Michel Aoun

Michel Aoun

Michel Naim Aoun (Arabic: ميشال عون‎) (born 30 September 1933) is a former Lebanese Army Commander and currently a Politician and leader of the Free Patriotic Movement.

From 22 September 1988 to 13 October 1990, Aoun served as Prime Minister of the legal faction of the two rival governments contending for power at that time. He declared "The Liberation War" against the Syrian Occupation on the 14th of March 1989. On the 13th of October 1990, the Syrian forces invaded Beirut killing hundreds of unarmed soldiers and civilians. General Aoun fled to the French embassy, and was later allowed to travel to France. He returned to Lebanon on May 7, 2005, eleven days after the withdrawal of Syrian troops. In 2006, as head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), he signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hezbollah. He visited Syria in 2009. Aoun is currently a Member of Parliament. He leads the "Free Patriotic Movement" party which has 27 representatives and is the second biggest bloc in the parliament.