Soleimane Kabalan Beik Frangieh , (rear RTL سليمانفرنجية) also spelled Frangié , Franjieh , or Franjiyeh , (June 15th 1910 - July 23rd 1992, was president Lebanon of 1970 with 1976. Its presidency saw the beginning of the civil war, which made rage of 1975 with 1990, but also the beginning of the Syrian military occupation which lasted until the year 2005.

Education and first steps

Soleimane Frangié is resulting from a Lebanese big family, the family Frangié.

Frangié went to the school Of the Room to Tripoli, to the Saint-Joseph school with Zghorta, and to the Aintoura college in Kirswan, before passing its examinations to the university Jesuit of Beirut. It launched out then in the business of Import Export.

Frangié was briefly stopped in 1957 when it was implied in the murder of several members of a rival clan. He flees in Syria, where he acquires relations with Hafez el-Assad, which became later president of Syria. The loads against him are raised soon. He goes back to Lebanon only in 1960 to take the station of representative of Zghorta at the Parliament, thus taking the succession of his brother Hamid Beik Frangié who must give up the policy activates in October 1957, after having been victim of a brain hemorrhage.

Frangié was re-elected at the Parliament in 1964 and 1968. During its decade at the Parliament, it had many post of minister, post office telegraph and telephone, agriculture, interior, agriculture, justice, economy and public office.

The presidential election of 1970

During most secret and probably the most discussed presidential elections of the Lebanese history, the National Assembly elects Frangié with the presidency of the republic the August 17th 1970. It had its victory over Elias Sarkis with the change of attitude of last minute of the camp of Kamal Joumblatt, whose deputies voted for Frangié. Being posed as a candidate of the consensus, Frangié obtained the support as well right-hand side, left and of all the religious factions; nothing linked really its partisans put aside the promise to maintain a system semi-feudal which concentrated the capacity between the hands of chiefs of named local clans Zaiyms, system that much Zayims had a presentiment of in the process of change because of the reforms already made by Charles Helou and Fouad Chéhab, reforms that Sarkis had promised to continue. The victory of Frangié is also due for the use of the force: after the third result in ballotage 49/49, henchmen sent by the son of Frangié, Tony Frangié, forced the president of the Parliament (which by tradition abstained from) to use his vote in favor of Frangié.

The presidency of Frangié was largely corrupted, even according to the Lebanese one. It placed the men of its clan of Zghorta in the administration, even if they were not qualified. When it had to choose a Prime Minister, it posed as condition which his/her son has a wallet of minister.

Years of civil war

At the beginning of the civil war, Frangié maintained a private army, named Brigade Marada, under the command of his/her Tony son. It took part initially in the Lebanese Face, a movement of right-hand side, but at the beginning 1978 it deviated from this movement because of their tacit relations with Israel and of its own bonds with Syria. In June 1978 his/her Tony son is assassinated by militiamans of the Lebanese Phalange. Its influence was some limited thereafter.

Frangié remained an ally of Syria. It tried to make its return in 1988, but the National Assembly, which had tried to elect it, failed to join together the quorum, because of a boycott of Christian members of Parliament forced by the militia of the Lebanese Forces. He died the July 23rd 1992, two years after the end of the civil war.

Private life

Child of one of the principal families Maronite of Zghorta, beside Tripoli, Frangié was the second wire of Kabalan Soleimane Frangié, itself appointed at the Parliament, and of Lamia Raffoul. His/her grandfather, Kabalan Frangié, were governor of the district. Frangié had five children with his Egyptian wife , Iris Handaly . After his/her Hamid brother had been force to withdraw public life for health reasons, it succeeded this one with the head of the Frangié clan. Its grandson, Soleimane Frangié Jr was Minister of Interior Department of 2004 with 2005 and is seen like one of the political personalities most faithful to the Syrian mode.