Fierce Hezbollah opponent Samy Gemayel elected to global centrist leadership

Lebanese lawmaker Samy Gemayel, head of the Kataëb Party, has been elected Vice-President of the Executive Council of the International Alliance of Centrist Democrats, according to a statement released Monday by Lebanon’s National News Agency.

Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Brussels, the Alliance describes itself as “the largest international political organization bringing together centrist and center-right parties committed to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.”

Former Colombian President Andrés Pastrana Arango was re-elected to chair the Executive Council, which includes several vice-presidents representing different global regions.

Often referred to in English as the Phalange Party, the Kataëb is one of Lebanon’s oldest political movements. Established in 1936, it is a Christian, center-right party that has shaped Lebanese politics for nearly a century.

The party advocates for a strong and fully sovereign Lebanese state, democratic institutions, decentralization, and the protection of civil liberties.

In recent years, the Kataëb has also positioned itself as one of the most outspoken opponents of Hezbollah.

The party argues that Hezbollah’s armed wing undermines Lebanese sovereignty and the authority of state institutions, and it has repeatedly called, both domestically and on the international stage, for the disarmament of all non-state armed groups, including Hezbollah.

Under Samy Gemayel’s leadership, the Kataëb has rebranded itself as a reformist opposition party, consistently denouncing corruption, political paralysis and entrenched patronage networks. The party has pushed for structural political reforms and the renewal of Lebanon’s institutions amid the country’s deepening crisis.