Kataeb Party

The Kataeb Party, officially the Kataeb Party – Lebanese Social Democratic Party (Arabic: حزب الكتائب اللبنانية - الحزب الديمقراطي الاجتماعي اللبناني Ḥizb al-Katā'ib al-Lubnānīya), also known as the Phalanges, is a right-wing Christian political party in Lebanon founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936. The party and its paramilitary wings played a major role in the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), opposing Palestinian forces in the country as well as collaborating with Israel. Pierre's youngest son Bachir, the leader of the party's militia, was elected President in 1982, but was assassinated before he could take office. He was succeeded by his older brother Amine, who led the party through much of the war. In decline in the late 1980s and 1990s, the party slowly re-emerged in the early 2000s and is currently part of the Lebanese opposition. The party currently holds 4 out of the 128 seats in the Lebanese Parliament.