Personal Information :
General Michel Sleiman is the 12th President of the Republic of Lebanon
Born on the 21st of November 1948, in Amchit – Jbeil
Married to Mrs. Wafaa Sleiman, and has 3 children:
Rita, Dentist, married to Engineer Wissam Baroudi, and has three children;
Lara, Architect Engineer, married to Engineer Nabil Hawat, and has one child;
Charbel, a Doctor.
Academic qualifications :
President Sleiman obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political and Administrative Sciences from the Lebanese University in 1980. He masters English and French language. During his military career, President Sleiman took part in many military and administrative courses, notably in Belgium, France ,and the Unites States of America.
President Sleiman was granted a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the Moscow State Institute for International Relations (MGIMO) in 2010; and from the National University of the Third of February in Buenos Aires (UNTREF) in 2012.
President of the Republic
Was elected President of the Lebanese Republic in the afternoon of May 25, 2008 with a majority of 118 votes of the total 128 votes representing the deputies of the Lebanese parliament. Many Arab and international personalities attended the election session, a first in the history of Lebanon.
He concluded his term Saturday, May 24, 2014 with a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, attended by senior officials and political, economic and social figures and during which he delivered his farewell speech. The President sent, ten days before the end of his term, a letter to Parliament through the Speaker of the House, to encourage members to meet the most important constitutional deadline, namely, the election of a new president. He also sponsored a historic reconciliation at Brih, in the Chouf, in the presence of His Beatitude the Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai to complete the reconciliation in Mount Lebanon, which began in 2000.
Significant milestones of the mandate of President Sleiman :
- The establishment of an dialogue approach between Lebanese parties, insisting on the organization of the dialogue table under his auspices, exerting pressure to reach consensus initiatives, among which, the Baabda Declaration , calling for further implementation of the Taif agreement, especially with regard to the principle of parity. He presented his vision concerning a preliminary National Defense Strategy.
- The enhancement of Lebanon’s position on the international scene, through the establishment of a wide network of regional and international relations, including the presidency of the Security Council for the biennium 2010-2011
- The launch of the International Support Group for Lebanon.
- The guarantee of a Saudi unprecedented donation of $ 3 billion, to strengthen the capacity of the Lebanese Army.
- The establishment of comprehensive diplomatic relations with the Syrian government for the first time in the history of relations between the two countries.
The President of the Republic received the following decorations and medals :
- Lebanese Order of Merit, Extraordinary grade (2008)
- Collar of King Abdul Aziz - from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia(2008)
- Italian Order of Merit, Grand Cross - from Italy (2008)
- Collar of Moubarak the Great - from Kuwait (2009)
- Khalifite Collar - from Bahrain (2009)
- Zayed Order - from the United Arab Emirates (2009)
- Oman Military Order - from the Sultanate of Oman (2009)
- Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor - from France (2009)
- Collar of the National Order of the Star of Romania - from Romania (2009)
- Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic - from Spain (2009)
- Collar of the Order ‘Pro Merito Melitensi’ - from the Sovereign Order of Malta (2009)
- Grand Collar of the Order of Makarios III – from Cyprus (2010)
- Grand Collar of the National Order of the Southern Cross from Brazil (2010)
- Grand cordon of the National Order of Umayya – from Syria (2010)
- Necklace of Independence, from Qatar (2010)
- National Order of the Cedar, Grand Collar (2010)
- Grand-Cross of the Order of Rio Branco – from Brazil (2011)
- Order of Honor – from Armenia (2011)
- Grand Star of the Decoration of Honor -from Austria (2012)
- Grand-Cross of the Order of the Redeemer – from Greece (2012)
- Prize of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II for the year 2012-from the International
- Foundation for the Unity of the Orthodox Christian Nations IFUOCN (2013)
- Grand-Cross of the National Order of the Lion – from Senegal (2013)
- Grand-Cross of the National Order – from the Ivory Coast (2013)
Army Commander :
Took the helms of the command of the Lebanese Army from 21 December 1997 until he was elected President of the Republic, 25 May 2008. He strived, at the head of the Army, to fight against terrorism and espionage by detecting several terrorist networks and Israeli spy. He strived as well to detect and fight against the terrorist organizations in North by facing and defeating the "Fatah al Islam" organization at Naher al Bared camp which created an unprecedented consensus in Lebanese history concerning the role of the Army in the preservation of national unity. He faced the Israeli enemy and supported the resistance until the liberation of the South in 2000. He completed the process of deployment of troops across the Lebanese territory after the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and the following years that were marked by unrest destabilizing the national order. His efforts have also focused on the consecration of the Army as the guarantor of democracy, security and citizens’ rights, and not the authoritarian Army that punishes his political opponents. The national role of the Army came to light when it preserved the safety of protesters, public and private institutions and freedom of expression since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005. Sleiman also worked to implement a plan to end the Israeli war against Lebanon in 2006, which culminated in the raising of the Lebanese flag on the Labboune hill overlooking the southern border to mark the return of sovereignty in southern Lebanon.
Military Career :
Lieutenant graduate from the military school in 1970.
He became Commander-in-chief of the Lebanese Army on December 21, 1998 until May 25, 2008. He climbed the ladder during his years of service. He started as squad military commander, before being promoted to infantry battalion commander, instructor at the Military Academy, instructor at the Academy of officers, Chief Information Branch of Mount Lebanon and Secretary General of the Defense Staff. He led the Eleventh Infantry Brigade starting 11/06/1993 and fought during this period against the violent attacks of the Israeli enemy on the front of the West Bekaa and the South.
He led the Sixth Infantry Brigade and put in place a plan to deal with any potential Israeli aggression against the front of the South and West Bekaa.
General Sleiman received the following decorations and medals during his years of military service:
- Lebanese Order of Merit, 3rd grade (1985)
- Medal of War (1992)
- Lebanese Order of Merit, 2nd grade (1993)
- National Order of the Cedar, Knight (1993)
- Medal National Unity (1993)
- Medal of the Dawn of South (1993)
- Medal of Military Valor, silver grade (1994)
- Lebanese Order of Merit, 1st grade (1998)
- National Order of the Cedar, Grand Cordon (1999)
- Medal of Internal Security (2001)
- Medal of State Security (2001)
- Medal of General Security (2001)
- Medal of the President of the Republic of Ukraine (2002)
- Military Medal (2003)
- Commemorative Medal of Conferences for the year 2002 (2003)
- Medal of Honor of the Arab Federation (2004)
- Medal of Honor of the Arab Federation for Military Sports, 2nd degree (2005)
- Syrian Order of Merit, Grade of Excellence (2005)
- Medal of Military Pride, silver grade (2006)
- Medal of the Defense Ministry of the Federal Republic of Russia (2007)
Academic qualifications :
President Sleiman obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political and Administrative Sciences from the Lebanese University in 1980. He masters English and French language. During his military career, President Sleiman took part in many military and administrative courses, notably in Belgium, France ,and the Unites States of America.
President Sleiman was granted a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the Moscow State Institute for International Relations (MGIMO) in 2010; and from the National University of the Third of February in Buenos Aires (UNTREF) in 2012.