The Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces (Arabic: قائد الجيش اللبناني, romanized:qāʔid al-jayš al-lubnāniyy) is responsible for the operational command of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). According to the Constitution, the President of Lebanon is the commander-in-chief. The commander always holds the General rank. The commander must always be a Maronite Christian according to the National Pact.

Appointment

The Army Commander is appointed by general grade officers who have not yet been placed in the reserve with a decree issued from the cabinet based on the proposal of the Minister of National Defense.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Commander of the Lebanese Forces include:

  • Organizing and managing units and bureaus and specifying their mission
  • Performing operations of employment and on the alert operations when they are decided
  • Implementing preparedness and mobilization operations when announced.
  • Determining the need of the Army and maintaining the state of equipment and supplies upon their delivery from the General Administration
  • Commanding military operations

List of officeholders

No.PortraitName (Birth–Death)Term of officeRef.
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
1Chehab, FouadMajor General Fouad Chehab (1902–1973)1 August 194522 September 195813 years, 52 days
2Salem, TouficMajor General Toufic Salem[ar] (1904–1978)9 October 195831 January 1959114 days
3Shehab, AdelMajor General Adel Shehab[ar] (1903–1980)1 February 195930 June 19656 years, 149 days
4Boustany, EmileGeneral Emile Boustany (1909–2002)1 July 19656 January 19704 years, 189 days
5Njeim, JeanGeneral Jean Njeim (1915–1971)7 January 197024 July 19711 year, 198 days
6Ghanem, IskandarGeneral Iskandar Ghanem (1911–2005)25 July 19719 September 19754 years, 46 days
7Saïd, HannaGeneral Hanna Saïd (1923–1998)10 September 197527 March 19771 year, 198 days
8Khoury, VictorGeneral Victor Khoury (1929–2017)28 March 19777 December 19825 years, 254 days
9Tannous, IbrahimGeneral Ibrahim Tannous (1929–2012)8 December 198222 June 19841 year, 197 days
10Aoun, MichelGeneral Michel Aoun (born 1935)23 June 198427 November 19895 years, 157 days
11Lahoud, ÉmileGeneral Émile Lahoud (born 1936)28 November 198923 November 19988 years, 360 days
12Suleiman, MichelGeneral Michel Suleiman (born 1948)21 December 199830 August 20089 years, 253 days
13Kahwaji, JeanGeneral Jean Kahwaji (born 1953)30 August 20088 March 20178 years, 190 days
14Aoun, JosephGeneral Joseph Aoun (born 1964)8 March 20179 January 20257 years, 307 days
Audi, HassanMajor General Hassan Audi (born 1968) Acting9 January 202513 March 202563 days
15Haykal, RodolphGeneral Rodolphe Haykal (born 1969)13 March 2025Incumbent1 year, 35 days

Timeline

See also