Jean Kahwaji (, ar, جان قهوجي; born 1953) is a former Lebanese

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

and

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

of the

Lebanese Armed Forces ) , founded = 1 August 1945 , current_form = 1991 , disbanded = , branches = Lebanese Ground ForcesLebanese Air Force Lebanese Navy , headquarters = Yarze, Lebanon , flying_hours = , websit ...

from 2008 to 2017.

Career

Kahwaji joined the Lebanese army in 1973. He trained abroad, especially in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He also underwent anti-

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

training in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 2006, as well as in

. He headed the army's 12th Infantry Brigade since 2002.. He also went to the Swedish military school in

Boden Garrison Boden Garrison ( sv, Bodens garnison) is a major garrison in Sweden, located in and around Boden, Sweden, Boden in Norrbotten County. The garrison has during the 20th century been, and still is, the largest garrison in Sweden, consisting of several ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

for terrain warfare during the 1990s. On 30 August 2008, the Lebanese government appointed Brigadier-General Jean Kahwaji to be chief of the

, replacing

Michel Suleiman Michel Suleiman ( ar, ميشال سليمان ; born 21 November 1948) is a Lebanese Maronite Christian politician who served as President of Lebanon from 2008 to 2014. Before becoming president, he served as commander of the Lebanese Armed Force ...

, who became

President of Lebanon The President of the Lebanese Republic ( ar, رئيس الجمهورية اللبنانية, rayiys aljumhuriat allubnania; french: Président de la République Libanaise) is the head of state of Lebanon. The president is elected by the parliame ...

in May 2008. He is the 13th chief officer in all of the army's 63-year history.

Corruption charges

Kahwaji has been charged several times with corruption and illicit enrichment. As an army official, Kahwaji is suspected of using his influence to accrue vast fortunes, and accepting bribes. On December 2020, a lebanese judge has filed corruption charges against him and other high-ranked officials.

Murder enquiry

On 24th January 2023, Judge

Tarek Bitar Tarek Bitar ( ar, طارق بيطار, Akkar, born 1974) is a Lebanese judge and the head of Beirut’s criminal court, who is the second judge to lead the investigation of the 2020 Beirut Port explosion, succeeding Fadi Sawwan who was dismisse ...

charged Kahwaji and the former Prime Minister -

Hassan Diab Hassan Diab ( ar, حسان دياب, Ḥassān Dyāb; born 1 June 1959) is a Lebanese academic, engineer and politician who served as the 37th Prime Minister of Lebanon, prime minister of Lebanon from 21 January 2020 to 10 September 2021. He was ...

- with 'Homicide with intent' under the probe into the Beirut explosion in 2020. Judge Bitar also charged Prosecutor General Ghassan Oweidat - the head of Lebanon's domestic intelligence agency Major General Abbas Ibrahim and other current and former security and judicial officials.

Personal life

Jean Kahwaji is married to Marleine Sfeir. They have three children: Jad, Joanna and Joe. He is a Maronite Christian.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kahwaji, Jean Living people 1953 births Lebanese Maronites Lebanese military personnel People from Bint Jbeil District

Career

Corruption charges

Murder enquiry

Personal life

See also

References