General George Joulwan (12 November 2024)
Presented Online
Nicholas Hardwick
General George Alfred Joulwan is an American army officer, who reached a very senior position as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), from 1993-7. His achievements are significant for Toula because his grandfather came from the village.
In addition to the community in Sydney, which has migrated from Toula, people from the village have migrated to many parts of the world including to the USA. They and their families have often developed their lives in the new countries in which they settled and have had considerable professional and life achievements. The life of George Joulwan is a good example of this.
He was born in 1939, in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, USA, and was the son of Alfred and Alice Joulwan. He has an armed services background in his family, since his father served in the US navy during World War I (1914-8), and in World War II (1939-45) his cousin fought in the US Army and was twice captured.
His grandfather, that is, his father’s father migrated to the USA from Toula. Pennsylvania is a state on the eastern side of the USA. It was founded by the Quaker William Penn (1644-1718) in 1681, as a British colony. The Quakers are a Protestant group, which developed in England during the mid-seventeenth century AD, and Pennsylvania was founded so that they could escape religious persecution in England and elsewhere. It was one of the thirteen colonies which joined in the Declaration of Independence of the USA from Britain on 4 July 1776 and became a state of the USA. Philadelphia, the state’s largest city, served as the capital of the USA in the first years after independence. The state has been a major industrial region of the USA.
From 1961, Joulwan attended the famous United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Colloquially known as ‘West Point’, the Academy was founded in 1802, not long after the Declaration of Independence of the USA in 1776. It was established on the site of a fort which had existed since 1778 during the American War of Independence (1775-83), and training of officer cadets existed there from 1794.
Famous graduates of the Academy include General Douglas Macarthur (1880-1964), the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the South-West Pacific Area during World War II (1939-45), General Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) during World War II, who became the President of the USA (1953-61) and General William Westmoreland (1914-2005), the commander of the US forces (1964-8) during the Vietnam War (1955-75). As well as his military training, Joulwan excelled in football and basketball at the Academy. In 1972, he studied for a one year course in the Department of Tactics at West Point. After the end of his military career, Joulwan served as a professor at West Point.
Joulwan also studied for a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in political science from 1968 at Loyola University, which is a Roman Catholic private university located in Chicago, Illinois, run by the Jesuits. The Society of Jesus, known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order which was founded in 1540 by St Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), who came from Spain. They are particularly known as educators and run many schools and universities internationally. Hence, many schools and universities, such as Loyola University, are named after their founder. These include the Sydney school, St Ignatius’ College, Riverview. The present Pope, Pope Francis (1936-), is a Jesuit, and the first Jesuit ever to be elected Pope.
In the earlier part of his career, after initial service in Europe, Joulwan served in the Vietnam War (1955-75) on two occasions during 1966-7 and 1971-2. The Vietnam War was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, where the USA and its allies supported South Vietnam against communist North Vietnam. The allies of the USA included Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Thailand. The war ended in 1975 with the victory by North Vietnam, and the united Vietnam becoming communist.
Joulwan’s career has been particularly influenced by his distinguished mentors, which include General Alexander Haig (1924-2010), who had also been SACEUR (1974-9) and who was US Secretary of State (1981-2) under President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004), who was in office from 1981-9. In the USA, the Secretary of State is the chief official responsible for foreign affairs.
He served on the staff of Haig in the White House in 1973-4. This was when the President of the USA was Richard Nixon (1913-94), who was in office from 1969-74. This was also during the time of the Watergate Scandal (1972-4), the political controversy which ultimately led to Nixon’s resignation in 1974.
Another significant political figure during the time when Joulwan was at the White House, was Henry Kissinger (1923-2023), who was Secretary of State (1973-7). Kissinger was Jewish, and was born in Germany, but his family fled to the USA to avoid Nazi persecution. He was very influential on the US foreign policy during his period as Secretary of State, and remained a significant, but controversial, public figure throughout his life.
Joulwan served from 1982-6 at the Pentagon in Washington, DC. Constructed between 1941-3 during World War II, the Pentagon is the headquarters of the Department of Defense of the USA. The building has the name ‘Pentagon’, because it has five sides, that is, the shape of a pentagon, and it is the world’s second largest office building, having been the largest until 2023.
He held various senior commands in Europe, including in Germany from 1986-8, and in the USA, which culminated in his appointment to NATO. In relation to his service in Germany, he is fluent in German. Together with Britain, the Soviet Union and France, the USA had been an occupying power of Germany from the end of World War II in 1945, until the reunification of Germany in 1991, and a number of US military bases remain in the country.
From 1990-3, he was the Commander-in-Chief of the US Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), which is based at Doral, in Greater Miami, Florida, and is responsible for security in the Caribbean region, central and South America. In this role, he was involved in operations in Central America, in El Salvador and in Panama.
This was a period of considerable unrest in the region. Almost immediately after he was appointed he faced three coups, a war in El Salvador and an uprising in Panama. His leadership and determination led to a peaceful outcome in both countries, and democracy was instated in Panama. He was involved in the modernisation of military forces in Latin America, and the improvement of their professionalism. Drug trafficking has been and remains a significant problem in the region, but, during Joulwan’s tenure as Commander-in-Chief, significant advances were made in its reduction.
From 1993-7, he was the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) of NATO, as well as the Commander of the US European Command. While in these positions, he was based in Belgium. The SACEUR is always an American four-star general, who also serves as head of the US European Command. In this role, Lebanon was part of his responsibility.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) was founded in 1949. Its member states are largely in Europe and in North America. Its primary security objective was in the past against the communist block of countries in eastern Europe, of which the most significant one was the Soviet Union, and, at present, against Russia and its allies, although it has had other international operations since 1991. The political headquarters of NATO are in Brussels, which is the capital of Belgium, in western Europe, where they has been situated since 1967, having previously been in Paris and in London.
The SACEUR is based at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), which is the military headquarters of NATO. Since 1967, when it moved from France, where it had been since its foundation in 1951, it has been situated at Casteau, near Mons, in Belgium.
Joulwan’s tenure as SACEUR was soon after the collapse of communism in Europe in 1989-91, and he played an important part in the establishment of a new order of security in Europe, which has largely continued until the present.
He led over twenty successful NATO operations in the Balkans, the Middle East and Africa. When US forces were sent to Bosnia in the 1990s, he played an important role in the operation. Bosnia is now part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is a country which was part of former Yugoslavia, and the latter broke up in the 1990s into various countries after the collapse of communism from 1989-91. Various wars occurred in the region of former Yugoslavia from 1991-2001, and Joulwan was instrumental in peacekeeping in the region.
After the end of communism in 1989-91, there were significant changes in the strategic aims of the members of NATO. This was a period of the development of NATO policy beyond the North Atlantic. Furthermore, the USA formulated an African policy for the first time. Joulwan’s role was very central to the decision making in relation to these developments. It was a period of co-operation between NATO and Russia, which marked a difference from confrontation during the Cold War (1947-91), and later deterioration of relations from about 2000 under the Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been in power since that year.
His tenure at NATO was notable for the fact that during this period, no NATO soldier was lost in combat.
As a result of his distinguished military career, he has received many medals and awards from the USA and many other countries. From the USA, he received, on three occasions, the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and, on two occasions, the Silver Star Medal, third highest military decoration for valour in combat, and, from Germany, the Knight Commanders' Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
His first visit to Lebanon was in January 1984, during which he met the President of Lebanon, Amine Gemayel (1942-), who was in office from 1982-8.
In 1998, he visited Toula in order to see where his grandfather was born. Washington Report on Middle East Affairs reported that he said that the visit, ‘exceeded all my expectations. We went from a four-lane highway to a two-lane highway, to a one-lane road and then to another road to Toula. Motorcycles picked us up for the last 200 yards.’
He was welcomed by over a thousand people at the village, there was a mass celebrated in the church and he visited the house which his grandfather built in 1888. He was interested to find that his family could be traced back to the sixteenth century and that there were many Maronite priests in the family.
In the course of the visit, he met many senior people in Lebanon. These included General Emile Lahoud (1936-), the head of the army, who shortly afterwards became President of Lebanon (1998-2007), the Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, the former President Elias Hrawi, who was in office from 1989-98, Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri, Foreign Minister Fares Boueiz. He also visited the historical sites of Byblos and Baalbek.
After his retirement from the army in 1997, he became a businessman. From January-October 1998, he served as Senior Advisor of Global USA Inc., which delivers services in business consulting and government relations. He founded in 1998 One Team, Inc., a company which undertaking business consulting, of which he serves as president. From 1998-2012, he was a director of General Dynamics Corporation, the aerospace and defence company. He is on the board of directors of Emergent BioSolutions Inc., a biotechnology company based in Maryland. He has also been Member of the Board of Trustees for the United States Military Academy, West Point, and a professor at the Academy. He has also been a member of various boards and held advisory roles.
He has also published a book about his experiences in the army, George Joulwan with David Chanoff, Watchman at the Gates: A Soldier’s Journey from Berlin to Bosnia (Lexington,2021).
He is married to Karen E. Jones and has three daughters, Jennifer, Christen and Jessica, and eight grandchildren.
George Joulwan has had a very successful international military career and life, which has been described above. He has been closely involved with many leading people and significant world events during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. He is conscious of his Lebanese roots, and has taken an interest in the village of Toula, where his family had lived for generations.
Sources:
C. Dagher, ‘Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander’s Journey To His Ancestors’ Lebanon’, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs,Jan./Feb. 1999, pp. 63, 95. Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander’s Journey To His Ancestors’ Lebanon – 1999 January-February - WRMEA
‘West Point Association of Graduates, 2002 Distinguished Graduate Award: GEN George A. Joulwan '61’, West Point Association of Graduates
‘General George A. Joulwan, Ret.’, Gen. George A. Joulwan, Ret. - ATFL