The Lebanese Social Democratic Party ( ar, الحزب الديمقراطي الاشتراكي ') is a party founded and led by former Lebanese speaker of parliament Kamel Bek El-Assaad. The party was founded in June 1970. Kamel Asaad 2

Names

The Lebanese Social Democratic Party is also known as Socialist Democratic Party or Democratic Social Party and in French and ( ar, الحزب الديمقراطي الاشتراكي).

Ideology

* The Social Democratic Party was officially declared

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

. However, the majority of its supporters are of Muslim faith. * The promotion of modern-shiasm, Islamized socialism and lastly,

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

. * An Independent Lebanon with full

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

and unity. * Promotes

arab nationalism Arab nationalism ( ar, القومية العربية, al-Qawmīya al-ʿArabīya) is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language a ...

in Lebanon, while appreciating the

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

n history and origin. * Believes in brotherhood towards neighboring

arab countries The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western As ...

. * Appreciates the coexistence of all religions and their

sects A sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical belief system, usually an offshoot of a larger group. Although the term was originally a classification for religious separated groups, it can now refer to any organization that b ...

in Lebanon. * The government should serve the people, not the other way around. * The country should remain under one military power, and all parties must disarm.

Kamel Bek El-Assaad

Kamel Bek served starting early 1960 as Deputy (Member of the Lebanese Parliament) of

Bint Jbeil Bint Jbeil () is the second largest town in the Nabatiye Governorate in Southern Lebanon. The town has an estimated population of 30,000. Its exact population is unknown, because Lebanon has not conducted a population census since 1932. Hist ...

, succeeding his father late Ahmed Asaad and then held the parliamentary seat of

Hasbaya Hasbeya or Hasbeiya ( ar, حاصبيا) is a town in Lebanon, situated at the foot of Mount Hermon, overlooking a deep amphitheatre from which a brook flows to the Hasbani. In 1911, the population was about 5000. Hasbaya is the capital of the Wa ...

Marjayoun Marjayoun ( ar, مرج عيون: Lebanese pronunciation), also Marj 'Ayoun, Marjuyun or Marjeyoun (lit. "meadow of springs") and Jdeideh / Jdeida / Jdeidet Marjeyoun, is a Lebanese town and an administrative district, the Marjeyoun District, i ...

from 1964 and 1992. He was elected Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament several times, May to October 1964, May to October 1968, with his final stint from 1970 to 1984.Republic of Lebanon - House of Representatives History
/ref> Assaad chaired the parliamentary sessions, which saw the election of presidents

Elias Sarkis Elias is the Greek equivalent of Elijah ( he, אֵלִיָּהוּ‎ ''ʾĒlīyyāhū''; Syriac: ܐܠܝܐ ''Eliyā''; Arabic: الیاس Ilyās/Elyās), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several hol ...

Bachir 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 ...

, and

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 ...

. Assaad left politics in 1984 after Syria's intervention in Lebanon's internal political policies related to the ratification of the Agreement of May 17, 1984, between

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

, and the period of political crisis which followed. He also had ministerial positions in two Lebanese governments serving as Minister of Education and Fine Arts from October 1961 to February 1964, and as Minister of Health and Minister of Water and Electricity Resources from April to December 1966. After serving as a Member of Parliament and its Speaker several times, Assaad later ran for public office but failed to get elected in the Lebanese elections in 1992, 1996 and 2000, in the face of pro-Syrian and pro-Iranian political groups

Amal Amal may refer to: * Amal (given name) * Åmål, a small town in Sweden * Amal Movement, a Lebanese political party ** Amal Militia, Amal Movement's defunct militia * Amal language of Papua New Guinea * Amal (film), ''Amal'' (film), 2007, directed ...

and Hezbollah lists, and called for a boycott of the elections in 2005. He died in 2010, at the age of 78. SPDL logo

Relations

The party is hostile to Hezbollah and Amal movement, and most of their supporters are from the Lebanese Shi'a community, specifically those loyal to the House of El-Assaad. The party was neutral with most parties, and was in good relation with President

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. ...

leader of the Lebanese Kateab Party.

Conflict

After the Death of Kamel Bek El-Assaad, Lina Saad, his second wife, took leadership of the party. This led to conflict, then his first wife Ghada Al-Kharsa and her son, Ahmed El-Assaad, started their own party; The Lebanese Option Party. Many believe that the

Lebanese Option Party Lebanese Option Party ( ar, حزب الإنتماء اللبناني) is a Lebanese secular and an economically liberal party, which is also a predominantly Shia political movement established in 2007. It is headed by Ahmad Kamel Asaad, the son o ...

does not represent the El-Assaad Family or the Lebanese Social Democratic Party in any way.

Current Status

The party does not have any members in parliament. It still attends and hosts charities, gatherings and political meetings. However, it still waits for a new leader from the El-Assaad Family. It is expected that one of Kamel Bek El Assaad's sons from his second wife, will have leadership eventually. Currently, Lina Saad is in-charge of the party and proceeds to handle all its internal and external relations.

References

{{Lebanese political parties 1970 establishments in Lebanon Arab nationalism in Lebanon Arab nationalist political parties Nationalist parties in Lebanon Political parties established in 1970 Political parties in Lebanon Social democratic parties in Lebanon