Adil Osseiran
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Adil Osseiran (عادل عسيران)was a prominent Lebanese politician, former speaker of parliament and a national hero of independence. Born in Saida on 5 June 1905 to Abdallah Ali Osseiran and Zahra El-Hajj Osseiran, as their only son. The Osseirans were a respected and large family in the south of Lebanon.
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[edit] Early years
His early school years began at the French Orthodox Elementary school, commonly known as the Freres, he then completed his secondary education at the International College in Beirut. Next, he enrolled at the Syrian Protestant College (later to become the American University of Beirut) and graduated in 1928 with a bachelor degree in Politics and History. In 1936 he wed Souad El-Hajj Ismail Al-Khalil and together had seven children: Zahra, Afaf, Samia, the late Abdallah, Member of Parliament Ali, Zeina and Leila. Osseiran returned to his Alma Matter and obtained a Masters of Arts in Politics in 1937. He was voted head of American University of Beirut Alumni Association between 1957 and 1959.
[edit] Political Life
Osseiran began his political career in 1928 when he, alongside a group of dignitaries from South Lebanon, requested the French mandate to cancel the tax on agricultural land as well as other injustices the colonial french had instated. He remained active on the political scene and was arrested in 1936 after delivering a speech in the city of Nabatieh in which he condemned the French colonialism of Lebanon and stood up for the right of the farmers to cultivate tobacco freely and with no restriction. He was then brought to court by the French government and assigned a lawyer, yet he refused any council and stated his argument in person, courageously attacking the invasion of civil liberties by the French. The same year,he founded the Arab Youth Party which called for the unity of Lebanon's youth under the banner of modern education, civil service, and fortifying national unity.
In 1937 he ran for public office for the first time, and proposed the first parliamentary platform in the history of Lebanon. He was however opposed strongly by the French and their supporters in parliament, which eventually caused his motion to be rejected, and his loss in the upcoming elections.
1943 saw Osseiran's first wining bid for the Lebanese parliament, as he was elected among the parliamentary representatives of South Lebanon, and alongside Bechara El-Khoury, Riad El-Solh, Kamil Chamoun and others, formed the core of the Lebanese Independence Movement.
This was the beginning of a long career as member of parliament, and he was elected again in 1953, 1957, 1960, but lost in the infamous 1964 elections that saw many prominent Lebanese politicians lose as well. He was re-elected to parliament in 1968 and remained in post until his retirement from politics in 1992.
[edit] Independence Movement
1943 was a crucial year in Lebanon's history. Osseiran was a member of the first independent cabinet that was formed by Riad el Solh in 1943 which was made up of six ministers. He occupied the ministry of communications and commerce. Under the leadership of Bechara El-Khoury and Riad El-Solh, the Lebanese parliament denounced the French mandate, and removed the claim of legitimacy that the french mandate had implemented in the constitution. As a reaction to these events, the French mandate arrested El-Khoury, El-Solh, alongside Osseiran and Abdul Hamid Karami (among others) and imprisoned them in the Rachaya castle. For eleven days, the country was outraged and a series of riots and demonstrations ensued, until the release of the prisoners on the 22nd of November 1943, which became Lebanon's Independence day. Adel Osseiran was the first to raise the new Lebanese flag on the municipality of Saida.
[edit] Milestones
In 1947 Osseiran was chosen by the Lebanese government to mediate with the Iranian government based on a request from the higher Arab commission to support the Palestinian cause in the newly formed United Nations. He was also chosen to be the mediator with the Saudi Royal government to solve the pending problem of Iranian pilgrims to Mecca. The same year he was appointed, alongside Camille Chamoun and Abdallah El-Yafi, to the Lebanese delegation to the UN that voted against the division of Palestine.
In 1983 he participated in the Geneva convention for peace and compromise in Lebanon, and he was the first to propose giving free reign the resistance against Israel. In 1984 he participated in the convention of Louzanne for Lebanese national dialogue, where he called for the elimination of sectarian politics in Lebanon once and for all, in particular to the three presidencies : speaker of parliament, prime minister and President of the Republic and he insisted on supporting the resistance against Israeli occupation of the South of Lebanon; considering it to be the only feasible alternative to a peace agreement with Israel. In 1989 he participated in the Tunisia convention for the Six Nation Arab Commision for the purpose of peace in Lebanon. His last major contribution came that year in the national reconcilliation agreement of Lebanon, held in the Ta'ef Heights in Saudi Arabia, that brought an end to the Lebanese Civil War.
[edit] Speaker of House of Parliament
Adel Osseiran was voted speaker of the Lebanese House of Parliament on August 13,1953 and held the post until October 15th, 1959 . He had a significant role in ending the riots of 1958 and the voting of Gen. Brigadier Fouad Chehab as the 3rd President of the Lebanese Republic.
[edit] Minister of the Lebanese government
Osseiran occupied several ministries in his political career. He was minister of interior in the government of Rashid Karami between November 1968 and September 1969. He was the minister of justice between 1969-1970 and returned as minister of justice in the government of Rashid el Solh between October 1974 until May 15th, 1975. He occupied the ministries of justice, commerce and public affairs in Rashid Karami's six-man cabinet from 30th june 1975 until the 9th of december 1976 and after the amendment of 16 july 1976 he returned as minister of justice, education , tourism and urban planning. He supported the Lebanese resistance against the first Israeli invasion in 1978 calling upon all Lebanese to join it, especially after the 1982 invasion. He was minister of defense and agriculture in Rashid Karami's third government, then in Salim el Hoss's government between the years 1984 and 1989 respectively.
[edit] Legacy
During his lengthy political career he was notorious for being of independent thought, courageous ideas, as well as sound political judgment. The period of French mandate showed his intense patriotism and passion for public affairs. While he was speaker of the house he focused on several issues most notably in education and the Litany River project. Throughout the civil war he maintained the same stance that the sectarian violence must come to an end. He struggled with the concept of national unity, trying his best to restore some level of cohesion within the Lebanese society. He was never one for personal gains, thus he trusted in the concept of Lebanon to such a great extent. He created several institutions in the south of Lebanon. During the 1950s he started an orphanage in his hometown of Saida. In 1969 he built an agricultural school in the village of Shoukine, which was subsequently destroyed during the Israeli invasions and then rebuilt in recent years. His main passion was agriculture, a passion he devoted much time and energy to not only as a farmer himself but also in the struggles the farmers faced. Hope and hard work were his most prominent features, he always believed that the situation could get better. That hope which he felt during several dark periods of Lebanon's history was what kept him from giving up; he always thought that with enough hard work the situation could improve.
Adel Osseiran retired from politics in 1992 and retreated to his hometown of Saida, until his death in 1998, aged 93. He was commemorated by the Lebanese government as a national hero, and given a formal burial.
[edit] References
- "Adel Osseiran 1905-1998: The patriot" - Biography , Dar Al-Nahar 2001
- Lebanese Parliament Website - http://www.lp.gov.lb
