Georges Saadeh (Arabic: جورج سعاده) (November 21, 1930 – November 17, 1998) was a Lebanese politician. He was appointed as a minister in several governments and was the head of Kataeb party for twelve years.
Saadeh was born in Chabtine, a small village in the caza of Batroun. He was the third child of a poor Maronite family of six boys. His father was a cavalier in the Lebanese Interior Security Forces. He studied Arabic literature at the Lebanese Academy for Fine Arts and then graduated with a PhD from the Salamanca University in Spain.
He entered the Kataeb Party at the age of 15 and after his return from Spain he became Pierre Gemayel's advisor. Georges Saadeh became one of the Kataeb's most acclaimed orators. He was still an employee in the Lebanese Ministry of Education when the party asked him to run for the Batroun legislative election in 1968. That same year he won the elections and graduated from Law school.
He was an MP in Parliament Caza of Batroun from 1968 until 1992, when he boycotted the 1992 parliamentary elections. In 1986, Georges Saadeh became the head of the Kataeb Party after winning the elections over Dr Elie Karameh. He was supported by Pierre Gemayel's first camarades "the old guard" and by Samir Geagea's Lebanese Forces. He was head of the Kataeb Party from 1986 till his death in 1998 and head of the Lebanese Front after the death of the President of Lebanon H.E Camille Chamoun. He was the main collaborator of president elect H.E. Bashir Gemayel and he was elected to the second tour of the 1989 Presidential Elections.
He held several ministerial positions: Minister of planning government of Saeb Salam in 1972, Minister of transportation and public works government of Rachid El Solh 1974 and Minister of telecommunication government of Salim El Hoss in 1989, of Rachid Karami in 1990, of Rachid El Solh in 1990.
In 1989, Georges Saadeh became the Christian leader and supporter of the Taif Agreement. He was the subject of an attempted assassination by a car bomb in 1989 in Furn El Chebbak.
In 1998 he wrote his book My story with the Taif Agreement in which he decided to divulge the secrets of the controversial agreement today acclaimed. He didn't live to see the distribution of his book, he died of cancer on November 17, 1998. His elder son was in charge of the book's distribution.
Georges Saadeh, died at the age of 68 leaving behind a wife, Lily El Khazen and 3 children: Samer (now a member of Parliament representing the Kataeb Party parliamentarian bloc), Myra and Rami. His son Samer decided to pursue his political work.