Ibrahim Tannous


Ibrahim Tannous was a former commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces. General Tannous earned a reputation for honesty and was seen as “a general willing to get his uniform dirty to build a fighting Lebanese Army,” in the words of one Arab authority.
Tannous took over command of the Lebanese Armed Forces in December 1982, during the early years of the civil war and oversaw joint operations with the Multinational Force that was in charge of training LAF forces and restoring order to Beirut. Tannous, who was close to President Gemayel, resigned his post as armed forces commander in June 1984 as a concession to government's opposition factions who were calling for restructuring the army and was succeeded by Michel Aoun. Until Gen. Tannous' resignation, the army was one of the most important institution supporting the U.S.-backed Gemayel Government, however, Tannous' departure marked a major shift in the American-trained armed forces towards a policy closely in tune with Syria's foreign policy and security objectives.

Personal life

Married with four children.

Military career

Functions

  • Assigned to 4th artillery regiment on 8/1/1956
  • Assigned to the Military Academy on 9/1/1957
  • Reinstated to the 4th artillery regiment on 8/1/1958
  • Assigned to the general Headquarters – 4th Bureau on 10/1/1958
  • Was assigned to the 5th artillery battalion- commander of battalion, on 6/4/1962
  • Was assigned to the 2nd artillery regiment, artillery brigade on 1/25/1966
  • Appointed commander of artillery regiment on 7/3/1968
  • Appointed chief of the 4th Bureau per Interim, as from 5/21/1965 to 8/16/1970
  • Appointed Deputy Chief of the 4th Bureau on 8/17/1970
  • Appointed chief of the Co-operative service at the Social Affairs directorate on 10/4/1971
  • Appointed chief of the Finance control Office at the directorate of Administrative Control on 4/21/1972
  • Was assigned to the region of North Lebanon on 7/21/1973
  • Was assigned to the HQ of the infantry brigade
  • * Chief of Staff of brigade on 8/1/1973
  • Was assigned to the independent anti-tanks company on 8/3/1974
  • Was transferred to the company of the Bekaa regional district
  • * Regional deputy to the commander of the region on 7/18/1974
  • Was detached to the Beirut region Command as from 9/16/1974 to 9/26/1974
  • Appointed Deputy to the Commander of the Bekaa region on 12/21/1974
  • Was detached to command by Interim, the Eastern defense Sector, on 2/28/1975
  • Assigned to the HQ Battalion of the 1st infantry brigade- Chief of Staff of the brigade on 8/18/1975
  • Assigned to the Army Headquarters Battalion as Chief of the Studies, organization and planning Office on 8/30/1975
  • Assigned to the Sector No. 3/Unit 31 as commander of the group on 3/15/1978
  • Appointed Armed Forces Commander on 12/8/1982
  • Was released from his duty as the Armed Forces Commander, on his request, and was put at the disposition of the minister of National Defense on 6/23/1984
  • Retired to pension on 7/1/1988

Medals, awards and honors