The former boss of General Security Abbas Ibrahim (r) and his caretaker successor, General Elias Bayssari (l). (Credit: OLJ achive photo/Nabil Ismail)
Elias al-Bayssari, whose name was suggested as a presidential candidate, is the acting head of General Security. He could very well be the “third option” that resolves Lebanon’s long-standing electoral issue. No political party seems to have a problem with him. Bayssari is reputed to have warm relations with almost everyone. “Kindness” and “friendliness” are his trademarks, said the interviewees who know him.
His luxurious office near Beirut’s National Museum is a beehive of activity. Bayssari is congenial and displays a sense of realism when speaking about his presidential candidacy.
“This is Lebanon, where things change from one minute to the other,” he said. Although Bayssari expressed that his focus now was on the institution he leads, he noted that he would serve the country as president if he was asked to do so, without hesitation.
Why Bayssari? “Quite simply because he has cultivated good relations with everyone,” said an individual close to former President Michel Aoun, who requested anonymity. Within the circles of the Free Patriotic Movement, whose leader Gebran Bassil would approve of almost any figure besides Army Chief Gen. Joseph Aoun or Marada Leader Sleiman Frangieh for the presidency, the “good relations” with Bayssari are praised.
“This is the typical profile of a compromise candidate insofar as Gen. Bayssari, who has spent many years in the public domain, has never made any enemies,” said a source close to the FPM.
Hezbollah, which continues to insist on its candidate, Frangieh, would probably have no problem endorsing this option, as is being said behind the scenes.
The Lebanese Forces (LF), for their part, are considered neutral at this stage and prefer not to mention a name for as long as Hezbollah has not let go of Frangieh.
As for Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, he would not hesitate to support him insofar as Gen. Bayssari be “one of his protégés,” said a source close to military circles. It is said that before his death, former minister and MP Michel Murr went to Ain al-Tineh one day to ask Berri “to keep an eye on the two Elias’,” one being his son, and the other, Bayssari.
Bayssari categorically denied this narrative. “This is Lebanese-style gossip,” he said, before confirming that he indeed has “excellent relations with Berri.”
“ I like him a lot,” he said with a big smile.
To the Murr family considers Bayssari one of them. The General was close to them for over 10 years, given his close relations with former Minister Elias Murr. This affection grew even stronger after the attempted assassination of then-Defense Minister Elias Murr on July 12, 2005, in Naccache. Bayssari, who was in the seat closest to the bomb, was seriously injured. Since then, relations between the two families have been unbreakable.
How did Bayssari’s name surface for president? It was Qatar, represented by its special envoy to Lebanon Abu Fahd Jassem al-Thani, who suggested his candidacy. During his visit to Lebanon in September, Thani presented to the Lebanese officials he met with a list of five names, which included Bayssari’s.
“Someone must have whispered his name to the Qataris,” said one Bayssari’s acquaintances.
L’Orient-Le Jour learned that his predecessor, Abbas Ibrahim, who is well connected to Doha, is unlikely to be the one who suggested his name. Nor could it have been Gebran Bassil, to whom this move was attributed.
According to sources close to military circles, Bassel al-Hassan, chairman of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, and who has ties with Doha, put forward Bayssari’s name in the hope of seeing him president and himself elevated to the post of prime minister.
“I don’t know who put my name forward. But I can say that I only met Bassel al-Hassan once, during one of the four visits the Qatari envoy made to my office,” said Gen. Bayssari.
“The Qataris probably suggested him because of his non-confrontational personality. He has never tried to provoke anyone,” said a source in the FPM circles.
Some would say that Bayssari’s personality is a double-edged sword. “He is very polite, very reserved, but almost self-effacing. I was particularly surprised by his intellectual curiosity,” said one political observer, who requested anonymity. “He’s no match for a position as important as the presidency of the republic,” said a former officer who worked with him.
‘He never put on rangers’
Born in 1964, Bayssari joined the army in 1986 after studying at the military academy. In 1995, he took up a post in Beirut’s intelligence services, at the port security office, followed by another in the army’s intelligence service.
In 2000, he was assigned to the office of the president of the republic under Emile Lahoud’s tenure, where he stayed for a year before being sent on temporary assignment to the Interior Ministry in 2004 and then to the Defense Ministry in 2005. In both of these positions, he worked for former Minister Murr, who became his close friend.
Bayssari joined the General Security agency in 2005, where he was in charge of the institution’s administration and then the office of (former) Director General Abbas Ibrahim, before replacing him on an interim basis in March 2023.
Just as he was about to retire, Bayssari was asked to temporarily take over as the General Security’s helm, after Ibrahim’s departure.
“He did not believe he was going to be appointed to the head of this institution,” said one of his acquaintances.”
“He owes his career mainly to the Murr family,” said several corroborating sources.
Among his former army colleagues, he is known to have undertaken few field missions with troops. “He hardly ever put on his ranger boots,” said a retired general who knew him, on condition of anonymity. “He is the typical example of a president that Hezbollah will have no problem endorsing,” said the retired officer.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour. Translation by Joelle El Khoury.