The Lebanese legislature on Thursday elected army commander Gen. Joseph Aoun as president, filling an office that has been vacant since President Michel Aoun (no relation) ended his term in October 2022.
Aoun, who will turn 61 on Friday, is an experienced military commander but new to politics. He is popular both in Lebanon and with the international community – especially with the United States and Saudi Arabia. He is a Maronite Christian, as required under Lebanon’s tripartite system, which reserves the presidency for a Christian, the prime minister’s office for a Sunni Muslim, and the presidency of the National Assembly for a Shiite Muslim.
Aoun is widely credited with keeping the Lebanese military out of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, which is both an Iran-sponsored terrorist group and one of the most powerful political factions in Lebanon. He was instrumental in implementing the 60-day ceasefire brokered by the U.S. and France in November and has helped the agreement hold together during some rough patches since then.
Aoun has been enlisted in the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) since 1983 and became army chief in 2017. His military training included infantry officer and counter-terrorism courses in the United States. He has been decorated more than 15 times for his service, including the National Unity Medal, two Wounded Medals (Lebanon’s decoration for soldiers wounded in the line of duty) and three War Medals.
One of his most impressive achievements as top commander was holding the army together through the financial collapse of 2021, which left many of his soldiers without pay and some without food. His troops, and the general public, appreciated his frankness in confronting the Lebanese political establishment for failing to manage the national economy.
One of his first successes as LAF commander was leading a counter-terrorism campaign against Islamic State cells along Lebanon’s border with Syria. This campaign, known as Fajr al-Joroud, made him a hero in the eyes of many Lebanese.
The public has also been appreciative of the progress Aoun made against corruption in the military. After the devastating explosion in the Port of Beirut in 2020, foreign governments became very nervous about entrusting Lebanon’s Hezbollah-dominated government with aid money, so they funneled it to the trustworthy Gen. Aoun and his military.
“Within the Lebanese army, he is perceived as someone who is dedicated… who has the national interest at heart, and who has been trying to consolidate this institution, which is the last non-sectarian institution still on its feet in the country,” international relations expert Karim Bitar of Beirut’s Saint-Joseph University told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Thursday.
Aoun said on Thursday that being elected president was “the greatest medal” he has received.
“We must change the political performance in Lebanon. My mandate begins today, and I pledge to serve all Lebanese, wherever they are, as the first servant of the country, upholding the national pact and practicing the full powers of the presidency as an impartial mediator between institutions,” he said.
Aoun said legal and judicial reforms would be among his highest priorities.
“If we want to build a nation, we must all be under the rule of law and the judiciary. Interference in the judiciary is forbidden, and there will be no immunity for criminals or corrupt individuals. There is no place for mafias, drug trafficking, or money laundering in Lebanon,” he said.
Aoun won the presidency in the second round of voting on Thursday with 99 votes from the 128-seat parliament. He needed 86 votes to win, but was only able to secure 71 votes in the first round.
Aoun’s last remaining rival was Suleiman Frangieh, who leads a small Christian party in northern Lebanon but was backed by Hezbollah. Frangieh withdrew from the race to clear a path for Aouh, whose election ended a two-year political deadlock that saw 12 failed attempts to elect a president.
No other candidate received any votes in the second round, but 37 of the legislators submitted blank ballots and 14 of them effectively abstained by voting for “sovereignty and the constitution.” Observers described the election as rancorous, with a great deal of shouting and last-minute dealmaking.
The leader of Hezbollah’s caucus, Mohammed Raad, suggested his party withheld their votes in the first round, but supported Aoun in the second, to send a message that Hezbollah remains influential and important after its thrashing by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) over the past few months.
“We postponed our vote because we wanted to send a message that just as we are protectors of Lebanon’s sovereignty, we are protectors of the national accord,” Raad declared.
President Aoun did not seem impressed by this demonstration, as his acceptance speech included a pledge to “monopolize the carrying of weapons” for the LAF. This would implicitly disarm Hezbollah, which probably has a bigger arsenal than the LAF does, even after fighting the Israelis.
Aoun is the fifth army commander to become president – the fourth was his predecessor, Michel Aoun – even though the Lebanese constitution forbids military commanders and other high-ranking public officials from becoming the president for no less than two years after they resign from their posts. This ban has often been waived because a military commander seems like the only viable choice for the presidency.
In Joseph Aoun’s case, the legislature decided he would need to win two-thirds of the vote in the second round to take office, instead of the simple majority that is normally required. He was also required to step down from his military role, and wore civilian clothing when he took his oath of office before the parliament.