Information AboutEmile Lahud |
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General Émile Geamil Lahoud (, 1936 ) is the President of Lebanon . He is the son of General Jamil Lahoud, a leader in the independence movement. POLITICAL LIFE 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 Syria n-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. 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 (the same happened with his predecessor, Elias Hrawi . Lebanese opposition figures and international critics claim that the extension was illegal because the constitution was amended under foreign duress. 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. In August 2004, Jumblatt alleged that Hariri told him that he had been threatened by Syria n president Bashar Al-Assad , who told Hariri, " Lahoud is me. ... If you and Chirac want me out of Lebanon, I will break Lebanon." Jumblatt added: "When I heard him telling us those words, I knew that it was his condemnation of death." MacFarquar, Neil. [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/international/middleeast/20lebanon.html?ei=5094&en=441b692d8c0ef46a&hp=&ex=1111294800&partner=homepage&pagewanted=all&position= Behind Lebanon Upheaval, 2 Men's Fateful Clash" , ''The New York Times'', March 20, 2005 According to ''The New York Times'', Lahoud has a reputation for "lounging through most afternoons in his Speedos by the pool at the Yarze country club, reading '' Paris-Match '' magazine and holding a tanning mirror." The newspaper reported that Lahoud denied allegations that he went swimming on the day of Hariri's funeral. He told a group of journalists: "I swim every day — it's my workout — but on that specific day, I did not swim." Many Lebanese have given Lahoud the nickname "la vache qui rit" -- "the laughing cow". SEE ALSO NOTES FURTHER READING
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