Lebanon’s Prospects for Leadership, Reform, and Change: A Conversation with Samir Geagea

Nearly eight months after the conclusion of Lebanon's last presidential term, the post remains empty. The situation has left the government without effective leadership to address enormous challenges, including systemic economic collapse, deep-seated corruption, and ongoing fallout from the Beirut port explosion—all within the context of Hezbollah’s tight political and military control of the country.

Discussing the presidential vacancy and the prospects for reform and change in Lebanon, The Washington Institute held a virtual Policy Forum on June 20, 2023 with Samir Geagea, in conversation with Institute experts Robert Satloff, David Schenker, and Hanin Ghaddar.

Samir Geagea is the leader of the Lebanese Forces party, one of the country’s most important and influential political factions. A consistent and pointed critic of Hezbollah, Iran, and Syria’s Assad regime, he was the only major Lebanese figure to serve time in prison after the country’s long civil war, spending eleven years in solitary confinement. Freed following Syria’s 2005 withdrawal from Lebanon, he returned to lead his current party, which now has the largest contingent in parliament.