Lebanon army chief Joseph Aoun elected president ending over 2-year vacuum

CAIRO – 9 January 2025: Lebanon’s army chief, Joseph Aoun, has been elected as the country’s president, breaking a political deadlock that has left Lebanon without a president since October 2022.

Aoun, 61, secured 99 votes from the 128-seat parliament during a second round of voting on Thursday.

His election comes on the heels of a fragile ceasefire that halted 14 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Nearly 4,000 people have been killed by the Israeli military operations in Lebanon, many of whom were civilians, while one million others were displaced from their homes, according to Lebanese authorities.

"A new phase in the history of Lebanon begins today," Aoun declared upon taking the oath in Parliament.

Celebrations erupted in the chamber as Aoun reached the required threshold of 86 votes, finally finding a successor for Michel Aoun, whose tenure ended in October 2022 with the country being without a head of state since then.a

Based on Lebanon’s National Pact, the Lebanese president and army commander have to be Maronite Christians, while a Sunni Muslim takes the post of the prime minister and a Shia Muslim serves as the parliament speaker.