Michel Suleiman (Arabic: ميشال سليمان [miːˈʃæːl sʊleːˈmæːn]; born 21 November 1948) is a Lebanese politician who served as the 12th president of Lebanon from 2008 to 2014. Before becoming president, he served as commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces from 1998 to 2008.
After Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) commander Émile Lahoud took office as president in November 1998, Suleiman succeeded him, taking his place in December. Suleiman was later elected President and was sworn into office on 25 May 2008.
Suleiman was born in Amsheet in a Maronite Christian family on 21 November 1948. He joined the Lebanese Armed Forces in 1967 and went on to graduate from the military academy as 2nd lieutenant in 1970. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in politics and administrative sciences from the Lebanese University.
During his military career, he participated in several military training courses:
Officer course, Military school, Lebanon, 1970
Advanced training course, 7 January 1971 to 4 July 1971, Belgium
Staff course, 9 February 1981 to 17 July 1981, Staff school, France
General Command and Staff Course, Command and Staff College, starting 6 June 1988 for 52 weeks
International Defense Management course, United States of America from 22 June 1995 to 25 July 1995
During his military service, he progressed from an infantry platoon leader to a Battalion Commander, and then assumed the position of a trainer in the Military Academy and in the non-commissioned officer School. From 25 December 1990 until 21 August 1991 he was appointed as the Chief of the Intelligence Branch of Mount Lebanon. The Lebanese Army Intelligence of Mount Lebanon was after the detention of hundreds of anti-Syrian demonstrators with some cases of reported torture. On 25 August 1991 he was reassigned to the post of the Army Staff Secretary-General until 10 June 1993. He was commander of the 11th Infantry Brigade from 6 June 1993 to 15 January 1996, a period that witnessed violent confrontations with the Israeli forces in the West Beqaa Valley and South Lebanon regions. On 15 January 1996 he was appointed as commander of the 6th Infantry Brigade and remained in this position until 21 December 1998, when he was appointed as the commander of the Armed Forces. He was appointed commander-in-chief of the Lebanese army, although there were dozens of officers higher in rank and seniority. His appointment was reported to be a result of his family relations with a Syrian high-level official.
On 19 May 2007, the Lebanese Army entered into a prolonged conflict with Fatah al-Islam, a terrorist organization based in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon. The conflict lasted until 2 September 2007 and ended with the Lebanese Army taking complete control of the camp and the complete defeat of Fatah al-Islam. 170 Lebanese soldiers, 226 members of Fatah al-Islam, and 64 civilians (mostly Palestinian refugees) were killed in the fighting. Due to a number of reasons, including balancing the interests of Lebanese citizens, concerns for the safety of Palestinian refugees, and respecting the delicate political balance that existed in Lebanon at the time, Suleiman was forced to proceed in the conflict with extreme caution and managed to do so successfully, backed by popular and political support for the LAF.
On 7 May 2008, an ongoing political crisis between government loyalists and the opposition quickly spiraled out of control when Hezbollah announced that the government's decisions to declare the group's private telecommunications network as illegal and to relieve the head of security at Beirut International Airport (an alleged Hezbollah sympathizer) of his duties amounted to a "declaration of war". Fighting immediately broke out throughout the country, with members of Hezbollah and its allies in the Amal Movement and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party quickly bearing down on their enemies in the Future Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party. The fighting lasted until 14 May 2008, when the Lebanese government canceled its two decisions after the proposition of Suleiman to do so. As the crisis ended, Suleiman was the subject of criticism by some commentators and politicians since the Army did not directly intervene in the armed clashes that took place but instead tried to separate between fighters and protected political figures. On the other hand, others defended his stance by arguing that the only way to preserve the Army's unity and prevent another civil war was to ensure that it remained uninvolved in the fighting against the Lebanese citizens.
Fighting terrorism and extremism, notably through the following operations:
Discovering and fighting terrorist organizations in the high and barren mountains of North Lebanon in 2000, eliminating most of their members, dismantling their cells in all Lebanese regions and arresting their members.
Attacking the organization of Fatah al-Islam in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp on 20 May 2007, in reaction to an armed robbery of a bank and two attacks on LAF posts nearby the camp.
Separating anti-Syrian protests and pro-Syrian counter protests in 2005.
Completing the Army redeployment operation all over the Lebanese territories following the withdrawal of the Syrian Armed Forces on 26 April 2005 in addition to the disturbances and security violations during the year 2007.
Restructuring the Lebanese Army after the amendment of the military service law.