Émile Lahoud

General Émile Geamil Lahoud (Arabic: اميل لحود) (born January 12, 1936) is the current President of Lebanon. He is the son of General Jamil Lahoud, a leader in the independence movement. Pres Emile Lahoud of Lebanon Source: Roberto Barroso/ABr. ... Arabic (; , less formally, ) is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Lahoud served under General Michel Aoun during the final years of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-90). After an Arab League-brokered cease-fire took effect, Lahoud crossed over into Syrian-controlled west Beirut. A Maronite military officer was needed to assume the position of army commander for the West Beirut based Lebanese government endorsed by the 1989 Taif Agreement. Lahoud was offered the position. According to one source, Lahoud had connections to an influential Syria army officer, Ali Hammoud, who recommended him for the job. He quickly accepted. He served in various posts in the military, including commander-in-chief of the army from 1989 to 1998, and then ran for the presidency in 1998, after having the constitution amended to allow the army commander-in-chief to run for office within three years of holding that post. General Michel Aoun in Ehden June 2005 Michel Aoun (born in 1935 in Beirut) (Arabic:ميشيل عون) is a Lebanese military commander and politician. ... For the civil conflict of 1958, see Lebanon crisis of 1958. ... Flag of the League of Arab States The Arab League or League of Arab States (Arabic: جامعة الدول العربية), is an organization of Arab states - compare Arab world. ... Central Beirut (2004) Beirut (Arabic: , transliterated Bayrūt - the French name, Beyrouth, was also commonly used in English in the past) is the capital, largest city and chief seaport of Lebanon. ... Maronites (Marunoye ܐܶܝܢܘܪܡ in Syriac, Mâruniyya مارونية in Arabic) are members of an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Pope of Rome. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Taif Agreement was negotiated in Taif, Saudi Arabia by the surviving members of Lebanons 1972 parliament, presided by Speaker of the House President Hussein El-Husseini. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

Under the Lebanese constitution, the President's term was limited to one six-year term. However, under pressure from Syria, in 2004 the parliament voted to extend his term for an additional three years, to 2007. Lebanese opposition figures and international critics claim that the extension was illegal inasmuch as the constitution was amended under foreign duress. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) will be a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Lahoud's popularity has been low recently, especially among Christians, Druze, and Sunnis. Lebanese Catholic Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt have been vocal critics. Assassinated Sunni former prime minister Rafik Hariri, who had worked under Syrian support for many years, clashed with Damascus over the extension of Lahoud's term, and resigned in protest. These figures view him as a puppet controlled by the Syrians. The Druze (Arabic: duruzī درزي, pl. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jamaah. ... Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Cardinal Sfeir His Eminence and His Beatitude Nasrallah Boutros Cardinal Sfeir (born May 15, 1920 in Rayfoun, Lebanon) is the leader of Lebanons largest Christian sect, the Maronites. ... Walid Jumblatt Walid Jumblatt (Arabic: وليد جنبلاط‎) (born August 7, 1949), is the current leader of the Progressive Socialist Party of Lebanon and the most prominent leader of the Druze community. ... Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri Rafik Bahaa Edine Hariri — Arabic: رفيق الحريری (short name) or رفيق بهاء الدين الحريري (long name) — (November 1, 1944 – February 14, 2005), was a Lebanese self-made billionaire and business tycoon, and was twice Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 to 2004. ...

In August 2004, Jumblatt alleged that Hariri told him that he had been threatened by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who told Hariri, "Lahoud is me. ... If you and Chirac want me out of Lebanon, I will break Lebanon." [italics added] "When I heard him telling us those words, I knew that it was his condemnation of death," Mr. Jumblatt said [1]. Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (بشار الاسد) (born September 11, 1965) is the current President of Syria (The Syrian Arab Republic) and the son of former President Hafez al-Assad. ... Émile Lahoud General Émile Geamil Lahoud (Arabic:اميل لحود) (born January 12, 1936) is the current President of Lebanon. ... ▶ (help· info), (born November 29, 1932 in Paris) is a French politician who is currently President of the French Republic. ...

Lahoud has a reputation amongst some Lebanese for lounging through most afternoons by the pool at the Yarze country club, reading Paris Match magazine and holding a tanning mirror. News accounts that he was swimming during Mr. Hariri's funeral reached such a crescendo that he felt compelled to deny them. "I swim every day—it's my workout—but on that specific day, I did not swim," he told a gathering of the Journalists' Union Council. Alexandre Coste on the cover of Paris Match Paris Match is a French magazine. ...

Some critics are convinced that one key reason Mr. Lahoud was extended was that his family had developed close business ties with the al-Assad clan in Damascus. Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (بشار الاسد) (born September 11, 1965) is the current President of Syria (The Syrian Arab Republic) and the son of former President Hafez al-Assad. ... National motto: None Official language Arabic Spoken languages Arabic, Armenian, Kurdish, Aramaic, Adyghe, Turkish Capital Damascus 33°30 N 36°18 E President Bashar al-Assad Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-Otari Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 87th 185,180 km² 0. ...

Lahoud has been accused of being a lightweight and a Syrian pawn who was undermining Lebanese institutions by backing the encroachment of secret police agencies that mirrored the ones running Syria: the role of the intelligence was no longer to keep up security, but to plant agents, generalize wiretapping, distribute newspaper articles, threaten judges, bind ministers and besiege members of Parliament. He strongly denies these accusations.

Lahoud and about 18 pro-Syrian ministers have reportedly opposed several Hariri projects, from small items like buying land for new schools to economic reforms. At a 2002 meeting of international donors in Paris, the French president Chirac and Hariri managed to secure more than $4 billion in aid to Lebanon, which was heavily in debt, in exchange for economic reforms. Lahoud has been accused of blocking reforms.

See also

• List of national leaders
• Cedar Revolution
• Rafik Hariri

This is a List of national leaders, showing heads of state and heads of government where different, mainly in parliamentary systems; it should be noted that often a leader is both in presidential systems or dictatorships. ... Cedar Revolution has become the Western medias most commonly used name for the chain of demonstrations and popular civic action in Lebanon (mainly Beirut) triggered by the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005. ... Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri Rafik Bahaa Edine Hariri — Arabic: رفيق الحريری (short name) or رفيق بهاء الدين الحريري (long name) — (November 1, 1944 – February 14, 2005), was a Lebanese self-made billionaire and business tycoon, and was twice Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 to 2004. ...

External links

• LookSmart - Emile Lahoud directory category
• Republic of Lebanon - The President official site

and he's a real coward Elias Hrawi (born 1930) is a Lebanese politician. ... This page lists presidents of Lebanon. ...