General Émile Jamil Lahoud (Arabic: اميل لحود; born January 12, 1936) is a former President of Lebanon. He is the son of General Jamil Lahoud, a leader in the independence movement. His mother is of Armenian descent from the Armenian village of Kasab in Syria. Before being elected in 1998, he was Chief of Staff in the Army. Under Lebanon's unwritten constitutional agreement, Al Mithaq Alwatani, the presidency is earmarked for a Maronite Catholic, the prime minister's post is reserved for a Sunni Muslim and the parliament speaker's post for a Shiite Muslim.