Élias Sarkis[a] Chehabist Amine Gemayel Kataeb Member State of the Arab League Lebanon portal An indirect presidential election was held in the Parliament of Lebanon on 21 September 1982, resulting in Kataeb politician Amine Gemayel being elected President of the Lebanese Republic.

During the invasion, the Israelis wanted the Lebanese Forces to assist the Israeli Army militarily by fighting the PLO and allied groups in West Beirut; however, Gemayel refused, stating that his forces would not assist an invading army.

[11] With foreign armies occupying two-thirds of the country (Syria in the north and east, Israel in the south), and private armies independent of government control occupying most of the rest, Gemayel's government lacked any real power.

His efforts to reach a peace settlement with Israel were stymied by Syria and by Muslim politicians at home.

Many criticized Gemayel for not moving decisively enough to assert the authority of the government, but others have pointed out that with most of the country under foreign occupation, there was little that he could do.