by the military regime during this time, the party was not able to take part in any election before all parties were deregistered in 2013. Lebanon The Green Party of Lebanon was founded in 2008 as a secular party. Its first president was Philippe Skaff, CEO of Grey Advertising. The party debuted with the May 2010 municipal elections. In 2011, the party became the first political party in Lebanon to elect a female leader when Nada Zaarour was elected its president. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia The Green Party of Pakistan was founded in 2002, and the Green Party of Saudi Arabia emerged 2010. However, due to political repression, some South and Southwest Asian Green parties are underground organizations. Taiwan The Green Party Taiwan was founded in 1996. It is a small party which have often associated with Democratic Progressive Party, a major political party in Taiwan. Europe Belgian and German roots The first green parties in Europe were founded in the late 1970s, following the rise of environmental awareness and the development of new social movements. Green parties in Belgium first made a breakthrough. Belgium had Green members of parliament elected first in the 1970s, and with seats on the local council, held the balance of power in the city of Liege, so were the first to go into coalition with the ruling party on that council. In 1979 political campaigns and dissident groups feeling underrepresented in west German politics formed a coalition to contest the 1979 elections to the European Parliament. Although they did not win any seats, the groups in this association formally agreed to become a party and won a breakthrough in the German national elections of 1983. They were not the first Green Party in Europe to have members elected nationally but the impression was created that they had been, because they attracted the most media attention. This was partly due to their charismatic leader Petra Kelly, a German who was of interest to the American media because she had an American step-father. Since its foundation in 1980 and merger with Alliance 90 after the German reunification, Kelly's party, now named Alliance '90/The Greens, has become one of Europe's most important Green parties. It played an important role in the formation of national-level Green parties in other countries such as Spain as well. The forerunner of the Green Party in the United Kingdom was the PEOPLE Party,