Geneviève Gemayel

Geneviève Gemayel (; January 23, 1908 – March 22, 2003) was a Lebanese political figure, pilot and artist. She is remembered for the role she played in Lebanese affairs as the wife of Pierre Gemayel, the founder and leader of the Kataeb Party, and as the mother of Bachir Gemayel and Amine Gemayel, both of whom were elected Presidents of Lebanon.

Biography Born in Mansoura, Egypt, on 23 January 1908, Geneviève Gemayel was the daughter of the Lebanese cotton and tobacco businessman Elias Kange Gemayel. Her large family with their 12 children moved between Mansoura, Cairo and Bikfaya, a suburb of Beirut, where they spent the summers in the family home. She was educated in a Roman Catholic school in Mansoura where she excelled in both mathematics and craftsmanship. She was also keen on piano playing, photography, and art, learning to paint under César Gemayel, a leading Lebanese painter. She became a talented painter, exhibiting her work in Egyptian shows and receiving an award from King Fuad.