Charles Helou

Charles Helou ( born September 25, 1913 in Beirut; † 7 January 2001) was a Lebanese politician.

He came from a distinguished family of politicians from Baabda Maronite and studied law and literature. He was first a journalist. He founded in 1936 by Pierre Gemayel and Georges Naccache the Kata'ib, which he left shortly afterwards with Naccache. He was of Lebanese ambassador to the Vatican (1947 ), and then Justice and Minister of Health ( 1954-1955 ) and Minister of Education (1964 ) and 1964-1970 Lebanese president.

As president, he represented a continuation of the reform and compensation policy of Chehabismus, but increasingly met with resistance. During his tenure, the Cairo Agreement was November 3, 1969 which justified the sovereignty of the PLO militias in Palestinian refugee camps on Lebanese soil. This was one of the reasons that led to the Lebanese civil war. After his presidency, he was Chairman of the International Association of French-speaking Parliamentarians ( 1972-1979 ).