Charles Helou
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His Excellency Charles Helou OM, ONC |
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|---|---|
 |
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| 4th President of Lebanon | |
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In office 23 September 1964 – 22 September 1970 |
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| Prime Minister |
Hussein Al Oweini, Rashid Karami, Abdallah El-Yafi |
| Preceded by | Fuad Chehab |
| Succeeded by | Suleiman Frangieh |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
25 September 1913 Beirut, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 7 January 2001 (aged 87) Beirut, Lebanon |
| Nationality | Lebanese |
| Political party | Kataeb Party |
| Alma mater | Saint Joseph University |
| Profession | Diplomat, politician |
| Religion | Maronite Church |
Charles Helou (Arabic: شارل الحلو) (25 September 1913 – 7 January 2001) was President of Lebanon from 1964 to 1970.
Born in Beirut on 25 September 1913, Helou was the scion of a powerful Maronite family from Baabda. He graduated with honours from St. Joseph's University in Beirut in 1929, and went on to complete a Law degree in 1934. Helou was a successful businessman and founded the French language newspaper L'Eclair du Nord. He was also at one time the political editor of Le Jour a French daily newspaper owned by his close friend Michel Chiha. In 1936, he made his first foray into politics, when he joined with Pierre Gemayel and three others in launching the Kataeb (Phalangist) Party. Differences with Gemayel later led Helou to quit the party, however.
Helou's first governmental appointment was as ambassador to the Vatican in 1947. In 1949 he took part in the Israel/Lebanese armistice negotiations where Israel tried to gain diplomatic concessions in exchange for the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese Sovereign territory. He later served in the Cabinet as minister of justice and health (1954–1955) and as minister of education (1964). Initially Helou's lack of political affiliation gave him the appearance of a leader able to unite Lebanon and he was chosen to succeed Fuad Chehab as President by the National Assembly in 1964.
The alliance between Chehab and Lebanese prime minister Rashid Karami, a staunch Arab nationalist, soon left Karami in effective control of the Lebanese government. Helou founded and launched the Institute for Palestine Studies in 1963. The most pressing issue that was first to cause problems for Helou was the Israeli diversion of the Jordan river.
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