Former MP and National Liberal Party (NLP) leader Dory Chamoun passed away on Monday at the age of 95, after a decades-long political career marked by his opposition to Syrian tutelage in Lebanon and his commitment to the country’s sovereignty.

Chamoun, born in Deir al-Qamar in 1931, was the son of former President Camille Chamoun, who founded the National Liberal Party. He headed the party for more than three decades and served as an MP representing the Chouf district from 2009 to 2018. He was also mayor of Deir al-Qamar from 1998 to 2008.

His political career was closely associated with the National Liberal Party and Lebanon’s sovereignty camp, as he sought to preserve the legacy of his father and the principles of the Chamounist political school.

Chamoun took over the leadership of the party after the assassination of his brother Dany in 1990. He remained at the helm until 2021, when he handed the leadership to his son, Camille Dory Chamoun.

A staunch opponent of Syria’s military and political presence in Lebanon, Chamoun boycotted the parliamentary elections held in the 1990s. He later helped establish the Qornet Shehwan Gathering, a Christian opposition group that opposed Syrian tutelage, and joined the March 14 alliance in 2005 following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The National Liberal Party mourned Chamoun as a leading figure in Lebanon’s struggle for national sovereignty, describing him as a man of “firm principles and courageous positions.”

“He leaves us today after a long political and national career that remained closely tied to the party and the sovereignty camp until his final days,” the party said in a statement.

The party said Chamoun had carried on the legacy of his father, the party’s founder, and continued the path of his brother Dany, dedicating his life to defending the principles of the Chamounist school, Lebanon’s independence and dignity, and its right to make its own sovereign decisions in the face of all forms of tutelage and subordination.

It praised his leadership of the party through decades of major political upheaval, saying he had been “an honest voice and a faithful representative” of his community and country both as mayor of Deir al-Qamar and as a member of parliament for the Chouf district.

The party offered its condolences to Chamoun’s family, particularly his son, MP and current party leader Camille Dory Chamoun, as well as to his supporters and political allies in Lebanon and abroad.

It pledged to continue his political path in defense of the republic, freedom and sovereignty, concluding its statement with the slogan: “Long live Lebanon, free, sovereign and independent.”

Kataeb Party leader Samy Gemayel also mourned Chamoun, noting that he died on the anniversary of the assassination of Bashir Gemayel, who was killed on September 14, 1982.

“Dory Chamoun passed away on the anniversary of Bashir Gemayel’s death, as if it were not a coincidence but a destined reunion between the Kataeb and the NLP around their shared principles: a free, sovereign and independent Lebanon, and the dignity of its people,” Gemayel wrote on X.

“We extend our condolences to his family and loved ones, and we will remember a national career that never once compromised on Lebanon,” he added.