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Georges Lutfallah (Arabic: جورج لطف الله) was a Lebanese socialite eccentric who sought to buy his way to the Lebanese presidency, and thereafter style himself "King of Lebanon".

Movements In the Summer of 1921, Lutfallah arrived to Haifa where he was received with great pomp and a banquet attended by the head of the Baháʼí Faith ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. In April 1923 Lutfallah visited Jerusalem with his wife Princess Laurice.

In 1934 he visited the mausoleum of the Musa Kazim Pasha al-Husayni the ex-mayor of Jerusalem.

Background

Lebanese monarchy

After the fall of the Ottoman Sultanate in the aftermath of World War I, Habib Bustany, a Lebanese Maronite intellectual wanted a treaty to ensure the continuity of the entity of Greater Lebanon. He founded a party calling for the establishment of a monarchy in the country and suggested installing a foreign Christian ruler of royal descent at the helm of the country. His unpopular monarchist party remained a one-man affair.

https://academic.oup.com/book/2425/chapter-abstract/142662039?redirectedFrom=fulltext

early yrs of the mandate , plans to establisg in Lebanon a princedom were mooted by Habib Bustani's party https://books.google.nl/books?id=P11tAAAAMAAJ 114

Fam

Georges was born to Michel Lutfallah, a Lebanese expat in Egypt, who associated himself to Khedive.... and the King of Hijaz. Michel was given the honorific title of emir by... fueling the man's megalomaniac aspirations, which ultimately transpired to his sons, Georges in particular. Michel acquired the Gezirah Palace from the heavily indebted Khedive Ismail and made it his private residence. He regularly hosted international dignitaries, literary salons, and grand banquets to further his network of ...

Presidential candidacy

In 1929, Georges hosted a lavish dinner party at his Cairo palace, hosting some of that time’s (contempo) most prominent literary figures, regional politicians, and journalists. One of invitiees, ... Gemayel, musingly suggested the establishment of a monarchy in Lebanon after the upcoming end of the presidential term of then-President Charles Debbas. Lutfallah entertained the idea, and was reported to precipitately and grandiosely hit the dinner table, and announced to his invitees that he would if nobody suggests the establishment of a monarchy, he would do so himself, and proclaimed himself the perfect candidate

At the time however, no one presented their candidature, as it was known that the French Mandate authorities held facade elections, that the Lebanese parliament had nominal authority, and that the president was named by the plenipotentiary French high-commissioner himself.

Showering gifts

Lutfallah set out bribing journalists, politicians, and writers.

Unbeknownst to Lutfallah was that the journalist's musings turned to a race to dupe the megalomaniac millionaire , and to fleece him of his fortune. ,.,

Death

Famed Lebanese poet Gibran Khalil Gibran dedicated a 29 verse eulogy poem to Lutfallah's memory.

References

Sources

• Jaberi, Huda (2013). "عباس افندى" [Abbas Efendi]. Bahai Maktaba (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
• Lisan al-Arab editorial (4 April 1923). "⁨اخبار محلية - الامير جورج لطف الله ⁩" [Local news - Prince Georges Lutfallah]. لسان العرب (in Arabic). Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine: 3. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-28 – via National Library of Israel.
• Mir'at al-Sharq editorial (18 April 1934). "الامير جورج لطف الله في القدس" [Prince Georges Lutfallah in Jerusalem]. Mir'at al-Sharq (in Arabic): 3. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022 – via National Library of Israel.
• Qubayn, Salim (1922). عبد البهاء والبهائية [Abdul-Bahaa and Bahaism] (in Arabic). Al-Umran.
• Zein ed-Din, Ahmad (30 August 2018). "من حكايا لبنان السياسية المنسية - كيف فكّر أحدهم أن يكون رئيسا".... فأميرا" ...فملكا"" [One of Lebanon's forgotten political stories - How someone dreamt of being president "...then a prince"...then a king?]. Al Liwaa (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
• Saoud, Ghassan (23 May 2015). "نعمة افرام: فرنكلن لبنان يهوى الرئاسة لا السياسة!". Elnashra News (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
• Zein ed-Din, Ahmad (20 August 2022). "حين كثُر الحديث عن إمارة وعرش في لبنان في عشرينيات القرن الماضي". Al Liwaa (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
• Riachi, Iskandar (1953). قبل وبعد - تذكارات إسكندر رياشي [Before and After - the memoires of Iskandar Riachy] (PDF) (in Arabic) (1 ed.). Beirut: Dar al-Hayat. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2022.
• Gibran, Gibran Khalil. "ما لجرح جرحته من ضماد" [Roughly: Unmended Wound]. Wikisource (in Arabic). Retrieved 4 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)