General Joseph Aoun has been elected president of Lebanon. The 60-year-old commander-in-chief of the Lebanese army is the fifth military man to become Lebanon's head of state. Lebanon's political system has been in a deadlock for years as a series of crises has rocked the country, and the presidency has been vacant for more than two years. The hope is that Aoun's election will allow for long-needed reforms.
Thursday's vote marked the first time since June 2023 that parliament has met to elect a president - and the 13th time since 2022. since Aoun's predecessor stepped down at the end of his six-year term.
Away from the war between Israel and Hezbollah
Since taking command of the army in 2017, Joseph Aoun has steered the institution through a national financial crisis that has destroyed the currency and with it the value of soldiers' salaries, shaking the army, which has been the bedrock of internal stability since the civil war.
He has also kept it aloof from the more than year-long war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed group that has long expressed reservations about Aoun's candidacy. During that period, more than 40 Lebanese soldiers were killed in Israeli strikes, but the army did not engage in direct combat with Israel.
Hezbollah emerged from the conflict weakened, with Israeli strikes killing most of its top commanders and devastating the group's strongholds.
Aoun has played a key role in solidifying a 60-day ceasefire brokered by Washington and Paris in November, Reuters reported. Its terms include the Lebanese army deploying in the south of the country while Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw their forces.
Political statements aside
In a rare interview with the Lebanese newspaper "Al-Akhbar", which supports Hezbollah, in 2017 Aoun says he will "limit political interference" in the military. He has not commented on his presidential bid and has not toured Lebanon's divided political factions to drum up support, as other candidates typically do before elections.
Aoun was born in Sin el Fil near Beirut and joined the army in 1983 during the Lebanese civil war. His first assignment was as a platoon commander in the Army Rangers in 1985, and his training included two infantry officer courses in the United States. Shortly after Aoun was promoted to commander-in-chief, the army launched an offensive to clear Islamic State fighters from an enclave on the Syrian border, drawing praise from the then-US ambassador, who said the military had done an "excellent job".
Criticism of the state over financial crisis
By becoming president - a position reserved for a Maronite Christian in Lebanon's system - he would follow in the footsteps of other former army commanders who have held the post, including the last head of state, Michel Aoun, who is not related to him.
In an unusual political statement for an army commander, Aoun criticized the ruling politicians for Lebanon's financial collapse in 2021, saying that soldiers were starving along with the rest of the population.
The United States, which has been a major donor to Lebanon since 2006, has have provided more than $2.5 billion to support the Lebanese army, have stepped in with additional aid, including by helping pay soldiers' salaries. During Aoun's administration, American aid continued to flow to the army, as part of a U.S. policy aimed at supporting state institutions in order to limit the influence of Hezbollah, which Washington considers a terrorist group.