Free Patriotic Movement

The Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) was founded in 1994 by General Michel Aoun, a former Commander of the Lebanese Army in the 1980s and interim Prime Minister (1988-1990). General Aoun at the time rejected the 1989 Taif agreement and was defeated on October 13, 1990 by the Syrian forces, and forced to leave Lebanon. His exile in France ended in 2005 when he returned to Lebanon following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and the withdrawal of the Syrian Army. Since 2005, FPM has become one of the largest parliamentary blocs, with a strong popularity in the Christian community. In 2006, FPM formed an alliance with Hezbollah and moved closer to pro-Syrian regime stances after nearly 15 years of staunch opposition to the Damascus authorities. Michel Aoun was elected President of the Republic in October 2016 for a six-year term. His party is currently led by his son-in-law MP Gebran Bassil, who had previously served as Lebanon’s Foreign Minister. FPM and its allies won 29 seats in the 2018 parliamentary election, making it the largest bloc in Parliament. However, its seats in parliament were reduced from 29 to 17 in the 2022 general elections, particularly as it became antagonized during the October 17, 2019 popular uprising. FPM controls a network of media outlets: Tayyar.org directly, OTV through Michel Aoun’s family and close advisors, and Sawt Al-Mada through MP Elias Bou Saab and former FPM minister Pierre Raffoul.