Gebran Bassil

Gebran Gerge Bassil (Arabic: جبران جرجي باسيل; born 21 June 1970) is a Lebanese politician who is the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement since 2015 and leader of the Strong Lebanon bloc in the Lebanese parliament since 2018. A Maronite Christian, he is the son-in-law of former president Michel Aoun, and has been his most senior advisor since 2005.

Born in Batroun, Bassil joined the FPM, becoming a prominent activist in it. He ran in the general election of 2005 and 2009, and was appointed the Minister of Telecommunications in the First Cabinet of Saad Hariri. In 2011, Bassil and all ministers of the opposition announced their resignation, leading to the collapse of the government.

He subsequently held the position of Minister of Energy and Water between 2011 and 2014, as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants from 2014 to 2020. He won a parliamentary seat for Batroun district and the Maronite sect in the general election in 2018. He was highly targeted in the widespread Lebanese protests which began by the end of 2019.

Bassil remains a controversial figure in the country. He is accused of being corrupt, racist and allowing nepotism, and was labeled the "most hated man in Lebanon". These claims are denied by Bassil, stating that they are part of a wider character assassination plot. He was sanctioned by the United States under the Magnitsky Act.

In October 2024, Gebran Bassil claimed that the Free Patriotic Movement was no longer in alliance with Hezbollah.

Bassil was born into a Maronite Christian family. He received a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in civil engineering from the American University of Beirut in 1992 and 1993 respectively. He was a member of a number of associations: the Lebanese Red Cross and Rotary Club of Batroun, Lebanon.

Between the years of 1998 and 2005, Bassil was an activist in various positions in the Free Patriotic Movement. In 2005, he became a candidate in the general elections in the district of Batroun but did not succeed in being elected. From 2005 to 2008, Bassil was head of the Free Patriotic Movement.

He served as the Minister of telecommunications in the Lebanese cabinet led by Fouad Siniora from May 2008 to June 2009, and then as the minister of energy in the cabinet headed by Saad Hariri Bassil lost the general elections held in 2009.^{[clarification needed]}