Lebanon’s parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who enjoys US approval and showing the diminished sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel.
The outcome reflected shifts in the power balance in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, with Shi’ite Muslim Hezbollah badly pummelled from last year’s war and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad toppled in December.
It also indicated a revival of Saudi influence in a country where Riyadh’s role was eclipsed by Iran and Hezbollah long ago.
The presidency is designated for a Maronite Christian in the country’s sectarian power-sharing system. It has remained vacant since October 2022, as highly divided factions in Lebanon can still not settle on a candidate who might win enough seats in the country’s 128-member parliament.
Mr. Aoun of the Future Movement garnered only 86 votes in the first round. He had crossed the bar with 99 votes after being supported by a second-round parliamentary vote, as lawmakers of Shia ally Hezbollah endorsed the move to include his support.
Momentum built behind Aoun on Wednesday as Hezbollah’s long-preferred candidate, Suleiman Frangieh, withdrew and declared support for the army commander and as French and Saudi envoys shuttled around Beirut, urging his election in meetings with politicians, three Lebanese political sources said.
A source close to the Saudi royal court said that French, Saudi, and US envoys had informed Berri, a close ally of Hezbollah, that international financial assistance – including from Saudi Arabia – depended on Aoun’s election.
The international community is very clear that they are ready to support Lebanon, but that it needs a president and a government,” Michel Mouawad, a Christian lawmaker opposed to Hezbollah who voted for Aoun, told Reuters before the vote. “We did get a message from Saudi of support,” he added.
