How Aoun rose from '90s renegade to Lebanon's new president
The election of Gen. Michel Aoun as Lebanon’s president ends a 2½-year void in the office but also divides the Lebanese public, with some considering him the candidate of Hezbollah.
Michel Aoun will never forget two Octobers in his life: one that saw him ousted, humiliated and sent into exile on Oct. 13, 1990, and one that came 26 years later when he was elected on Oct. 31, 2016, as Lebanon’s 13th president. The 81-year-old former military chief of staff sat inside the parliament’s main chamber while his fellow members of parliament voted for him.
Watching from the 1934 building’s mezzanine was Aoun's family, including his daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren. Beside them sat famous Lebanese singer Julia Boutros, whose husband is Education Minister Elias Bou Saab, one of Aoun’s Cabinet members. At the same level sat former Lebanese presidents Michel Suleiman and Amin Gemayel, along with commanders of the army, internal security and general security officials, and journalists.
In the first round, Aoun received 84 votes out of 127, not enough to secure a win. He might have received more, as there were at least two write-in votes apparently cast in jest or protest against Aoun: one for the fictional novel and film character "Zorba the Greek," and another for risque Lebanese model Myriam Klink, who later retweeted a photo that had been altered to show her sitting in the presidential palace.
Klink's nomination drew amusement and consternation on Twitter: "Myriam Klink? Seriously? And we still think there's hope for this desperate country?" one tweet read. Another said, "The presidential voting is much more entertaining than Miss Lebanon elections!" Ahmed Al Omran, a Saudi correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, noted the vote for Klink on his Twitter page Oct. 31. One reader responded, "So? [Donald] Trump has a real shot at the US presidency."
