Current president of lebanon

General michel aoun biography.

Samir Geagea (left) and Michel Aoun (right) cutting a cake to celebrate the former's endorsement of the latter (screenshot of television appearance on LBC Lebanon)

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea endorsed the candidacy of Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun for the presidency of Lebanon. This move came as a surprise to most observers for two reasons:

  1. Samir Geagea was a candidate for the presidency himself
  2. Samir Geagea and Michel Aoun were on opposing sides during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990)

Geagea is the executive chairman of the Lebanese Forces, the second largest Christian political party in Lebanon, while Aoun is the founder of the Free Patriotic Movement, the country’s largest Christian political party.

News website Now Lebanon described the endorsement as a “political bombshell”, but not everyone was surprised by Geagea's decision. ‘Moulahazat’ blogger Ramez Dagher wrote a long post analyzing what he called ‘the C Geagea: Aoun wasted 40 years of our lives - L'Orient Today.