In 1994, he was elected by a large majority in the Lebanese Parliament to sit on the newly established Constitutional Council, then by his peers on the Council as its president. Within two years, the Constitutional Council had become the most respected institution in the country owing to its fiercely independent and principled decisions.[11] He resigned from the Council over unfair tampering with parliamentary elections on April 3, 1997.[2] While he never expressed the full reasons for his resignation to avoid further shocks to the country, he did say in a rare television interview that "the Constitutional Council came to Lebanon 25 years later before its time."[3][12] His pattern of resigning high government positions earned him a reputation of a statesman who was keener to protect the public position's dignity over earning it in the first place.[13]