BEIRUT - Michel Aoun's defeat by Syrian forces in 1990 ended Lebanon's 15-year civil war and forced the army general to flee into exile in France.

Nearly 15 years on and weeks after the last Syrian soldier left Lebanese soil, the soldier-turned-politician was welcomed home by thousands of ecstatic supporters on Saturday, fulfilling a vow to return to a Lebanon free from Syria's tutelage.

Calls for Aoun's return increased after the Feb. 14 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri provoked demonstrations against the Syrians and forced Damascus to bow to world pressure and end its 29-year military presence.

The Maronite Christian, who enjoys strong support in the Christian heartland of anti-Syrian opposition, said members of his Free Patriotic Movement would contest a general election starting on May 29 after years of political marginalisation.

From exile in Paris, Aoun was among the first to predict Syria would be out before the election, after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution demanding it leave.

"This is the swan song....No one will give way, the international community will not let Syria win, will not give them a free victory," he told Reuters in December.

Aoun's supporters -- who refer to him as "The General" -- have plastered posters on walls in the capital welcoming his return, unthinkable during the Syrian domination.

Aoun has long had an eye on the presidency, traditionally reserved for a Maronite and this week said he would accept the post of president if he was asked to run.

Love him or loathe him?

The 70-year-old military man remains a divisive figure.

Supporters, many of whom sport the orange colours of Aoun's movement but are too young to recall his violent spell in power, regard the general as a hero who risked his life to rid Lebanon of foreign forces.

Critics see an arrogant soldier incompetent in politics and on the battlefield and accuse him of letting thousands pay with their lives for his impossible dreams before betraying them to save his own skin.

Aoun was named head of an interim government by outgoing President Amin Gemayel in September 1988 after parliament failed to elect a new head of state. His appointment was rejected by Syria and the Muslim-led government.

Diplomats at the time said his only achievement was to clear the way for a Syrian peace by tearing apart the Christians until they lost their traditional power and foreign protection.

But Aoun's newfound friendship with the United States has blossomed as its precarious ties to Damascus have wilted.

Days before his return, Lebanon suspended an arrest warrant against Aoun for urging the U.S. Congress in 2003 to impose sanctions against Syria. It also dropped charges against him for seizing power and imposing military rule.

Many Maronites say the arrest of Christian former warlord Samir Geagea and the exile of Aoun symbolise the targeting of their community by the Syrian-dominated order after the war.

Aoun was toppled in a Syrian-led offensive on October 13, 1990, a date since recognised as the official end of Lebanon's war. The defeat was the third and final for Aoun, who played up a popular image as David against the Syrian Goliath.

In March a year earlier, Aoun began six months of artillery battles to force Syrian troops from Lebanon. In January 1990, Aoun took on the Lebanese Forces militia, which shared power with his troops in the Christian enclave.

Born in 1935 to a middle-class family in Haret Hreik, a Beirut suburb now the stronghold of Hizbollah guerrillas he wants disarmed, Aoun thirsted to be a soldier even as a child.

Known for his quick temper, the stocky artillery officer was appointed army commander in 1984, the youngest man to hold the post. He studied in France, Britain and the United States.

Married with three daughters, he enjoyed reading history and biographies of soldiers-turned-statesmen. (Reuters)