Karim Pakradouni ( ar, كريم بقرادوني hy, Քերիմ Բագրատունի) (born 18 August 1944) is a Lebanese attorney and politician of Armenian origin. He was influential in

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 ...

heading it for some period. He was also influential in the

Lebanese Forces The Lebanese Forces ( ar, القوات اللبنانية '')'' is a Lebanon, Lebanese Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-based political party and Lebanese Forces (militia), former militia during the Lebanese Civil War. It currently holds 19 o ...

in various critical phases of the LF. He was also minister of state in a

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 ...

government in 2004.

Early life and education

Pakradouni was born in the Armenian district of

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, Bourj Hammoud, on 18 August 1944 to an

Armenian Orthodox , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

father Minas Pakradounian and Maronite Catholic mother, Lour Shallita from Qartaba. His father, Minas Pakradounian, left the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

in 1920 and settled in

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

Ottoman Syria Ottoman Syria ( ar, سوريا العثمانية) refers to divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of Syria, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and sout ...

. Several years later, he moved to Lebanon where he married Shallita. Pakradouni has no familial ties to the traditional political elite in

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 the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

. Pakradouni received his secondary education at Collège Notre Dame de Jamhour in the suburbs east of Beirut in the Baabda district. He became politically active as a teenager, joining the Christian nationalist

(Phalange party) in 1959. He continued his education at the Lebanese French

Saint Joseph University Saint Joseph University of Beirut (French: ''Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth'', abbreviated to and commonly known as "USJ") is a private Catholic research university located in Beirut, Lebanon, which was founded in 1875 by French Jesuit mis ...

(Université de St. Joseph / USJ), studying law, history and political science, and graduated in 1968.

Political career

Pakradouni has been a leading figure in the

since 1968 when he was elected president of the party's student organization. Salem Abdelnour who was his spouse's uncle provided him with the financial security to forgo a career and concentrate on his political aspirations. True to his Arabist tendencies, he developed close ties with the PLO and famously led a Kataeb student delegation to Jordan to meet with

Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...

in 1969. He was elected to the Kataeb party's political bureau in 1970 and remained in the party's top echelon, leading the so-called "Arabist" faction of the Kataeb Party (Phalange), which favored close ties with

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. During the reign of Lebanese President

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 holy ...

in the 1970s, he was assigned as political advisor to the president. Pakradouni was also a leading figure in the

. After

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 ...

tried to unite Christian military forces under the title of the Lebanese Forces, Pakradouni joined in. He was also part of the consultative team of Gemayel entrusted with the presidency's pan-Arab relations when Gemayel was elected President of the Republic. Gemayel was assassinated prior to his inauguration as president. Pakradouni remained an influential figure during the Lebanese Forces head Elie Hobeika's reign after many revolted against the earlier chief of the LF Fouad Abou Nader and excluded Abou Nader from power. However, in a later internal feud in the Lebanese Forces led by

Samir Geagea Samir Farid Geagea ( ar, سمير فريد جعجع Lebanese pron.: , also spelled Samir Ja'ja'; born 25 October 1952) is a Lebanese politician and militia commander who has been leading the Lebanese Forces party and dissolved militia ...

to remove Hobeika from power, Pakradouni squarely sided with Geagea against Hobeika who escaped to Syrian-controlled area. In 1994, after the pro-Syrian Lebanese government ordered the dissolution of the LF and arrest of Samir Geagea on 21 April 1994, Pakradouni was sidelined and later on returned to the Kataeb Party. On 4 October 2001, he was elected president of the

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 lat ...

party, in a bid to unite the party divided between various factions prior to his ascendancy to the top position in the party. However throughout his tenure during the

Syrian occupation of Lebanon The Syrian occupation of Lebanon ( ar, الاحتلال السوري للبنان, french: Occupation syrienne du Liban) began in 1976, during the Lebanese Civil War, and ended on 30 April 2005 after the Cedar Revolution and several demonstrat ...

, pro-Syrian party members were promoted and anti-Syrian members were intimidated or ejected. In 2004, he was appointed minister of state for administrative development to the cabinet led by

. Until December 2007, he was the hands-on leader of the Kataeb party, while former Lebanese president

Amin 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 ...

was the "higher leader." Pakradouni resigned from office in 2007 and in February 2008, Gemayel became the sole leader.

Personal life

In 1968, Pakradouni married Mona al Nashif, the niece of former member of the Lebanese Parliament, businesswoman and philanthropist Salem Abdelnour. He has two sons: Jihad, who is a current MP, and Jawad.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pakradouni, Karim 1944 births Living people Ethnic Armenian lawyers Lebanese people of Armenian descent Politicians from Beirut Kataeb Party politicians Lebanese Forces politicians Saint Joseph University alumni Lebanese lawyers