Ministry of National Defense (Lebanon)

Lebanese Republic
Ministry of National Defense
وزارة الدفاع الوطني
Agency overview
Jurisdiction	Government of Lebanon
Headquarters	Yarze, Baabda, Mount Lebanon ; 33°50′29″N 35°33′10″E / 33.84139°N 35.55278°E
Agency executives	Maurice Sleem, Minister of National Defense; Gen. Joseph Aoun, Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces; Emir Majid Arslan, inaugural holder;
Website	Official website

The Ministry of National Defense (Arabic: وزارة الدفاع الوطني Wizārat al-Difāʾ al-Waṭanī) is Lebanon's service section for the Lebanese Armed Forces. The Ministry is located in Yarzeh, Baabda District, Mount Lebanon.^[1] The building which is considered the biggest Ministry building in Lebanon was designed by the French architect André Wogenscky in 1968.^[2] The ministry building also houses the Lebanese Military Museum.

Ministers

The ministers of National Defence have been:^[3]

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term			Political party
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Political party
1		Emir Majid Arslan (1908–1983)	25 September 1943	9 January 1945	1 year, 106 days	Independent
2		Abdul Hamid Karami (1887–1950)	9 January 1945	22 August 1945	256 days	Independent
3		Ahmed al-Asaad (1902–1961)	22 August 1945	22 May 1946	242 days	An-Nahda Party
(1)		Emir Majid Arslan (1908–1983)	22 May 1946	14 February 1951	4 years, 268 days	Independent
4		Hussein Al Oweini (1910–1971)	14 February 1951	7 June 1951	4 years, 268 days	Independent
5		Rashid Baydoun [ar] (1889–1971)	7 June 1951	2 February 1952	353 days	Talaeh Party
(1)		Emir Majid Arslan (1908–1983)	2 February 1952	9 September 1952	220 days	Independent
6		Nazem Akkari (1902–1985)	9 September 1952	14 September 1952	5 days	Independent
7		Saeb Salam (1905–2000)	14 September 1952	18 September 1952	4 days	Independent
8		Fuad Chehab (1902–1973)	18 September 1952	30 September 1952	12 days	Independent
9		Khaled Chehab (1886–1978)	30 September 1952	30 April 1953	212 days	Independent
(7)		Saeb Salam (1905–2000)	30 April 1953	16 August 1953	108 days	Independent
10		Abdallah El-Yafi (1901–1986)	16 August 1953	1 March 1954	197 days	Independent
(1)		Emir Majid Arslan (1908–1983)	1 March 1954	18 November 1956	2 years, 262 days	Independent
(8)		Fuad Chehab (1902–1973)	18 November 1956	1 March 1957	103 days	Independent
11		Sami as-Solh (1887–1968)	1 March 1957	18 August 1957	170 days	Constitutional Bloc
(1)		Emir Majid Arslan (1908–1983)	18 August 1957	14 March 1958	208 days	Independent
(5)		Rashid Baydoun [ar] (1889–1971)	14 March 1958	22 May 1958	69 days	Talaeh Party
(11)		Sami as-Solh (1887–1968)	22 May 1958	24 September 1958	125 days	Constitutional Bloc
12		Rashid Karami (1921–1987)	24 September 1958	14 May 1960	1 year, 233 days	Independent
13		Ahmad Daouk (1892–1979)	14 May 1960	1 August 1960	79 days	Independent
(1)		Emir Majid Arslan (1908–1983)	1 August 1960	20 May 1961	1 year, 79 days	Independent
(7)		Saeb Salam (1905–2000)	20 May 1961	31 October 1961	164 days	Independent
(1)		Emir Majid Arslan (1908–1983)	31 October 1961	20 February 1964	2 years, 112 days	Independent
(4)		Hussein Al Oweini (1910–1971)	20 February 1964	25 July 1965	1 year, 155 days	Independent
(12)		Rashid Karami (1921–1987)	25 July 1965	21 December 1965	149 days	Independent
13		Michel el-Khoury (born 1926)	21 December 1965	9 April 1966	109 days	Constitutional Bloc
13		Fouad Boutros (1917–2016)	9 April 1966	6 December 1966	241 days	Independent
13		Badri al-Maaouche	6 December 1966	8 February 1968	1 year, 64 days	Independent
(10)		Abdallah El-Yafi (1901–1986)	8 February 1968	5 July 1968	148 days	Independent
(5)		Rashid Baydoun [ar] (1889–1971)	5 July 1968	12 October 1968	99 days	Talaeh Party
(1)		Emir Majid Arslan (1908–1983)	12 October 1968	20 October 1968	8 days	Independent
(4)		Hussein Al Oweini^[a] (1910–1971)	20 October 1968	15 January 1969	87 days	Independent
(1)		Emir Majid Arslan (1908–1983)	15 January 1969	13 October 1970	1 year, 271 days	Independent
14		Edouard Saouma (1926–2012)	13 October 1970	13 October 1970	0 days	Independent
15		Elias Saba (1932–2023)	13 October 1970	27 May 1972	1 year, 227 days	Independent
(1)		Emir Majid Arslan (1908–1983)	27 May 1972	25 April 1973	333 days	Independent
16		Fouad Ghosn	25 April 1973	8 July 1973	74 days	Marada Movement
17		Nasri Maalouf (1911–2005)	8 July 1973	31 October 1974	1 year, 115 days	National Liberal Party
18		Joseph Skaff (1922–1992)	31 October 1974	23 May 1975	204 days	Popular Bloc (Lebanon)
19		Iskandar Ghanem (1911–2005)	23 May 1975	1 July 1975	39 days	Military
(12)		Rashid Karami (1921–1987)	1 July 1975	15 September 1976	1 year, 76 days	Independent
19		Camille Chamoun (1900–1987)	15 September 1976	9 December 1976	85 days	National Liberal Party
21		Fouad Boutros (1917–2016)	9 December 1976	20 December 1978	2 years, 11 days	Independent
20		Victor Khoury (1929–2017)	20 December 1978	16 July 1979	208 days	Independent
(18)		Joseph Skaff (1922–1992)	16 July 1979	10 July 1982	2 years, 359 days	Popular Bloc (Lebanon)
21		Issam Khoury	10 July 1982	30 April 1984	1 year, 295 days	Independent
22		Adel Osseiran (1905–1998)	30 April 1984	22 September 1988	4 years, 145 days	Independent
23		Michel Aoun (born 1935)	22 September 1988	25 November 1989	1 year, 64 days	Military
24		Albert Mansour	25 November 1989	24 December 1990	1 year, 28 days	SSNP
24		Michel Murr (1932–2021)	24 December 1990	31 October 1992	1 year, 312 days	Independent
25		Mohsen Dalloul (born 1933)	31 October 1992	4 December 1998	6 years, 34 days	PSP
26		Ghazi Zaiter (born 1949)	4 December 1998	26 October 2000	1 year, 327 days	Amal
27		Khalil Hrawi [fr] (born 1948)	26 October 2000	17 April 2003	2 years, 173 days	Independent
28		Mahmoud Hammoud (1935–2018)	17 April 2003	26 October 2004	1 year, 192 days	Independent
29		Abdul Rahim Mrad (born 1942)	26 October 2004	19 April 2005	175 days	Union Party
30		Elias Murr (born 1962)	19 April 2005	13 June 2011	6 years, 55 days	Independent
31		Fayez Ghosn (1950–2021)	13 June 2011	14 February 2014	2 years, 246 days	Marada Movement
32		Samir Mouqbel (born 1939)	14 February 2014	18 December 2016	2 years, 308 days	Independent
33		Yacoub Sarraf (born 1961)	18 December 2016	3 February 2019	2 years, 47 days	Free Patriotic Movement
34		Elias Bou Saab (born 1967)	3 February 2019	21 January 2020	352 days	Free Patriotic Movement
35		Zeina Akar^[4] (born 1964)	21 January 2020	10 September 2021	4 years, 329 days	Free Patriotic Movement
36		Maurice Sleem (born 1954)	10 September 2021	Incumbent	3 years, 89 days	Free Patriotic Movement

Notes

^ Served simultaneously as Minister of Economy and Trade.

References

^ "Address." [sic] Ministry of National Defense. Retrieved on 3 March 2013. "Ministry of Defense Lebanese Armed Forces Yarzeh, Lebanon" - Arabic Archived 2013-03-02 at the Wayback Machine: "وزارة الدفاع الوطني الجيش اللبناني اليرزة، لبنان" - French Archived 2013-01-17 at the Wayback Machine: "Ministère de la Défense Nationale l’Armée Libanaise Yarzé, Liban"
^ Postiglione, Gennaro (2004). One Hundred Houses. Taschen. ISBN 978-3-8228-6312-1.
^ "الوزراء المتعاقبون على وزارة الدفاع الوطني" [Successive ministers of the Ministry of National Defense]. pcm.gov.lb (in Arabic). Government of Lebanon. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
^ "Profile: Lebanon's new cabinet members, including the Arab world's first-ever female defence chief". alaraby.co.uk. 22 January 2020.

External links

http://www.lebarmy.gov.lb
List of Ministers (in Arabic)

[4] Served simultaneously as Minister of Economy and Trade.

[1] "Address." [sic] Ministry of National Defense. Retrieved on 3 March 2013. "Ministry of Defense Lebanese Armed Forces Yarzeh, Lebanon" - Arabic Archived 2013-03-02 at the Wayback Machine: "وزارة الدفاع الوطني الجيش اللبناني اليرزة، لبنان" - French Archived 2013-01-17 at the Wayback Machine: "Ministère de la Défense Nationale l’Armée Libanaise Yarzé, Liban"

[2] Postiglione, Gennaro (2004). One Hundred Houses. Taschen. ISBN 978-3-8228-6312-1.

[3] "الوزراء المتعاقبون على وزارة الدفاع الوطني" [Successive ministers of the Ministry of National Defense]. pcm.gov.lb (in Arabic). Government of Lebanon. Retrieved 14 August 2020.

[5] "Profile: Lebanon's new cabinet members, including the Arab world's first-ever female defence chief". alaraby.co.uk. 22 January 2020.

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