[4] In 2000, Ghanem was elected to the Lebanese Parliament for Baabda constituency,[5][6] running on the list of Druze leader Walid Jumblat.
A member of the block of the "democratic meeting" Qornet Chehwan Gathering,[7] he enjoyed nevertheless a certain autonomy considering his membership of the Kataeb Party.
[10] The car-bomb that killed him along with at least six others, including his two bodyguards, one of whom is Antoine Daou,[8] exploded at a junction of a main street filled with rush hour traffic in the densely populated and mostly Christian neighborhood of Horsh Tabet in Sin el Fil.
[15] According to Al Seyassah's sources inside Syria, the assassination was performed by Syrian intelligence, who continuously monitored Ghanem's movements.
The agents rented two apartments, one near the residence of Ghanem in Qlei'at and the other near the crime scene in Sin el Fil.
The sources revealed that the killers left Lebanon immediately after the assassination, completely disguised as Syrian workers.