Facts about Lebanon's new president

FACTBOX- 25 May 2008 11:17:50 GMT
Source: Reuters
May 25 (Reuters) - Lebanon's parliament is due to elect army chief General Michel Suleiman as president on Sunday, filling a post left vacant for six months because of a political crisis that had pushed the country to the brink of a new civil war.

The presidency is reserved for a Maronite Christian under Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system.

Here are some facts about Suleiman.

* Suleiman, 59, has been army commander since 1998. Since then, Israeli troops withdrew from south Lebanon in 2000, Israel and Hezbollah fought a war in 2006 and the army battled and defeated al Qaeda-inspired militants in north Lebanon last year.

* He has good ties with Syria and Hezbollah, Lebanon's most powerful faction.

* He has been credited with keeping the army unified during domestic splits and violence over the past three years. The army is seen as a crucial guarantor of Lebanon's civil peace.

But it has been criticised by the anti-Syrian governing coalition for not moving against opposition protests and for perceived acquiescence in the face of a Hezbollah-led military campaign against its rivals this month. The army was also criticised by Hezbollah after soldiers killed seven of opposition protesters in January.

* Suleiman gained popularity last year after the army defeated Islamist fighters at the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp. The fighting killed more than 420 people, including 169 soldiers.

* He graduated from the Military Academy in 1970 and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Administrative Sciences from the Lebanese University. He was commander of the 11th Infantry Brigade between 1993-1996, a time which witnessed two major Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon.