Beirut |
September 23, 2007
Nine Years of Lahoud in Office
Beirut - September 23rd, 2007
Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, whose mandate expires in November, has insisted on serving his full extended term despite pressure from a majority that considers him a puppet of neighboring Syria.
Backed by Damascus and its Lebanese allies, mainly the Shiite militant group Hizbullah, he has resisted a barrage of calls for his resignation and been snubbed for the past two years by most Western states.
When his term expires on Nov. 24, the 71-year-old former army chief, known for a perennial smile and year-round suntan which triggers critics to claim that he spends most of his time at the beach, will complete nine years in office.
He was elected president in 1998 and had been due to step down in 2004, but the country's then powerbroker Syria pushed through parliament a controversial constitutional amendment extending his term for three more years.
His own Maronite church strongly opposed his re-election and the anti-Syrian ruling majority and Western officials have since boycotted him.
He in turn has refused to recognize the legitimacy of Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government following the November resignation of six pro-Syrian ministers.
Lebanon has been in political limbo since the February 2005 murder of former Premier Rafik Hariri, which forced Syria to end its 29-year military presence in the country.
Four top Lebanese generals close to Lahoud have already been jailed under the international investigation into Hariri's murder in which senior Syrian officials have been implicated. Syria denies any links with the assassination.
Born January 12, 1936, Lahoud hails from the mountain town of Baabdat, east of Beirut. He comes from a Maronite family that has produced cabinet ministers, MPs, military men and magistrates.
His mother and wife are both of Armenian descent and he has three children. His eldest son was a member of parliament between 2000 and 2005.
Lahoud entered the political arena after a long military career.
He first enrolled in military school in 1956 and became a naval officer in 1959 before earning a maritime engineering degree in Britain and completing military training in the United States.
After his return to Lebanon, he was promoted to commander in the 1970s and held several senior positions at the defense ministry before becoming commander-in-chief of the army in November 1989.
His troops took part in the October 1990 Syrian-led military offensive that ended the rebellion of then-Prime Minister General Michel Aoun, who was later forced into exile in France.
Ironically, the two men are now in the same opposition camp.
After the end of the 1975-1990 civil war, Lahoud succeeded in reuniting and rebuilding the Lebanese army, which had splintered during wartime into feuding Christian and Muslim factions.
He gave cautious backing for Hizbullah's fight against Israel's occupation of south Lebanon that led to a unilateral Israeli withdrawal in May 2000 during his first mandate.
However, he took no steps to assert Lebanese military control over the south until an Israeli offensive in July-August 2006 forced Hizbullah to end its military presence on the borders with the Jewish state.
Parliament first elected Lahoud as president in October 1998. He promised then to establish a state of law and to put an end to endemic corruption in public life.
But he was unsuccessful, hampered by the cronyism that lies at the root of Lebanese society.(AFP-Naharnet)
Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, whose mandate expires in November, has insisted on serving his full extended term despite pressure from a majority that considers him a puppet of neighboring Syria.
Backed by Damascus and its Lebanese allies, mainly the Shiite militant group Hizbullah, he has resisted a barrage of calls for his resignation and been snubbed for the past two years by most Western states.
When his term expires on Nov. 24, the 71-year-old former army chief, known for a perennial smile and year-round suntan which triggers critics to claim that he spends most of his time at the beach, will complete nine years in office.
He was elected president in 1998 and had been due to step down in 2004, but the country's then powerbroker Syria pushed through parliament a controversial constitutional amendment extending his term for three more years.
His own Maronite church strongly opposed his re-election and the anti-Syrian ruling majority and Western officials have since boycotted him.
He in turn has refused to recognize the legitimacy of Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government following the November resignation of six pro-Syrian ministers.
Lebanon has been in political limbo since the February 2005 murder of former Premier Rafik Hariri, which forced Syria to end its 29-year military presence in the country.
Four top Lebanese generals close to Lahoud have already been jailed under the international investigation into Hariri's murder in which senior Syrian officials have been implicated. Syria denies any links with the assassination.
Born January 12, 1936, Lahoud hails from the mountain town of Baabdat, east of Beirut. He comes from a Maronite family that has produced cabinet ministers, MPs, military men and magistrates.
His mother and wife are both of Armenian descent and he has three children. His eldest son was a member of parliament between 2000 and 2005.
Lahoud entered the political arena after a long military career.
He first enrolled in military school in 1956 and became a naval officer in 1959 before earning a maritime engineering degree in Britain and completing military training in the United States.
After his return to Lebanon, he was promoted to commander in the 1970s and held several senior positions at the defense ministry before becoming commander-in-chief of the army in November 1989.
His troops took part in the October 1990 Syrian-led military offensive that ended the rebellion of then-Prime Minister General Michel Aoun, who was later forced into exile in France.
Ironically, the two men are now in the same opposition camp.
After the end of the 1975-1990 civil war, Lahoud succeeded in reuniting and rebuilding the Lebanese army, which had splintered during wartime into feuding Christian and Muslim factions.
He gave cautious backing for Hizbullah's fight against Israel's occupation of south Lebanon that led to a unilateral Israeli withdrawal in May 2000 during his first mandate.
However, he took no steps to assert Lebanese military control over the south until an Israeli offensive in July-August 2006 forced Hizbullah to end its military presence on the borders with the Jewish state.
Parliament first elected Lahoud as president in October 1998. He promised then to establish a state of law and to put an end to endemic corruption in public life.
But he was unsuccessful, hampered by the cronyism that lies at the root of Lebanese society.(AFP-Naharnet)
