Raymond Azar ( ar, رايموند أزار; born 1953) was the head of the Lebanese military intelligence.

Early life and education

Raymond Azar was born into a

Maronite The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the largest ...

family in the mostly Christian village of Machmouche in 1953. He studied to be a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

before joining the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Career

Azar was appointed to head of military intelligence in 1998 when

Emile Lahoud Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...

was elected president. He was at this post at the time of Hariri assassination.

Controversy

Raymond Azar fell under suspicion of playing a role in the 2005 assassination of Rafiq Hariri a former

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

. The Mehlis report included a witness as indicating that Azar, like

Mustafa Hamdan Mustafa Hamdan (or Mustapha Hamdan), ( ar, مصطفى حمدان; born 1955) is a retired Lebanese army general and head of the presidential guard, and head of Al-Mourabitoun movement. Career Mustafa Hamdan is known for fighting Israel in 1982. ...

, provided logistical support for the assassination. He and other three generals including

Jamil Al Sayyed Jamil Al Sayyed ( ar, جميل السيد; born 1950) is a Lebanese politician, a current Member of the Parliament of Lebanon, and the former head of Lebanon's Sureté Générale or Lebanese General Security Directorate. He was arbitrarily detai ...

were arrested on 30 August 2005. They were held in Roumieh prison, northeast of Beirut from 2005 to April 2009. It is argued that first loyalty of all four generals was to Syrian government rather than Lebanese government. They all were released in April 2009 due to lack of evidence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azar, Raymond 1953 births Living people Lebanese military personnel Lebanese Maronites People from Jezzine People from South Lebanon