Michel Sulaiman

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General Michel Sulaiman

General Michel Sulaiman (Arabic: ميشيل سليمان) (born 21 January 1948 in Amsheet) is the 12th and current commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). He was appointed as commander on December 21, 1998, succeeding Emile Lahoud after he was elected as the President of Lebanon. Sulaiman has a B.A. in Politic and Administrative Sciences.

Michel Sulaiman speaks Arabic, English and French. He is married and has three children. He is a Maronite Christian. [1]

[edit] Military career

Sulaiman enrolled into the army as a Cadet Officer on October 4, 1967. After training, Sulaiman commanded many different companies. By 1979 he was transferred to Army HQ as Secretariat-General. In 1991 he was promoted to the rank of Colonel of Staff and appointed as the Commandment of the Mount Lebanon region.

In 1996 he was promoted to the rank of General of staff and was appointed as the commander of the 6th infantry brigade.

Then in 1998, he was promoted to the rank of General, and was appointed as the Armed Forces Commander. During the Lebanese civil war, he served greatly in the Lebanon Army. On 21 December 1998 he was appointed as general and became a successor of the Émile Lahoud as the highest commander of the Lebanese armed forces, when the former was selected to be the president. Michel Sulaiman has several honors gotten, among other things also Syrian and Ukrainian military decorations. In the Lebanon war 2006 it had the supreme command over the Lebanese armed forces, into the fighting intervened, however not actively.