Lahoud, Emil Jamil

Emil Jamil Lahoud was born on January 10, 1936 ^{[2] [3]} (according to other sources, January 12, 1936 ^{[4] [5]} ) in the city of Baabdat in the Northern Metn district in the province of Mountain Lebanon to a Maronite Christian family ^{[5] [2 ]} . His father, Jamil Lahoud , also known as the “Red General” ^[4] , was an officer in the Lebanese army: in 1959 he became a general, in 1960 and 1964 he was elected to the Lebanese parliament from the Northern Metn district, and in 1966 he was appointed Minister of Labor and social affairs ^{[6] [2] [4]} . Emil’s mother Adrina Badzhakiyan had Armenian roots ^[2] . There was another child in the family - Nasri Lahoud (later the head of the Lebanese Supreme Justice Council) ^[4] .

Lahud received his primary education at the La Sagesse school in Beirut , continued his studies at a secondary school in Brumman in North Metna ^{[3] [2] [6]} , after which he left for the UK to master marine engineering ^[4] . Lahoud decided to follow in his father's footsteps: in October 1956 he entered the British Royal Naval College in Dartmouth and became a naval cadet ^{[3] [7] [6] [2] [4] [8] [9]} . In 1959 he graduated from college, received the military rank of midshipman and began serving on the basis of the Lebanese naval forces in Beirut - first as an engineer, then commander of the Beirut patrol ship ^{[4] [10] [7] [6] [10 ] ]} . In September 1962, he was awarded the next military rank of lieutenant ^{[6] [4] [10]} . In September 1965, Lahud was appointed commander of the Tir landing ship ^{[2] [10] [4]} . At the same time (from February to August 1960 and from May to June 1965 ^[4] ) he continued to study marine engineering and rescue operations in the UK ^{[6] [2]} .

In October 1966, Lahoud became the commander of the 2nd division of the Navy of Lebanon ^{[3] [2] [4]} . In the fall of 1967, he went to the USA , where he studied at the Institute of Chemical, Biological and Radiation Research (Chemical Bactirio Radiation College (CBR) in the USA) ^{[6] [4]} . In December 1968, Lahoud became the commander of the 1st division of the Navy of Lebanon ^{[2] [3] [6]} , in April 1969 he received the rank of lieutenant ^{[4] [10]} . In March 1970, he began working at the 4th Army Headquarters Bureau. From December 1972 to July 1973 he studied at the naval staff courses in Rhode Island (USA). From August 1973 to July 1979, Lahud headed the personal headquarters of the Lebanese army commander in chief ^{[6] [4]} . In 1974, he received the next military rank of Commander-Lieutenant , in 1976 - the Commander ^{[6] [10]} . From July 1979 to July 1980, Lahud studied at the Naval Command College in Rhode Island, where he received the rank of captain ^{[6] [10] [4]} . After returning to Lebanon, he became the director of the personnel department of the Lebanese army, and in February 1983 - the head of the military department in the Lebanese Ministry of Defense ^{[6] [3] [4]} . In 1985, Lahud was awarded the military rank of rear admiral ^[6] .

According to some sources, during the civil war in Lebanon from 1975-1990, Lahud maintained neutrality ^[3] . According to other sources, he supported the commander in chief of the Lebanese army, General Michel Aoun , who fought with the Syrian forces, but later became a supporter of Syria and was dismissed from the army ^[8] . In September 1988, Lebanese President Amin Jemayel appointed Aoun Prime Minister of the Transitional Military Government, who began to practically act as head of state. But the pro-Syrian leaders did not recognize Aoun and in November 1989, after the signing of the Taif Accords ^{[11] [8]} , they elected President Rene Muawad . 17 days after taking office, the new president was assassinated, then another pro-Syrian politician, Ilyas Khraui , was elected in his place, having confirmed Selim Hoss as prime minister ^{[12] [13]} .

On November 28, 1989, General Lahoud became commander in chief of the Lebanese army ^{[6] [4] [14] [15]} - he was appointed to this post by Hoss ^[8] . Aoun announced the start of a war of liberation against Syria, but in October 1990 four brigades led by Lahoud defeated his troops, and the civil war in Lebanon ended ^{[12] [13] [9]} .

As commander in chief, Lahud began reforming the army weakened by the civil war ^{[5] [4]} . He said that various political groups should disarm, and the army will remain out of politics ^[4] . In June 1991, Lahoud drafted six thousand members of the Lebanese parties into the army and internal security service and created special training camps for them, and later announced universal military service ^[16] . In 1993, a new army recruitment system began to work - 2,500 people were called up for military service ^{[9] [2]} . After the reform, Maronites, Orthodox , Catholics , Druze , Shiites , Sunnis and other representatives of Lebanese ethno-confessional communities ceased to serve only in the region from which they were called to exclude the possibility of forming Christian or Muslim paramilitary groups ^[9] .

Lahoud began to prepare the army for a confrontation with Israel as the “main enemy” of Lebanon ^[17] , while at the same time recording some Arab countries, primarily Syria, as “friends” ^[17] . Lahud manned the army with military equipment from the USA, Russia , Egypt , France and Italy ^[9] . According to experts, he managed to turn it into an organized structure, including representatives of all religious groups ^{[5] [2] [14]} . According to some reports, Lahud was closely associated with the Syrian leadership: for example, he coordinated the appointment of officers to senior command posts first with the Syrians, and only then with the Lebanese Prime Minister ^[8] .

According to some experts, the army under the leadership of Lahoud played a key role in suppressing the protests and discontent caused by the Syrian occupation and the policies pursued by Prime Minister Rafik Hariri , who led the government since 1992. ^[2] So, in 1994, the army destroyed the remnants of the Lebanese Forces Christian movement and arrested their leaders, including Samir Jaajaa ^{[2] [18]} .

On February 28, 1996, Lahoud supported Prime Minister Hariri in his confrontation with the General Confederation of Workers of Lebanon (VKTL) and announced the introduction of curfews in Beirut and in all major cities of the country ^[19] in order to prevent a general strike and a massive strike by the VKTL on February 29. protests against the socio-economic policies of the government. The day before, on February 27, 1996, representatives of the Hariri government announced ^[20] that they would not allow unrest in the country and reaffirmed the ban on mass demonstrations adopted in the summer of 1995, the responsibility of which was assigned to the army ^[19] . By order of Lahoud, all residents were forbidden to move through the streets, armored vehicles and army units were introduced into the cities of Lebanon, who were ordered to open fire without warning at all persons with weapons ^[19] . After that, the leaders of the VKTL stated that the trade unions would submit to the requirements of the army ^[19] .

On February 29, 1996, at 2 p.m. Lahud announced the abolition of the curfew, but added that the army would continue to carry out security functions in the country. According to some reports, in various cities of Lebanon several dozen people were arrested for violating curfew and sent to military tribunals. The introduction of curfews led to the complete disruption of mass demonstrations ^[21] .

On October 15, 1998, the Maronite Christian Lahoud ^[11] was elected President of Lebanon ^[22] for a six-year term ^[3] . He received the votes of all 118 deputies of the country's parliament present at the vote ^[22] , although only two-thirds of their votes were sufficient ^[23] . To this end, the parliament earlier approved an amendment to article 49 of the Lebanese constitution, which “once as an exception” allowed the civil servants of the 1st category (including the commander in chief of the army) to participate in the struggle for the presidency: in accordance with the general procedure, civil servants 1 -th category and judges could nominate themselves only two years after resigning from the civil service ^{[14] [7]} . On November 24, 1998, after the expiration of Khraui’s term of office ^[22] , Lahoud was sworn in and became the eleventh president of Lebanon ^{[14] [4]} .

Thus, Lahoud occupied one of the three highest government posts in Lebanon and the only one available to the Maronite Christian. As far back as 1943, the country adopted the National Pact, which enshrines the ethno-confessional character of the Lebanese political system: only a representative of the Maronite Christian community could be the president of the country, the Sunni would be the prime minister, and the Shiite would be the speaker ^{[24] [11]} . In addition, based on quotas, seats were distributed in parliament and government. The same system was reinforced by the Taif Accords signed in October 1989, which became a kind of compromise between the various communities involved in the Lebanese civil war ^[24] . At the same time, the proportion of Muslims in parliament was increased (deputy seats were divided equally between them and Christians ^[11] ), and in the future it was planned to abandon the distribution of seats in accordance with ethno-confessional quotas ^[24] . However, this did not happen. According to experts, Christians were interested in maintaining such a system, accounting for only 40 percent of the Lebanese population ^[11] .

In 1998, due to disagreements with Lahoud, Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri resigned. But in September 2000, it was Hariri who became the main winner of the Lebanese parliamentary elections. In addition, his candidacy was supported by the new Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ^[25] , and as a result, Hariri again became Prime Minister of the country ^[11] . But even after that, Hariri and Lahud often took different positions on the most important issues of the country's life, which was one of the reasons for the constant friction between them ^[11] . On the other hand, Lahuda’s ally and political adviser was Karim Pakraduni , who was then the chairman of the Kataib party, who had a pro-Syrian orientation. Lahoud’s cooperation with Pakraduni was facilitated by a community of descent from the Armenian community .

Lahoud continued to state that Lebanon and Israel were at war, even after the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the country's southern territories in May 2000. According to him, a peace treaty could not be signed until the complete liberation of all Lebanese prisoners and Lebanese territories (including Shebaa farms), the return of the Golan Heights to Syria, the declaration of an independent Palestinian state and Israel’s compliance with all the agreements signed since the beginning of the Arab-Israeli peace process. in Madrid ^[26] .

On September 3, 2004, Lahud’s term of office was extended for another three years ^{[12] [5]} . For this, the parliament introduced the relevant amendments to the Lebanese constitution ^[27] : 96 parliamentarians ^[12] voted “for”, 29 ^[11] voted “against”. In 1995, parliament similarly extended the powers of Lahoud’s predecessor Ilyas Hraui for 3 years ^[11] . According to some reports, Lahoud managed to extend his powers thanks to the support of Syria ^[12] , whose supporters dominated the Lebanese parliament at that time ^[5] .

In October 2004, after the extension of the powers of Lahoud, Hariri again defiantly resigned (although he himself voted to extend the presidential term), and on February 14, 2005 he died at the hands of terrorists ^[11] . The assassination of Hariri and other prominent Lebanese journalists - journalist Samir Qasir from the opposition newspaper An-Nahar, the former secretary general of the communist party, George Howie ^[12] , as well as the weakness of the government of Omar Karamé formed in October 2004 and the opposition’s demand to withdraw Syrian troops from Lebanese territory led to the so-called " Cedar Revolution " ^{[11] [28]} . In April 2005, a new government was formed, led by Najib Mikati ^{[29] [11]} . Syria withdrew from Lebanon its military contingent ^[13] . In the next parliamentary elections in mid-2005, anti-Syrian politicians won, gaining 72 out of 128 seats ^[12] .

The new parliamentary majority began to seek the resignation of Lahoud from the post of president of Lebanon ^[12] . In October 2005, according to the Lebanese Center for Political Studies, 55.1 percent of Lebanese respondents supported the resignation of President Lahoud ^[27] . On February 14, 2006, Beirut hosted a rally of thousands of people dedicated to the first anniversary of Hariri's death. Lahud then stated that he would remain in office until the end of his term, which expires in November 2007 ^{[27] [5]} . In the spring of 2006, at the initiative of the chairman of the parliament, Nabi Berry , several meetings of the national dialogue conference, or “last chance dialogue”, were held, with the participation of all the main political forces of the country ^{[27] [30]} . One of Aun’s Christian leaders (former commander in chief, head of the Reforms and Transformations bloc, who won 21st place in the 2005 parliamentary elections ^[12] ) announced his agreement to take the post of head of state if the president resigns ^[27] . The resignation of Lahoud was made by the head of the Maronite church of Lebanon, Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir ^[27] .According to some experts, in 2006, a political crisis could lead to a new civil war ^[12] .

После начала в июле 2006 года очередной ливано-израильской войны Лахуд обвинил Израиль в разрушении Ливана и поддержал движение сопротивления под руководством шиитской группировки « Хизбалла » ^{[31] [32]} , которая и спровоцировала конфликт ^{[33] [34]} . Он заявил, что главные противоречия в ливано-израильских отношениях остались прежними: неопределенный статус района ферм Шебаа, ливанские пленные в Израиле и палестинские беженцы в Ливане ^[31] . В августе 2006 года Лахуд одобрил решение правительства направить 15 тысяч военнослужащих ливанской армии на юг страны сразу после прекращения огня и потребовал предварительного вывода оттуда израильских войск ^[32] .

В ночь с 23 на 24 ноября 2007 года истекли президентские полномочия Лахуда. Он ушел в отставку несмотря на то, что депутаты так и не смогли выбрать нового президента страны, предприняв с сентября 2007 года четыре попытки. Полномочия президента должны были временно отойти премьер-министру страны Фуаду Синиоре ^[35] , но Лахуд передал их главнокомандующему армии генералу Мишелю Сулейману . Спикер парламента Берри заявил, что выборы президента должны были состоятся 30 ноября 2007 года ^[35] , однако позднее они были перенесены на 7 декабря 2007 года ^[36] . В дальнейшем на протяжении долгого времени оппозиционные силы блокировали президентские выборы, настаивая на том, чтобы им предоставили право вето на решения правительства ^{[37] [38]} . В мае 2008 года после массовых беспорядков, организованных «Хизбаллой» в Бейруте, президент все же был избран — им стал Сулейман ^[39] .

После отставки Лахуд изредка появлялся в прессе с антиизраильскими выступлениями. В октябре-ноябре 2008 года он посетил Иран, где встретился с высшими лицами страны, в том числе с президентом Махмудом Ахмадинеджадом , и поблагодарил Иран за поддержку Ливана ^{[40] [41]} . В январе 2009 года Лахуд также выступил в поддержку палестинского движения ХАМАС во время военной операции, проводившейся израильской армией против этого движения в секторе Газа ^[42] .

• Орден «За заслуги» особого класса
• Орден «За заслуги» 1 класса ( 1988 год )
• Орден «За заслуги» 2 класса
• Орден «За заслуги» 3 класса
• Большая лента Национального ордена Кедра ( 1993 год )
• Великий офицер Национального ордена Кедра
• Офицер Национального ордена Кедра ( 1989 год )
• Кавалер Национального ордена Кедра ( 1983 год )
• Командор ордена Почётного легиона ( Франция , 1996 год )
• Великий офицер ордена «За заслуги перед Итальянской Республикой» ( Италия , 1997 год )
• Орден «Ожерелье Нила» ( Египет , 2000 год )
• Орден Двойного белого креста 1 класса ( Словакия , 2 апреля 2001 года ) ^[43]
• Национальный орден Заслуг класса Athir ( Алжир , 23 июля 2002 )

• Эмиль Лахуд в Лентапедии
• Биография на сайте Президента Ливана (фр.)
• LE GENERAL-PRESIDENT EMILE LAHOUD: L'HOMME, LE MILITAIRE ET LE CHEF CHARISMATIQUE (фр.)
• Les commandants en chef de l'Armée — Emile Lahoud (фр.)

• При написании этой статьи использовался материал ( архив ) из « Лентапедии », доступный по лицензии Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0 Unported .