Collection code: CAL 2015 / 7
Collection title: Camile Chamoun Archive Collection
Biographical note
Camile Chamoun was born on April 3, 1900 in Deir-el-Qamar. He studied at the School des Frères Maristes in Beirut and then at the Jesuit Institute, where he obtained a degree in law in 1923. On the 30th of December 1930, he married Zalfa Tabet and had two sons: Dany and Dory.
With Majid Arslan, Hamid Franjieh, Michel Zoukour, Sabri Hamadeh, Salim Takla, and Bechara El Khoury, he founded the Constitutional Party. He was elected deputy for the first time in 1934 and was appointed Minister of Finance at the time of President Émile Éddé.
With the election of Bechara El Khoury as President of the Republic, he was appointed Minister of the Interior, Posts and Telegraph. He was arrested by the French on the night of October 10-11, 1943, with the great figures of the independence movement at Rachaya Castle.
On September 23, 1952, he was elected President of the Republic following the general strike which led to the end of the El-Khoury mandate. After his presidency in 1958, Chamoun founded the National Liberal Party. During his tenure, Chamoun did great things for the country which experienced during that period economic prosperity, wealth and stability.
He gave women the right to vote for the first time in the history of Lebanon and tried his best to carry out administrative reform, start construction and development projects, guarantee the autonomy of the judiciary political influences and strengthen the freedom of the Lebanese press. He died on August 7, 1987, at the age of 87 years. His son Dany replaced him as the head of the party until his assassination in 1990. His second son Dory took the place of Dany.
Collection description
The collection of Camile Chamoun includes:
- Papers: personal, miscellaneous, correspondence
- Photos: personal photos, photos with different personalities, family photos
Type
Political
Material importance
The archive of former president and politician Camile Chamoun (politician) is a political archive. This archive makes it possible to retrace the life of Camile Chamoun from his childhood and passing through his presidential and political life.
Languages used
Arabic, French, English.
Dates range
1900 - 2000