BEIRUT, Lebanon - The father of a leading anti-Syrian journalist and MP murdered last month has taken his son's seat in the Lebanese parliament, the interior ministry announced Saturday.

Ghassan Tueni, 79, was the only person to register as a candidate for a by-election to replace his son, Gibran, and so automatically succeeded him.

Gibran Tueni, 48, and three other people were killed on December 12 when a car bomb exploded in a Beirut suburb, just hours after the Christian MP returned from France, where he had taken refuge fearing his life was in danger.

The assassination was widely blamed on Syria, which denied any role and blamed "foreign interference."

The murder of Tueni was the 13th such attack since a blast that killed former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri last February and plunged Lebanon into chaos not seen since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Ghassan Tueni is the owner of liberal daily An-Nahar, which his son ran. His own political career dates back to 1951, and he has several times held cabinet posts in Lebanese governments.

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