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Lebanese politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ahmad El-Assaad or Ahmad Al-As'ad (Arabic: أحمد الأسعد) (1902 – 16 March 1961)[1] was Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament from 5 June 1951, till 30 May 1953.[2][3]
Ahmed Abdel Latif Asaad | |
---|---|
أحمد الأسعد | |
3rd Legislative Speaker of Lebanon | |
In office 5 June 1951 – 13 August 1953 | |
Preceded by | Sabri Hamadeh |
Succeeded by | Adel Osseiran |
Personal details | |
Born | 1902 |
Died | 16 March 1961 |
Children | Kamel Asaad |
El-Assaad was the scion of a Shia feudal dynasty, which was established by Ali Al-Saghir in the 17th century after the execution of the Druze leader Fakhreddine II by the Ottoman leadership.[4] The El-Assaad-clan of the Ali Al-Saghir-family went on to dominate the area of Jabal Amel (modern-day Southern Lebanon) for almost three centuries,[5] with their base originally in Tayibe, Marjeyoun District.
When the 1858 Ottoman Land reforms led to the accumulated ownership of large tracts of land by a few families upon the expense of the peasants, the Al-As'ad descendants of the rural Ali al-Saghir dynasty expanded their fief holdings as the provincial leaders in Jabal Amel.[6]
During the French colonial ruler over Greater Lebanon (1920-1943) the mandatory regime gave Shiite feudal families like al-As'ad
"a free hand in enlarging their personal fortunes and reinforcing their clannish powers."[7]
He was the defense minister in the cabinet of Abdul Hamid Karami from January to August 1945.[8]
When President Camille Chamoun introduced a new electoral system in 1957, El-Assaad for the first time lost the vote for deputy. He had presented his candidacy in Tyre, the stronghold of his Shia rival Kazem al-Khalil, rather than in his traditional home constituency of Bint-Jbeil.[9]
As a consequence, al-Asaad became a "major instigator of events against Chamoun" and his allies, primarily al-Khalil,[5] who likewise was a long-time member of parliament and the scion of a family of large landowners ("zu'ama") ruling through patronage systems:[10]
"The Khalils, with their age-old ways, [..] were known for being particularly rough and hard."[11]
During the 1958 crisis, Kazem al-Khalil was the only Shi'ite minister in the cabinet of Sami as-Sulh, to whose family the al-Khalil feudal dynasty was traditionally allied. Thus,
"Kazim's followers had a free hand in Tyre; they could carry Guns on the streets".[5]
Then, after the formation of the United Arab Republic (UAR) under Gamal Abdel Nasser in February 1958, tensions escalated in Tyre between the forces of Chamoun and supporters of Pan-Arabism. Demonstrations took place – as in Beirut and other cities – that promoted pro-union slogans and protested against US foreign policy.[12] A US-Diplomat, who travelled to Southern Lebanon shortly afterwards, reported though that the clashes were more related to the personal feud between El-Assaad and Al-Khalil than to national politics.[9]
Still in February, five of its students were arrested and "sent to jail for trampling on the Lebanese flag and replacing it with that of the UAR."[13][9] On 28 March, soldiers and followers of Kazem al-Khalil opened fire on demonstrators and – according to some reports – killed three.[5] On the second of April, four[14] or five protestors were killed and about a dozen injured.[12]
In May, the insurgents in Tyre gained the upper hand.[15] Ahmad al-As'ad[5] and his son Kamel al-Asaad supported them, also with weapons.[16] According to a general delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) who visited in late July, "heavy fighting went on for 16 days".[17] Kazem al-Khalil was expelled from the city and al-Asaad' allies took over control of the city. The crisis eventually dissolved in September, when Chamoun stepped down. Al-Khalil returned still in 1958, but was attacked several times by gunmen.[5]
Despite the victory of the al-As'ad dynasty, its power soon began to crumble.
His son Kamel El-Assaad (1932–2010), was speaker for three terms. The scions of its al-As'ad clan have continued to play a political role even into the 21st century, though of lately a rather peripheral one.[18]