon. The town is located 45 kilometers southeast of ...

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at . Geography The Mount Le ...

, Abu Khalil was born in 1925. He was 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 ...

. He was one of the close allies of the Kataeb Party leadership, namely

Gemayel family Gemayel (; ; romanized: ''al-Jumayyil'') is the name of a prominent Lebanese Maronite Christian family based in Bikfaya, Lebanon. History The family is mentioned in bureaucratic records as among the inhabitants of Bikfaya as early as the 16th ce ...

members, including

Pierre Gemayel Pierre Amine Gemayel, also spelled Jmayyel, Jemayyel or al-Jumayyil ( ar, بيار الجميّل; 6 November 1905 – 29 August 1984), was a Lebanese political leader. A Maronite Catholic, he is remembered as the founder of the Kataeb Party ...

and his son

Bashir Gemayel Bachir Pierre Gemayel ( ; 10 November 1947 – 14 September 1982) was a Lebanese militia commander who led the Lebanese Forces, the military wing of the Kataeb Party in the Lebanese Civil War and was elected President of Lebanon in 1982. ...

. At the beginning of the 2000s Abu Khalil was an advisor to

Amine Gemayel Amine Pierre Gemayel ( ar, أمين بيار الجميٌل ; (born 22 January 1942) is a Lebanese Maronite politician who served as President of Lebanon from 1982 to 1988. Born in Bikfaya, his father was Pierre Gemayel, the founder of the K ...

, the eldest son of Pierre Gemayel. Within the Kataeb party he held several posts. Abu Khalil was political secretary of the party in the mid-1970s. He was elected its deputy president in the congress in June 2015 when

Samy Gemayel Samy Amine Gemayel ( ar, سامي الجميّل, born 3 December 1980) is a Lebanese politician, lawyer and a member of the Lebanese parliament. Being elected as party president in 2015, he presently serves as the seventh leader of the Leban ...

was elected president of Kataeb party. Abu Khalil was among the founders of a radio station,

Voice of Lebanon Voice of Lebanon (Arabic , French as or VDL) is a private radio station in Lebanon, owned by the Kataeb Party since 1958. In December 2010, two rival Lebanese radio stations using the same name ran at the same time,

, in 1958. Next he was named the editor-in-chief of ''Al Amal'' newspaper. Abu Khalil died at age 94 in December 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khalil, Joseph 20th-century Lebanese people 1925 births 2019 deaths Lebanese Maronites Kataeb Party politicians Lebanese journalists People from Mount Lebanon Governorate Radio founders 20th-century journalists