# March 8 Alliance

The March 8 Alliance (Arabic: تحالف 8 آذار, romanized: taḥāluf 8 āḏār) is a loose coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon formed in 2005 that are united by their pro-Ba'athist Syria stance and their opposition to the former March 14 Alliance. It was the ruling coalition in Lebanon with the government headed by Prime Minister Najib Mikati from June 2011 until March 2013. Main parties of the March 8 Alliance are part of the third Cabinet of Najib Mikati since 2021.

## History

The name dates back to 8 March 2005 when different parties called for a mass demonstration in downtown Beirut in response to the Cedar Revolution. The demonstration thanked Syria for helping stop the Lebanese Civil War and the aid in stabilising Lebanon and supporting the Lebanese resistance to the Israeli occupation. Free Patriotic Movement led by Michel Aoun eventually joined the rival March 8 Alliance, becoming one of its principal coalition partners.

### Inclusion of Free Patriotic Movement

The Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) was the basis of the March 14 Alliance movement. FPM launched the Liberation War against the Syrian Army on 14 March 1989 and participated in all demonstrations against the Syrian occupation until the Cedar Revolution's mass demonstration on 14 March 2005. The FPM split from the March 14 Alliance on 6 February 2006, when its leader Michel Aoun signed a memorandum of understanding with Hezbollah. FPM considered its project against the Syrian government completed when the Syrian Army left Lebanon at the end of April 2005.

### Ruling Alliance (2011–2013)

The Progressive Socialist Party left the March 14 alliance in January 2011 after being one of its cornerstones and ostensibly aligned itself with the alliance's Change and Reform bloc after Walid Jumblatt visited Damascus. This move gave the alliance and its partners a majority in the parliament, enabling them to name Najib Mikati as prime minister to form the Lebanese government of June 2011.
The government led by March 8 Alliance survived 22 months until Mikati's resignation on 23 March 2013.

### 2016 presidential elections

After a presidential vacuum that lasted from 23 April 2014 until 31 October 2016, the Parliament was able to elect MP and former General Michel Aoun, who in turn nominated March 14 member Saad Hariri as Prime Minister.

### 2018 legislative elections

The alliance emerged victorious as they gathered 76 seats out of 128 (60%), in the first legislative elections since 2009.
| Name | Party/Bloc | District | Religion |
| Alain Aoun | Free Patriotic Movement | Baabda | Maronite |
| Hikmat Dib | Free Patriotic Movement | Baabda | Maronite |
| Roger Azar | Free Patriotic Movement | Keserwan | Maronite |
| Simon Abi Ramia | Free Patriotic Movement | Byblos | Maronite |
| Ibrahim Kanaan | Free Patriotic Movement | Metn | Maronite |
| Edgard Maalouf | Free Patriotic Movement | Metn | Greek Catholic |
| Elias Bou Saab | Free Patriotic Movement | Metn | Greek Orthodox |
| Hagop Pakradounian | Tashnaq | Metn | Armenian Orthodox |
| Talal Arslan | Lebanese Democratic Party | Aley | Druze |
| Cesar Abi Khalil | Free Patriotic Movement | Aley | Maronite |
| Ziad Assouad | Free Patriotic Movement | Jezzine | Maronite |
| Salim Khoury | Free Patriotic Movement | Jezzine | Greek Catholic |
| Assaad Dargham | Free Patriotic Movement | Akkar | Greek Orthodox |
| Mustapha Ali Hussein | Independent | Akkar | Alawite |
| Georges Atallah | Free Patriotic Movement | Koura | Greek Orthodox |
| Gebran Bassil | Free Patriotic Movement | Batroun | Maronite |
| Mario Aoun | Free Patriotic Movement | Chouf | Maronite |
| Farid Boustany | Free Patriotic Movement | Chouf | Maronite |
| Nicolas Sehnaoui | Free Patriotic Movement | Beirut I | Greek Catholic |
| Antoine Pano | Free Patriotic Movement | Beirut I | Christian Minorities |
| Alexander Matossian | Tashnaq | Beirut I | Armenian Orthodox |
| Hagop Terzian | Tashnaq | Beirut I | Armenian Orthodox |
| Edgard Traboulsi | Free Patriotic Movement | Beirut II | Protestant |
| Salim Aoun | Free Patriotic Movement | Zahle | Maronite |
| Michel Daher | Independent | Zahle | Greek Catholic |
| Elie Ferzli | Independent | West Bekaa | Greek Orthodox |
| Ali Ammar | Hezbollah | Baabda | Shia |
| Amin Sharri | Hezbollah | Beirut II | Shia |
| Nawwaf Musawi | Hezbollah | Tyre/Zahrani | Shia |
| Hussein Jashi | Hezbollah | Tyre/Zahrani | Shia |
| Hassan Fadlallah | Hezbollah | Bint Jbeil | Shia |
| Mohammad Raad | Hezbollah | Nabatieh | Shia |
| Ali Fayyad | Hezbollah | Hasbaya/Marjeyoun | Shia |
| Anwar Jomma | Hezbollah | Zahle | Shia |
| Hussein el Hage Hassan | Hezbollah | Baalbeck/Hermil | Shia |
| Ibrahim Mousawi | Hezbollah | Baalbeck/Hermil | Shia |
| Ali Mekdad | Hezbollah | Baalbeck/Hermil | Shia |
| Elwalid Succariyeh | Hezbollah | Baalbeck/Hermil | Sunni |
| Ihab Hamadeh | Hezbollah | Baalbeck/Hermil | Shia |
| Mohamed Khawaja | Amal Movement | Beirut II | Shia |
| Fadi Alameh | Amal Movement | Baabda | Shia |
| Nabih Berri | Amal Movement | Zahrani | Shia |
| Ali Osseiran | Amal Movement | Zahrani | Shia |
| Michel Moussa | Amal Movement | Zahrani | Greek Catholic |
| Ali Khreis | Amal Movement | Tyr | Shia |
| Inaya Ezzeddine | Amal Movement | Tyr | Shia |
| Yassine Jaber | Amal Movement | Nabatieh | Shia |
| Kassem Hachem | Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party | Marjeyoun Hasbaya | Sunni |
| Hani Kobeissi | Amal Movement | Nabatieh | Shia |
| Ali Bazzi | Amal Movement | Bint Jbeil | Shia |
| Ayoub Hmayed | Amal Movement | Bint Jbeil | Shia |
| Ali Hassan Khalil | Amal Movement | Marjeyoun Hasbaya | Shia |
| Anwar Khalil | Amal Movement | Marjeyoun Hasbaya | Druze |
| Mohamed Nasrallah | Amal Movement | West Bekaa Rashaya | Shia |
| Ghazi Zaiter | Amal Movement | Baalbeck Hermel | Shia |
| Salim Saadeh | Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Lebanon | Koura | Greek Orthodox |
| Assaad Hardan | Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Lebanon | Marjeyoun Hasbaya | Greek Orthodox |
| Albert Mansour | Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Lebanon | Baalbeck Hermel | Greek Catholic |
| Tony Frangieh | Marada Movement | Zgharta | Maronite |
| Estephan Douaihy | Marada Movement | Zgharta | Maronite |
| Fayez Ghosn | Marada Movement | Koura | Greek Orthodox |
| Ossama Saad | Popular Nasserist Organization | Saida | Sunni |
| Adnan Traboulsi | Al-Ahbash | Beirut II | Sunni |
| Abdul Rahim Mrad | Union Party | West Bekaa Rashaya | Sunni |
| Faisal Karami | Arab Liberation Party | Tripoli | Sunni |

### 2019 cabinet

The Alliance had 18 out of 30 ministers (60%) in the Lebanese Cabinet; it was equally represented in both parliament and cabinet.
| Name | Party | Portfolio (Ministry) | Religion |
| Elias Bou Saab | Free Patriotic Movement | Minister of Defense | Greek Orthodox |
| Gebran Bassil | Free Patriotic Movement | Minister of Exterior and Expatriates | Maronite |
| Saleh Gharib | Lebanese Democratic Party | State Minister for Refugees Affairs | Druze |
| Ghassan Atallah | Free Patriotic Movement | Minister of Displaced | Greek Catholic |
| Nada Boustani | Free Patriotic Movement | Minister of Energy and Water | Maronite |
| Avedis Guidanian | Tashnag | Minister of Tourism | Armenian Orthodox |
| Hassan Mrad | Union Party | State Minister for Foreign Trade | Sunni |
| Albert Serhan | Free Patriotic Movement | Minister of Justice | Greek Orthodox |
| Salim Jreissati | Free Patriotic Movement | State Minister for Presidential Affairs | Greek Catholic |
| Mansour Bteich | Free Patriotic Movement | Minister of Economy and Trade | Maronite |
| Fadi Jreissati | Free Patriotic Movement | Minister of Environment | Greek Catholic |
| Youssef Finianos | Marada Movement | Minister of Public Works and Transport | Maronite |
| Ali Hassan Khalil | Amal Movement | Minister of Finance | Shia |
| Muhammad Daoud | Amal Movement | Minister of Culture | Shia |
| Hassan Lakkis | Amal Movement | Minister of Agriculture | Shia |
| Jamil Jabak | Independent | Minister of Public Health | Shia |
| Muhammad Fneish | Hezbollah | Minister of Youth and Sports | Shia |
| Mahmoud Kmati | Hezbollah | State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs | Shia |

### September 2021 Cabinet

The Alliance has 16 out of 24 ministers (66%) in the current Lebanese Cabinet; it is equally represented in both parliament and cabinet.
| Portfolio | name | party | Religious |
| Deputy Prime Minister | Saadeh Al Shami | Syrian Social Nationalist Party | Greek Orthodox |
| Telecommunications | Johnny Corm | Marada Movement | Maronite |
| Information | George Kurdahi (resigned) | Marada Movement | Maronite |
| Information | Ziad Makary | Marada Movement | Maronite |
| Defense | Maurice Slim | Free Patriotic Movement | Greek Orthodox |
| Tourism | Walid Nassar | Free Patriotic Movement | Maronite |
| Social Affairs | Hector Hajjar | Free Patriotic Movement | Greek Catholic |
| Energy and Water | Walid Fayad | Free Patriotic Movement | Greek Orthodox |
| Justice | Henry Khoury | Free Patriotic Movement | Maronite |
| Foreign Affairs | Abdallah Bou Habib | Free Patriotic Movement | Maronite |
| Displaced | Issam Charafeddine | Lebanese Democratic Party | Druze |
| Labor | Moustafa Bayram | Amal Movement | Shia |
| Finance | Youssef Khalil | Amal Movement | Shia |
| Agriculture | Abbas Al Haj Hassan | Amal Movement | Shia |
| Public Works | Ali Hamiyeh | Hezbollah | Shia |
| Culture | Mohammad Mortada | Hezbollah | Shia |
| Industry | George Bojikan | Tashnag | Armenian Orthodox |

### 2022 legislative elections

The alliance gathered 61 seats out of 128 (47%) and lost their parliamentary majority but still won the Parliament speaker election.
The 2022 Strong Lebanon bloc was formed by FPM (17), Tashnaq (3) and Akkar MP Mohamad Yehya.

## The March 8 Alliance Today

Since 2020, the governance of Lebanon has been led by the March 8 alliance, with notable economic changes observed during this period. Lebanon's GDP experienced a significant decline, dropping from 51.8 billion in 2019 to 23.13 billion in 2023.

## Constituent parties

It currently holds roughly 51 of 128 seats in the parliament after the 2022 elections and consists of:
| Party | Arabic name | Ideology | Parliament of Lebanon | Government |
| Hezbollah | حزب الله | Shia Islamism Anti-Zionism | 15 / 128 | government |
| Free Patriotic Movement | التيار الوطني الحر | Civic nationalism Lebanese nationalism | 14 / 128 | government |
| Amal Movement | حركة أمل | Conservatism Populism | 14 / 128 | government |
| Armenian Revolutionary Federation | الإتحاد الثوري الأرمني - الطاشناق | Armenian nationalism Democratic socialism | 2 / 128 | government |
| Islamic Charitable Projects Association | جمعية المشاريع الخيرية الإسلامية | Religious pluralism Islamic neo-traditionalism Anti-Salafism | 2 / 128 | support |
| Marada Movement | تيار المردة | Lebanese nationalism Christian democracy | 1 / 128 | government |
| Union Party | حزب الإتحاد | Nasserism | 1 / 128 | support |
| Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party | حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي في لبنان | Ba'athism | 1 / 128 | support |
| Dignity Movement | حزب التحرر العربي | Arab nationalism Anti-Zionism | 1 / 128 | support |
| Syrian Social Nationalist Party | الحزب السوري القومي الاجتماعي | Syrian nationalism Social nationalism | 0 / 128 | government |
| Lebanese Democratic Party | الحزب الديمقراطي اللبناني | Conservatism Druze politics | 0 / 128 | government |
| Arab Democratic Party | االحزب العربي الديمقراطي | Arab nationalism Ba'athism | 0 / 128 | not in government |
| Arab Unification Party | حزب التوحيد العربي | Arab Nationalism | 0 / 128 | not in government |
| Solidarity Party | حزب التضامن | Liberalism | 0 / 128 | not in government |
| Lebanese Arab Struggle Movement | حركة النضال العربي اللبناني | Arab Nationalism | 0 / 128 | not in government |
Former or inactive members
* Popular Nasserist Organization
* Toilers League
* People's Movement
* Al-Mourabitoun
* Nasserist Unionists Movement