Lebanese leader Pierre Gemayel (1905-1984) founded the Lebanese Phalanges, a political and military force which he led for almost 50 years. The Phalangist Party, geared toward Lebanese Christians, focused on the need for a strong Lebanese state. Gemayel's sons both served as president of Lebanon.

Pierre Gemayel was born in 1905, in Bikfaya, a small town in the Northern Matn region of Mount Lebanon. He was a descendant of a family of local notables which in the first half of the 19th century had acquired the hereditary title of shaykh. He studied at the Jesuit St. Joseph University in Beirut, where he graduated with a degree in pharmacy from the French Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy.

During his studies and while practicing his profession he was strongly involved in athletics and especially football (soccer), for which he founded the Lebanese Football Federation. As a representative of this sport he was...