Who is Joseph Aoun, the new President of Lebanon? , political news

Lebanese Army Commander Joseph Aoun is the new President of Lebanon.

The 61-year-old becomes Lebanon’s 14th president, filling the more than two-year presidential vacancy left by his predecessor, Michel Aoun – who is not related to the new president.

The appointment of Joseph Aoun has resolved a major impasse; The Lebanese Parliament has previously met on 12 occasions to vote for a president but failed to elect one.

Aoun received support from various political figures in the parliament and ultimately secured 99 votes from the 128-seat parliament in the second round of voting.

But who is Joseph Aun? And why did it take so long for the Lebanese parliament to agree that he was the right person to lead the country?

military experience

Born in 1964 in Sinn el-Fil, a northern suburb of Beirut, Aoun came to prominence during his time as Lebanon’s army commander, a post he assumed in 2017, and, like the president of the republic, must occupy it A member of Aoun’s sect, Maronite Christianity.

Aoun’s official Lebanese Army biography states that he attended the military academy in 1983 during the Lebanese Civil War.

He steadily rose through the ranks, receiving various training in Lebanon and abroad, including in the US counter-terrorism program. He was also awarded the Lebanese War Medal three times along with many other medals and honors.

In August 2017, shortly after taking charge of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), Aoun used his counter-terrorism training by launching an operation to target ISIL (ISIS) fighters who operated in the mountainous terrain between Syria and Lebanon. Spent years – particularly on the outskirts of the Christian villages Ras Baalbek and Qaa’a in the northeastern Bekaa Valley.

The success of the operation enhanced Aun’s status. And Aon was able to use his years at the top of the LAF to build close ties with a variety of regional and international actors, including the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar – a network that was particularly useful in gathering support for Aon. Used to be. Presidency.

economic and political crisis

Aoun’s tenure as commander of the Lebanese Army coincided with a period of incredible difficulty for the country.

Millions of people in Lebanon are struggling due to a years-long economic crisis – with many soldiers in the army having to take up second jobs to make ends meet.

The economic crisis has been seen as a symbol of the broader governance crisis in Lebanon. A communal political system has established a chronic political oligarchy associated with corruption and political mismanagement.

The horror of the Beirut explosion in August 2020, which killed more than 220 people, further heightened the sense that the country’s rulers have completely failed the Lebanese people.

And when President Michel Aoun vacated the presidency in October 2022, the Lebanese parliament was unable to agree on a successor, despite meeting repeatedly to vote. This effectively paralyzed the Lebanese state, as action was required to address the country’s economic challenges.

The institution Aoun was in charge of, the Lebanese Army, was also widely considered weaker than the Shia group Hezbollah, another factor reducing the effectiveness of the Lebanese state.

To make matters worse for the country, Israel’s war on Gaza quickly extended to Lebanon, as Hezbollah began firing with Israel on October 8, 2023, ultimately resulting in two months of devastating Israeli bombardment and land invasion. Ended in which more than 4,000 people died. people, and ended with a ceasefire agreement on November 27 last year.

opportunity

But, despite the death and destruction, the resolution of the war ultimately opened the way to electing a president, as international and domestic pressure grew to find a solution and send the message that Lebanon would begin reconstruction.

Aoun, who was beginning to be taken seriously as a presidential candidate in 2023, was the one to benefit.

Despite killing more than 40 Lebanese soldiers during that period, he kept the Lebanese Army out of the war with Israel, and he has also been seen as a key figure in ensuring Lebanon’s commitment to the ceasefire, which stipulated It means that Hezbollah will have to pull back. from south of the Litani River and would be replaced by the Lebanese Army, to ensure that Israel would retreat to the UN-defined border between Lebanon and Israel.

It is noteworthy that Israel has welcomed Aoun’s appointment.

But apart from the external and domestic support for Aoun, he remains difficult to define politically, perhaps one reason for his success in being elected as president.

Not much is known about his political views, and he rarely gave interviews – although in 2021 he criticized politicians for Lebanon’s financial crisis, saying that soldiers were starving.

Aoun did not state any clear position on Hezbollah’s weapons arsenal, but in his inaugural speech, he pledged to “affirm the state’s right to a monopoly on carrying weapons.” What steps it will take to enforce this remains to be seen and it will be difficult to see Hezbollah accepting any demands for disarmament.

The new president also promised to rebuild areas targeted by Israel, including the south and the Beirut Dahiyeh suburb.

His emphasis on national unity comes at a rare moment of agreement; Aoun’s appointment ended a bitter period of parliamentary division.

But it will take a long time to prove to the Lebanese people that the country has indeed reached a turning point, and that its political leadership truly has the potential to improve the lives of millions of Lebanese people – a role in which it will serve so many people. Has been failing for years.