On January 9, 2025, Lebanese lawmakers attended a parliamentary session in Beirut to elect a president.
Anwar Amro | AFP | Getty Images
Lebanon’s parliament on Thursday elected Army Chief of Staff Joseph Aoun as head of state, filling the vacant presidential post with a U.S.-endorsed general, a sign of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group’s waning influence after a devastating war with Israel.
The results reflect changes in the balance of power in Lebanon and across the Middle East, where Shia Muslim Hezbollah suffered heavy losses in last year’s war and the overthrow of its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad in December.
It also shows a resurgence of Saudi influence in the country, with Riyadh’s role long ago overshadowed by Iran and Hezbollah.
The presidential position reserved for Maronite Christians in Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system has been vacant since Michel Aoun’s term ended in October 2022, with the factions deeply divided and unable to agree on a candidate who could serve in the role. Candidates who win enough votes in the 128-seat parliament strike a deal.
Parliament Speaker Nabi Berri said Aoun fell short of the required 86 votes in the first round but crossed the threshold with 99 votes in the second round as Hezbollah and its Shia ally Al MPs from the Mele movement backed him.
As Hezbollah’s long-time favored candidate Suleiman Franji dropped out and announced his support for Aoun, French and Saudi envoys crisscrossed Beirut on Wednesday, urging Oun in meetings with politicians, three Lebanese political sources said. Aoun was elected, and support for Aoun gained momentum.
A source close to the Saudi royal family said envoys from France, Saudi Arabia and the United States had told Berri, a close Hezbollah ally, that international financial aid – including from Saudi Arabia – depended on Aoun’s election .
“The international community has sent a very clear message that they are ready to support Lebanon, but it requires a president and a government,” Michel Moawad, an anti-Hezbollah Christian lawmaker who voted for Aoun, told Reuters before the vote . “We did receive messages of support from Saudi Arabia,” he added.
Aoun’s election is the first step toward reviving government institutions in a country that has had neither a head of state nor a fully empowered cabinet since Aoun left office.
Lebanon’s economy is still reeling from the devastating financial collapse of 2019 and urgently needs international support to rebuild from the war, which the World Bank estimates has cost the country $8.5 billion.
Lebanon’s system of government requires the new president to consult with lawmakers and nominate a Sunni Muslim prime minister to form a new cabinet, a process that is often drawn out as factions fight each other over ministerial posts.
Aoun played a key role in supporting the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, which was brokered by Washington and Paris in November. The terms require Lebanese troops to deploy to southern Lebanon as Israeli forces and Hezbollah withdraw.
Aoun, 60, has been commander of the U.S.-backed Lebanese army since 2017. Influence.
