MIDDLE EAST: Michael Jansenprofiles Gen Michel Suleiman, who, it is hoped, will break the state's political logjam
GENERAL MICHEL Suleiman, Lebanon's army chief who is set to become the country's 12th president on Sunday, was chosen eight months ago as a consensus candidate to break the logjam in Lebanese politics.
The vote will represent the 21st time this parliament has convened in an effort to elect a head of state.
He waited on the sidelines until last Wednesday when the government and opposition coalitions agreed to a Qatari-brokered deal involving his elevation, the shape of a national unity government, and terms for holding next year's parliamentary election.
A graduate of the Lebanese military academy and holder of a BA in political science and administration from the Lebanese University, Gen Suleiman (59) was appointed army commander in 1998. At that time Syria dominated the Lebanese scene and the army was in the process of rebuilding after the disastrous 1975-90 civil war.
During his decade as commander, the general has not only maintained his independence but also avoided being drawn into the domestic power struggle, intensified by the February 2005 assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri.
Gen Suleiman used troops to prevent clashes during mass demonstrations staged after Hariri's murder, and to ensure order in April 2005 after Syria withdrew its soldiers and intelligence apparatus. Following Israel's 2006 onslaught on Lebanon, he deployed the army in the south for the first time in three decades. Last year he crushed a revolt by Muslim extremists in the north.
When criticised for refusing to use the army to counter recent clashes in Beirut, the mountains and the north, Suleiman retorted, "The army is my life. I am attached to it and I would never want to see it divided . . . Involving the army in internal clashes only serves the interests of Israel."
Gen Suleiman will be the third army commander to become Lebanese president, a post reserved for Maronite Christians under a 1943 communal powersharing arrangement.
His predecessor, Emile Lahoud, chosen to fight corruption, failed and became a source of contention because of his ties with Syria.
Gen Fouad Chehab, a man known for his integrity, was elected president after Lebanon's first civil war in 1958.
During his six-year term, Gen Suleiman is expected to try to neutralise factional feuds, normalise relations with Syria, strive for a reduction of political sectarianism and balance competing western and regional influences in Lebanon.
The deal was achieved after 18 months of political crisis and five days of clashes between US-backed pro-government gunmen and seasoned fighters of the military wing of Hizbollah, which enjoys Syrian support and heads the opposition front.
Hizbollah secured both its key demands: enough seats in the unity government to give the movement a veto on policy, and acceptance of the 1960 electoral law as the basis of the 2009 parliamentary poll.