The Helf Alliance or Tripartite Alliance (; ''Al-Hilf al-thulathi''), was a right-wing coalition formed in 1968 by the big three mainly

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

parties in Lebanon: The

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 ...

Kataeb 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 la ...

, the National Liberal Party of former President

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 ...

, and National Bloc of

Raymond Eddé Raymond Eddé ( ar, ريمون إدّه; 15 March 1913 – 10 May 2000) was a Lebanese Maronite statesman who served his country for many years as a legislator and cabinet minister. He led the Lebanese National Bloc, an influential political p ...

. The

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

called for a Lebanese Nationalism as Regional and internal tensions rise, and as relations with PLO spoils. It was also seen as a counter-force against the Arabist line incarnated during his mandate by President

Fuad Chehab Fouad Abdullah Chehab ( ar, فُؤادْ عبد الله شِهاب; 19 March 1902 – 25 April 1973) was a Lebanese general and statesman who served as President of Lebanon from 1958 to 1964. He is considered to be the founder of the Lebanes ...

. The alliance well-performed in 1968 Parliamentary elections winning 30 seats in the 99 member

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

- the best result until 2005 elections for any organized electoral force in Lebanon's notoriously fractured legislature. In 1969, the National Bloc left the alliance over a disagreement about the Cairo Agreement. The Kataeb and the NLP, still close allies, went on to form the

Lebanese Front The Lebanese Front ( ar, الجبهة اللبنانية, ''al-Jabha al-Lubnaniyya'') or ''Front Libanais'' in French, was a coalition of mainly Lebanese Nationalist parties formed in 1976 by majority Christian intellectuals during the Leban ...

in 1976 while expanding their Christian canton amidst the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

Formation

The idea of the alliance came at a meeting on March 23, 1967 at the home of the secretary-general of the National Liberal Party,

Kazem al-Khalil Kazem Ismail al-Khalil (born 1901 in the Lebanese port town of Tyre/Sour, then part of the Ottoman Empire; died on 22 April 1990 in Paris at the age of 89) - commonly known as Kazem al-Khalil or Kazem el-Khalil, also transliterated Kazim from the ...

, and was officially announced on February 22, 1968 prior to the Lebanese parliamentary elections scheduled for the following March 24. It was agreed that, amongst the three parties, they hold responsibilities; which include: * 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 ...

, headed by Pierre Gemayel, chooses the alliance's candidates in the Beirut I electoral District. * The National Liberal Party (NLP) chooses the alliance's candidates in the Chouf district, headed by

. * The National Bloc party chooses the alliance's candidates in the

Byblos district Byblos District ( ar, قضاء جبيل; transliteration: ''Qadaa' Jbeil''), also called the Jbeil District (''Jbeil'' is Lebanese Arabic for "Byblos"; standard Arabic ''Jubail''), is a district ('' qadaa'') of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of L ...

, headed by Raymond Edde.

References

Defunct political party alliances in Lebanon Lebanese nationalism {{Lebanon-party-stub Kataeb Party