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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 19, 1992                   TAG: 9202190093
SECTION: NATL/INTL                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BEIRUT, LEBANON                                LENGTH: Medium

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HEZBOLLAH'S NEW LEADER A `PRAGMATIST'

Like his slain predecessor, Hezbollah's new leader is committed to the struggle against Israel and supports the anti-West teachings of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

But also like Sheik Abbas Musawi, killed in an Israeli helicopter raid Sunday, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah is regarded a pragmatist compared to some of the firebrands in his organization.

Nasrallah, 38, previously led the party's Central Military Command.

His quick election to replace Musawi as party leader appeared to underscore Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani's influence in Hezbollah.

Nasrallah was chosen unanimously by the party's ruling 12-man Consultative Council, a Hezbollah statement said. It was not clear if he will keep his military commander job.

Nasrallah comes from Bazouriyeh village, south Lebanon. His two predecessors, Musawi and Sheik Subhi Tufeili, came from the Bekaa region, where tough Shiite tribes have long defied the authority of the central government in Beirut.

Musawi replaced Tufeili on May 20, 1991, in an internal coup that silenced the most radical voices demanding establishment of an Iran-style Islamic republic in Lebanon.

Under Musawi, the party showed more flexibility in cooperating with the central government's drive for Christian-Muslim coexistence after the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. Nasrallah is expected to follow that policy.

In his first public appearance after election Tuesday, Nasrallah eulogized Musawi before a crowd of 40,000 mourners, and pledged, "America will remain the dreadful enemy and Israel a cancerous growth that should be uprooted."

Nasrallah helped found Hezbollah, or Party of God, in 1982.

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