On 25 October 1970, he succeeded his father, Suleiman Frangieh, as a member of the Lebanese Parliament for Zgharta, following his father"s election to the Presidency. He was also appointed the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications in his father"s government.
Frangieh was educated at the College Des Frères Tripoli, first in Tripoli then in Beirut, at the latter from 1958 to 1960.
He was furthering his study before his death. Frangieh began his career dealing with his family business. At the end of the 1960s, when factions within Lebanon started to form militias, the Frangieh clan formed the Marada Brigade, also known as the Zghorta Liberation Army, under the command of Tony Frangieh.
The Marada mainly operated out of Tripoli and northern Lebanon, the base of the Frangieh family.
One such falling out occurred between two of the leading Maronite clans, the Frangiehs and the Gemayels. The Frangiehs, who were close to Syria, were critical of Phalangist Kataeb Regulatory Forces" militia leader Bachir Gemayel"s growing alliance with Israel.
Militiamen from the Phalange RF and Marada also clashed over protection rackets. Under cover of darkness on 13 June 1978, a combined force of 1,200 Phalangists led by Elie Hobeika and Samir Geagea, attacked and killed Tony Frangieh and his immediate family, thereby eliminating one of the protagonists vying for political power in the Christian Lebanese community.
Suleiman Frangieh never vowed revenge.
As he stated in a documentary on a Lebanese political channel called "OTV", "That was the past and it must be forgotten, I do not seek revenge because God is the only judge, thus their conscience will haunt them for the rest of their lives." Some 20,000 mourners attended his funeral, including then Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Hoss on 14 June 1978. Denise Ammoun, Histoire du Liban contemporain: Tome 2 1943-1990, Fayard, Paris 2005. (in French).
