Aoun Family

Michel Aoun is the former President of the Lebanese Republic. He was elected in October 2016 for a six-year term. He previously served as Commander of the Lebanese Army during the Lebanese civil war, from 1984 to 1990. When the term in office of former President Amine Gemayel ended in September 1988 without a successor elected to assume the presidency, Gemayel appointed General Michel Aoun as interim Prime Minister in charge of leading a caretaker government until the election of a new president. During his tenure as Prime Minister, General Michel Aoun led a divided Lebanese Army in a conflict with the Syrian forces in Lebanon in 1989. He rejected the Taif Agreement, contesting the legitimacy of the Members of Parliament who signed it and the role that the Syrian regime would be playing in Lebanon. The Aoun-led Lebanese Army also clashed with the Lebanese Forces militia, in one of the bloodiest intra-Christian conflicts of the civil war. General Michel Aoun was eventually defeated on October 13, 1990 and had to concede power to then-President Elias Hraoui and his new government formed after the Taif Agreement. He left Lebanon months later and went into exile in France, from where he created the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), a major force in the opposition to the Syrian regime’s hegemony over Lebanon. Supporters of FPM faced severe repression in Lebanon in the 1990s and until 2005.

After the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and the subsequent withdrawal of the Syrian forces from Lebanon, General Michel Aoun returned to Lebanon on May 6, 2005 and led his party to become the second largest bloc in Parliament in June of that year. He was elected MP for Kesrwan. In February 2006, he signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and began a process of reconciliation with the Syrian regime. He remained a top contender for the Lebanese presidency in 2007, but withdrew his candidacy in May 2008 in favor of General Michel Sleiman and ensured a strong participation of FPM in the Council of Ministers. He was re-elected MP in 2009 and, after more than two years of presidential vacuum that started in 2014, he secured the support of two of his opponents (former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea) to be elected President of the Republic in October 2016. Several major crises hit Lebanon during his tenure, including but not limited to the economic and financial collapse as well as the Beirut port explosion on August 4, 2020.

Several members of Michel Aoun’s family play a prominent role in politics and media:

Claudine Aoun, daughter of Michel Aoun, is the president of the National Council of Lebanese Women and founder of Clémentine SAL communication agency.

Mireille Aoun, daughter of Michel Aoun, is a member of FPM’s Political Council, married to Roy Hachem, CEO of OTV.

Chantal Aoun, daughter of Michel Aoun, is married to Gebran Bassil, President of the Free Patriotic Movement, Member of Parliament (since 2018), former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants (2014-2020), Energy and Water (2009-2014), and Telecommunications (2008-2009).

Nadia Chami Aoun, wife of Michel Aoun, former First Lady of Lebanon.

Alain Aoun, nephew of Michel Aoun, Member of Parliament since 2009.

Pierre Selwan, nephew of Michel Aoun, Fellow at Microchip Technology Inc., a US-based microchip company.