[8] More specifically, he was believed to be responsible for killing around 700 people, 20 of them Christians shot to death during a requiem mass in the north Lebanese town of Miziara.

He owed his upset victory over Elias Sarkis, the official candidate of the Chehabi regime to a last minute change of mind by Kamal Jumblatt, whose supporters in the Parliament switched their votes to Frangieh.

[citation needed] Posing as a consensus candidate, Frangieh drew support from both the right and the left and from all religious factions; his election was a backlash to the administrations of Presidents of Fuad Chehab (1958–1964) and Charles Helou (1964–1970) and the "Deuxième Bureau" (Arabic: المكتب الثاني) run by the preceding two administrations of Chehab and Helou, as the opposing candidate Elias Sarkis who was head of the Banque du Liban (Central Bank of Lebanon) was widely seen as a continuation of the earlier Chehabi regime.

[15] Frangieh as the Lebanese President declared the Constitutional Document on 14 February 1976 that was the first serious initiative to end the conflict and reach a consensus.

[15] The document empowered prime minister and suggested a "parity between Christians and Muslims in Parliament", reducing the power of Maronites.

[15] In March 1976, a group of soldiers under the command of Brigadier General Aziz Al-Ahdab seized control of a Lebanese TV station, broadcasting a statement demanding President Frangieh's resignation.

Frangieh refused to step down, and the Al-Ahdab coup was quickly suppressed due to lack of significant support from the Lebanese military.

He initially participated in the Lebanese Front, a right-wing, mainly Christian, coalition of politicians and militia leaders, but in early 1978 he broke with them because of his own pro-Syrian leanings.

[23] Suleiman Frangieh had five children with his Egypt-born wife, Iris Handaly: two sons, Tony[24] and Robert,[25] and three daughters, Lamia,[26] Sonia[27] and Maya.

[30] Suleiman Frangieh Jr.,[31] the son of the murdered MP, first became the Minister of Public Health at the age of 22, and he served as the Ministry of Interior from 2004 to 2005.

[citation needed] Frangieh was called in Lebanon as "the tough man" due to his harsh tongue, volatile temper and ruthless approach to some of his opponents.

[8] Robert Fisk describes Frangieh as a "Christian warlord, mafioso, militia strongman, grief-stricken father, corrupt president, mountain baron and, eventually, a thoughtful, intelligent, rather frightening old man, living out his last years beside the lions of Ehden.