Collection code: CAL 2015 / 1
Collection title: Adonis Joseph Nehmé Archives Collection
Biographical note
Adonis Joseph Nehmé
Adonis Nehmé was born in Baabda on 29 April 1943 to a family from Deir el-Qamar. He is married to Mrs. Aline Yacoub Arslanian and has five daughters. He went to elementary and secondary school at La Sainte Famille Française in Baabda, and then to the Ecole du Bon Pasteur in Ashrafieh.
Accepted in the military school on October 18, 1965 as an officer cadet, he was sent a year later to the military school of the Air Force at the Salon de Provence in France to specialize as an Air Force Officer. He was appointed second lieutenant in 1968.
Affiliated with the telecommunications school in Paris, he obtained the title of telecommunications engineer in 1973 followed in 1975 by a PhD in engineering from the University of Lyon - France.
In 1976 he was appointed chief of staff of the fifth division.
In 1977 he was assigned an official mission at the Lebanese Embassy in the United States of America to ensure that the formalities were carried out smoothly at the military attaché’s office near the embassy.
In 1980-1981 he studied Science in Action at the Auguste Comte Institute, Paris, France.
In 1983 he was transferred to the military cabinet of the Ministry of National Defense as secretary of the cabinet and then to the logistics brigade as Director of the Organization office and the Directorate of Material. During the same year he was appointed commander of staff of the same brigade.
In 1984 he was transferred to the Intelligence Directorate and in 1990 he was appointed Chargé d'Affaires of the Lebanese military attaché in France before being appointed in 1994 to the army headquarters for equipment as Director of Geographic Affairs.
In 1997 he was appointed commander of the medical brigade.
Finally, he was transferred to the General Directorate of the Presidency of the Republic during the mandate of the President General Emile Lahoud. He was in charge of the accomplishment of the missions entrusted to him by His Excellency the President. He remained in that status until 2007, first in his military capacity and then in his civil capacity after his retirement on 10 April 2001.
After leaving his official function in 2001, he was oriented towards the scientific and intellectual fields. He wrote memoirs on his military and public life.
Joseph Nehmé
Born in Deir el -Qamar in 1910, he studied in his native village at the school Les Sœurs de Saint Joseph de l’Apparition, then at the Maronite school Mar Abda. Then he went to the school Les Frères Maristes and finished at the Greek-Catholic Patriarchal College.
Entering the Lebanese gendarmerie in 1928, he served as a translator and accompanist for the French military mission charged by the mandatory authorities to organize the gendarmerie. He remained in office until the end of the mandate.
He was author of several historical, literary, social, political and theological articles published in major newspapers. He participated in the writing of the book series Connais le Liban (I'raf Loubnan) by Afif Merhej, focusing on his native village Deir el-Qamar.
He was one of the founders of the Military Heritage Museum of all Lebanese military services, and of the Daou family league to whom the Nehmé family belongs.
In 1970, he was the initiator of the commemoration of Fakhreddine II Maan, for the fortieth centenary of his birth, and the erected statues in his honor.
His name is quoted by the Universal Larousse among the world's authors of the folk history of Lebanon.
Among his published books and manuscript: an abridgment of the history of the Lebanese gendarmerie, stories of the Lebanese flag from the Phoenicians to the present day. He died in 1994.
Collection description
This collection Adonis Joseph Nehme includes is a set of documents of different kinds including:
- Papers: personal, miscellaneous, correspondence
- Pictures: personal photos, photos with different personalities, family photos, Lebanese war
- Video: the Lebanese war
- Maps
Type
Family, Political, and Geographical.
Material importance
The archive of military manAdonis Joseph Nehmé is a family, political archive. This archival collection makes it possible to retrace the life the Nehmé family. It also includes numerous maps, aerial photographs and historical manuscripts related to Lebanon.
Languages used
Arabic, French, English
Dates range
1850 - 2017