Michel Aoun
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Michel Aoun (born in 1935 in Beirut) is a Lebanese military commander and politician. From 22 September 1988 to 13 October 1990, he served as Prime Minister and acting President of one of two rival governments that contended for power. Aoun's administration attracted little international recognition, however.
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Background and early career
A Maronite Christian, his family was deeply religious and he attended Catholic schools. Aoun finished his secondary education at the College Des Freres in 1956 and enrolled in the Military Academy as a cadet officer. Three years later, he graduated as an artillery officer in the Lebanese Army. He later received additional training at Chalons-sur-Marnes, France (1958-1959), Fort Seale, Oklahoma in the U.S.A(1966) and the École Superieure de Guerre, France (1978-1980).
During the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, Aoun mobilized an army battalion to defend the presidential palace in Baabda, lest it should be attacked. This was the only action of the Lebanese army in that war. During the Lebanese Civil War in September 1983, Aoun's 8th Mechanised Infantry Battalion fought Muslim, Druze and Palestinian forces at the battle of Souq el Gharb. In June 1984 Aoun was picked to be commander of the Lebanese army.
Two Prime Ministers
On September 22 1988. the outgoing President, Amine Gemayel, appointed Aoun Prime Minister until new elections could be held. This move was of questionable validity, as it violated the National Pact of 1943, which reserved the position of prime minister for a Sunni Muslim. Gemayel argued, however, that as the National Pact also reserved the presidency for a Maronite Christian, and as the Prime Minister assumes the powers and duties of the President in the event of a vacancy, it would be proper to fill that office temporarily with a Maronite. The Constitution itself was silent on this matter; it was not clarified until the Taif Agreement of 1989 codified the reservation of executive positions for members of designated confessions.
Aoun could rely on 40% of the Lebanese army, including nearly all tanks and artillery, the Lebanese Forces militia headed by Samir Geagea and their Israeli backers, Dany Chamoun and the National Liberal Party, as well as the support of Iraq’s President Saddam Hussein. Opposed to Aoun was the former Prime Minister Selim al-Hoss, who declared his dismissal to be invalid and had the backing of Syria. Two Lebanese governments were formed, a civilian one under al-Hoss based in west Beirut and a military one under Aoun in east Beirut. Aoun controlled parts of east Beirut and some neighbouring suburbs. In the Spring of 1989, terminated his alliance with the Lebanese Forces and used the army to wrest control of ports they held, in order to raise customs revenues for his government. Many suggest that the real reason for his assault on the LF was to attempt to entice Arab leaders to recognize him as Lebanon's head of state. Moreover, by attacking the overwhelmingly Christian LF, he would highlight his non-sectarian credentials.
Support from France and Iraq emboldened Aoun to declare war on Syria on March 14th 1989. Over the next few months Aoun’s army and the Syrians exchanged artillery fire in Beirut until only 100,000 people remained from the original 1 million, the rest having fled. During this period Aoun became critical of American support for Syria and moved closer to Iraq, accepting arms supplies from Saddam Hussein.
In October 1989 Lebanese National Assembly members met to draw up the Taif Accord in an attempt to settle the Lebanese conflict. Aoun refused to attend, denounced the politicians who did so as traitors and issued a decree dissolving the assembly. Aoun lost much support that he had previously had amongst Muslims, who now perceived his policies as another attempt to maintain Maronite supremacy. As a result of the Taif Accord the assembly met to elect René Moawad as President in November. His presidency lasted just 17 days before he was assassinated and Elias Hrawi was elected in his place. Hrawi appointed General Émile Lahoud as commander of the army and ordered Aoun out of the Presidential palace. Aoun rejected his dismissal and instead moved to eliminate political rivals in his enclave by attacking the LF in a war that lasted from January to May 1990. Aoun failed to destroy Samir Geagea’s LF and was left in control of half of east Beirut.
Defeat and exile
The end approached for Aoun when his Iraqi ally, Saddam Hussein, launched his invasion of Kuwait on August 2 1990. Syria’s President Hafez Assad sided with the United States. In return, the United States agreed to support Syria's interests in Lebanon. On October 13, Syrian forces attacked the presidential palace in Baabda, where Aoun was holed up, and Aoun surrendered and fled to the French ambassador’s residence. Ten months later he went into exile in France, where he continued his campaign to end Syrian influence in Lebanon, and by remote control led a political party, the Free Patriotic Movement. In 2003, an avowed Aounist candidate, Hikmat Deeb, came surprisingly close to winning a key byelection in the Baabda-Aley constituency with the endorsement of such right-wing figures as Solange and Nadim Gemayel (the widow and son of former President-elect Bachir Gemayel, who was assassinated in 1982), as well as leftists like George Hawi of the Lebanese Communist Party, although most of the opposition supported the government candidate, Henry Hélou. Aoun's ability to attract support from key figures of both the left and right revealed that he was still a force to be reckoned with.
Return to Lebanon
Aoun ended 15 years of exile when he returned to Lebanon on May 7 2005 to a hero's welcome. Joined by his family, including his grandchildren and his brother whom he had not seen for 15 years, he held a short press conference at Beirut International Airport before heading with a convoy of loyalists and journalists to the "Grave of the Un-named Soldiers and Martyrs" who died in the cause of Lebanese nationalism. After praying and expressing his gratitude and blessing to the people, he went on to the grave site of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated on 14 February 2005 to pay his respects there. His journey continued to Martyrs Square (recently renamed Freedom Square) where he was reportedly greeted by hundreds of thousands of Lebanese supporters, many of them young people. He addressed them with the sentence "Ya Sha'aba Lubnan al Azeem", which means in English, "Oh Great People of Lebanon" which brought cheers from the crowd. His address was brief but not in breaking with his usual stance of straight-forwardness.
Since his arrival, Aoun has moved into a new home in Lebanon's Rabieh district, where he was visited on 8 May by a large delegation from the disbanded Lebanese Forces militia, who were among Aoun's former enemies. Aoun and Sethrida Geagea, wife of the imprisoned LF leader Samir Geagea, pledged to put the past behind them and work together for the future of Lebanon. Aoun promised that he would visit Geagea in prison and called for his release. Other prominent visitors that day and the next included National Liberal Party leader Dory Chamoun (Dany Chamoun's brother), Solange Gemayel (assassinated President-elect Bachir Gemayel's widow), Nayla Moawad (wife of assassinated President René Moawad), and opposition MP Boutros Harb. Patriarch Nasrallah Cardinal Sfeir of the Maronite community sent a delegation to welcome him, and even the Shiite Muslim Hisbullah Party sent a delegation and hinted that their leader, Hassan Nasrallah would later meet with Aoun in person.
In the parliamentary election at the end of May 2005, Aoun surprised many observers by entering into electoral alliances with a number of erstwhile opponents, including some staunchly pro-Syrian politicians including Michel el-Murr and Suleiman Frangieh, Jr. Some saw this as indicating a belief that pro- and anti-Syrian positions are no longer relevant, now that Syrian troops have left Lebanon. Others, however, saw it as a cynical move to maximize his chances of winning parliamentary seats, with his eye on the Presidency.
In the third round of voting, Aoun's party, the Free Patriotic Movement, made a strong shooting, winning 21 of the 58 seats contested in that round, including almost all of the seats in the Christian heartland of Mount Lebanon. Aoun himself was elected to the National Assembly. In the fourth and final round, however, the FPM failed to win any seats in Northern Lebanon, thus falling short of its objective of holding the balance of power between the main anti-Syrian opposition coalition led by Sa'ad Hariri (which won an absolute majority) and the Shiite-dominated Amal-Hizbollah alliance.
External links
- Aoun ready to be the next president of Lebanon (http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2005/06/aoun_ready_to_b.php), Ya Libnan, 17 June 2005
- Official Election Results - Bekaa & Mount Lebanon (http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2005/06/official_electi_1.php), Ya Libnan, 14 June 2005
- Big poll win for Lebanon ex-chief (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4084754.stm), BBC, 13 June 2005
- A Call for New Leadership (http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2005/05/two_weeks_on.php), Ya Libnan, 9 May 2005
- Aoun Returns to Lebanon (http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2005/05/fifteen_years_o.php), Ya Libnan, 7 May 2005
| Preceded by: Amine Gemayel | President of Lebanon (acting, disputed) 1988–1990 | Succeeded by: Elias Hrawi |
| Preceded by: Selim al-Hoss | Prime Minister of Lebanon (disputed) 1988–1990 | Succeeded by: Selim al-Hoss |