Kazem Ismail al-Khalil (born 1901 in the Lebanese port town of Tyre/Sour, then part of the Ottoman Empire; died on 22 April 1990 in Paris at the age of 89) - commonly known as Kazem al-Khalil or Kazem el-Khalil, also transliterated Kazim from the Arabic (كاظم إسماعيل الخليل) - was a lawyer, doyen member of the Lebanese parliament, seven-time minister of the Lebanese government and right-wing militia-leader from a Shiite feudal dynasty in Southern Lebanon.
Life
Family background
When the 1858 Ottoman Land reforms led to the accumulated ownership of large tracts of land by a few families upon the expense of the peasants, the al-Khalil family of grain merchants rose from the urban class of the mercantilist notables ("Wujaha''' ") to the rank of Zu'ama (feudal landlords) in Tyre. The clan would go on to play a dominant role in the city for more than a century. It was reportedly a branch of the Zayn family in Nabatieh, which has been one of the main dynasties in Jabal Amel (modern-day Southern Lebanon), and connected to another feudal clan, the Sidon-based Osseirans, by marriage. Their arrival in Tyre was apparently welcomed at first:"According to one source, they were supported by the ulama in their climb to prominence in an effort to undermine the unpopular dominance of the Sunni al-Mamluk family of that city."However, it is undisputed that the uneducated population of Jabal Amal lived in "a 'dark age' of ignorance and feudalism; it was a time when the masses, al ama, were terrified of their masters and landlords, of the Ottoman Officialdom, a time when the flock [..] took life as 'slavery and obedience."
The 1908 Young Turk Revolution and its call for elections to an Ottoman parliament triggered a power-struggle in Jabal Amel: on the one hand side Rida al-Sulh of a Sunni dynasty from Sidon, which had sidelined the Shia Al-As'ad clan of the Ali al-Saghir dynasty (see above) in the coastal region with support from leading Shiite families like the al-Khalil clan in Tyre. His opponent was Kamil Al-As'ad from the Ali al-Saghir dynasty that still dominated the hinterland. The latter won that round of the power-struggle, but the political rivalry between al-Khalil and Al-As'ad would go on to be a main feature of Lebanese Shia politics for the next sixty years.
in 1915, Abdel Karim al-Khalil – the leader of the al-Khalil clan – was executed by the Ottoman regime "at the instigation" of Kamil al-As'ad from the rival Ali al-Saghir dynasty, some believed.
After the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman rule started in 1916 and the Sharifian Army conquered the Levant in 1918 with support from the British Empire, the Jamal Amil feudal leader Kamil al-As'ad of the Ali al-Saghir dynasty, who had been an Ottomanist before, declared the area – including Tyre – part of the Arab Kingdom of Syria on 5 October 1918. However, the pro-Damascus regime in Beirut appointed Riad al-Sulh as governor of Sidon who in turn appointed Kazem's uncle Abdullah Yahya al-Khalil in Tyre as the head of the provisional Arab government of Tyre to represent Faisal I.
When the French colonial rulers proclaimed the new State of Greater Lebanon under the guardianship of the League of Nations represented by France on the first of September 1920, the first municipality in Tyre was founded and headed by Ismail Yahia al-Khalil, Kazem al-Khalil's father. In the following years, the Mandatory regime gave Shiite feudal families like al-As'ad and al-Khalil "a free hand in enlarging their personal fortunes and reinforcing their clannish powers."Altogether, even compared to other clans"The Khalils, with their age-old ways, [..] were known for being particularly rough and hard."Within this competitive context, Kazem al-Khalil earned himself a reputation as a "tough" power player.
Education
Al-Khalil received his primary education at the elementary Marist Brothers School in Sidon and his secondary education in Beirut. He subsequently attended the American University of Beirut and finally studied law at the Damascus University from where he graduated in 1931.
Professional career
Still in 1931, al-Khalil started practicing as a lawyer. Two years later, he was appointed as a judge in Damour. In 1936 he was appointed as a judge in Tripoli.
Political career
First phase of parliamentary and ministerial positions (1937-1960)