He became a member of parliament in 1951, at age 25. Until 1977, he served in different governmental positions, including house speaker, deputy prime minister and minister of the social affairs and labor, industry, information, energy and education. He also served as Lebanon's permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) from September 1977 to September 1982, at the peak of the civil war. During his tenure at the UN, he famously addressed the Security Council on 17 March 1978 with the emotional plea: "Let my people live!". Soon, the UNSC adopted Resolution 425, calling for Israel to immediately withdraw its forces from Lebanon. During the Lebanese Civil War, he was against Bachir Gemayel and confessed lobbying in Washington, D.C. against his presidential election. Ghassan Tueni described the 1989 Taif Agreement as "the peace of the others".