Pierre Sadek (1938 – 24 April 2013) was a Lebanese caricaturist, considered a pioneer of political cartooning and a great defender of freedom of expression.

Biography

Born in

Zahlé Zahlé ( ar, زَحْلة) is the capital and the largest city of Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon. With around 150,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Lebanon after Beirut and Tripoli and the fourth largest taking the whole urban area (t ...

, he graduated from the

Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts The Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA; french: Académie libanaise des Beaux-Arts; ar, الأكاديمية اللبنانية للفنون الجميلة) was originally a stand-alone Lebanese institute, now one of the faculties at the Univer ...

and worked for several newspapers, including ''

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 ...

'', ''

Al Anwar ''Al Anwar'' ( ar, الانوار, lit=The Lights) was an Arabic daily newspaper published in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded in 1959 and was one of the leading dailies in Lebanon. In October 2018, the publisher Dar Assayad announced ceasing of ...

'', ''

An-Nahar ''An-Nahar'' ( ar, النهار, lit=The Day or The Morning) is a leading Arabic-language daily newspaper published in Lebanon. In the 1980s, ''An-Nahar'' was described by the ''New York Times'' and ''Time Magazine'' as the newspaper of record f ...

'', ''

Ad-Diyar ''Ad-Diyar'' ( ar, الديار, lit=The Home) is an Arabic-language daily newspaper published in Beirut, Lebanon, which has been in circulation since 1941. History ''Ad Diyar'' was first published in 1941 as an Arabic political daily that is pu ...

'', and '' Assayad magazine'' where his caricatures of Egyptian President

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...

led to his dismissal. He also collaborated with a number of international media, such as ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'', ''

France Soir ''France Soir'' ( en, France Evening) was a French newspaper that prospered in physical format during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching a circulation of 1.5 million in the 1950s. It declined rapidly under various owners and was relaunched as a popul ...

'' and ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''. In 1972 he received two Said Akl Awards. In 1986, he was the first caricaturist in Lebanon to do his drawings on TV as part of the main evening newscast. He organized several exhibitions and is the author of four books. In 2012 he had to deal with a violent campaign against him because he had published a caricature of

Hassan Nasrallah Hassan Nasrallah ( ar, حسن نصر الله ; born 31 August 1960) is a Lebanese cleric and political leader who has served as the 3rd secretary-general of Hezbollah since his predecessor, Abbas al-Musawi, was assassinated by the Israel Def ...

, head of the Shiite group Hezbollah, in the daily newspaper ''

Al Joumhouria ''Al Joumhouria'' ( ar, الجمهورية, lit=The Republic) is a Lebanese daily newspaper founded in 1924. History After its founding in 1924, ''Al Joumhouria'' ceased publication for an extended period. At attempt at resuming in 1985 was not ...

''. In December the same year, President

Michel Suleiman Michel Suleiman ( ar, ميشال سليمان ; born 21 November 1948) is a Lebanese Maronite Christian politician who served as President of Lebanon from 2008 to 2014. Before becoming president, he served as commander of the Lebanese Armed Force ...

named him Commander of the

National Order of the Cedar National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. He had previously been named Knight of the same order by President

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 Officer by both President

Elias Hrawi Elias Hrawi ( ar, الياس الهراوي, 4 September 1926 – 7 July 2006) was president of Lebanon, whose term of office ran from 1989 to 1998. Early life and education Hrawi was born in Hawch Al Umara, Zahlé, to a wealthy landowning Maro ...

and former Prime Minister

Rafic Hariri Rafic Bahaa El Deen Al Hariri ( ar, رفيق بهاء الدين الحريري; 1 November 1944 – 14 February 2005) was a Lebanese business tycoon and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from ...

. He died at 75 at St. George Hospital in

Ashrafieh Achrafieh ( ar, الأشرفية) is an upper-class area in eastern Beirut, Lebanon. In strictly administrative terms, the name refers to a sector (''secteur'') centred on Sassine Square, the highest point in the city, as well as a broader quarter ...

after a long struggle with cancer on 24 April 2013.

Politics

Sadek was politically right-wing, advocating the traditional idea of Lebanon. Politicians he supported included, Raymond Edde,

Camille Chamoun Camille Nimr Chamoun OM, ONC ( ar, كميل نمر شمعون, ''Kamīl Sham'ūn''; 3 April 1900 – 7 August 1987) was a Lebanese politician who served as President of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958. He was one of the country's main Christi ...

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 Rafik Hariri, among others. He was against and highly critical of factions such as the Pan-Arab Nasserites, the PLO and the Syrian leadership, as well as their Lebanese allies during the civil war (1975–1990). He also criticized the Lebanese authorities, who allied with the Syrian regime to rule Lebanon under what has later become to be known as the "guardianship system". During recent years, however, Sadek focused on Hezbollah, insisting on drawing caricatures of Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, despite being threatened on Facebook over it. Nevertheless, his favorite subject in his last years was Hezbollah's ally, Gen.

Michel Aoun Michel Naim Aoun ( ar, ميشال نعيم عون ; born 30 September 1933) is a Lebanese politician and former military general who served as the President of Lebanon from 31 October 2016 until 30 October 2022. Born in Haret Hreik to a Mar ...

. Sadek never tired of depicting Aoun as an angry orange, in reference to the logo of Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement.

External links

Official website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadek, Pierre 1938 births 2013 deaths People from Zahle Lebanese cartoonists Lebanese caricaturists Lebanese editorial cartoonists Commanders of the National Order of the Cedar Deaths from cancer in Lebanon Lebanese Maronites