The commander-in-chief of the Lebanese army Joseph Aoun, elected president of Lebanon on January 9, 2024, has no political experience but benefits from his position at the head of one of the most respected institutions in the country, undermined by political and financial crises.
The general, who will celebrate his 61st birthday on Friday, also enjoys the support of several foreign powers such as the United States and Saudi Arabia. Lebanese deputies are meeting on Thursday to try to elect a head of state of whom the country has been deprived for more than two years due to deep differences between political blocs.
General Aoun, who has no family ties with outgoing President Michel Aoun, has led since March 2017 an institution that has been able to stay away from the sectarian and political dissensions that are tearing the country apart.
And “man of integrity”
Within the army, he knew how to maneuver to overcome crises, notably an economic collapse which hit the pay of his 80,000 soldiers hard, forcing him to accept international aid to preserve his institution.
Since a ceasefire agreement at the end of November ending the war between the powerful Hezbollah movement and Israel, the army has had the delicate task of ensuring respect for the truce.
It is gradually being deployed in the southern border areas as the Israeli army withdraws, a process which must be completed by January 26.
Under the agreement, only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers are to be deployed in the south. Hezbollah fighters must withdraw to areas further north and abandon their heavy weapons.
Speaking in the stronghold of Hezbollah, who promised a “full cooperation”the head of the army must take care to preserve the precarious social and confessional balance of the Lebanese political game: not to anger the pro-Iranian movement without attracting the wrath of its detractors.
The soldier with laconic words, bald and with a solid build, can count on his network woven through the entire Lebanese political class, but also his contacts with Western capitals, Paris and Washington in the lead.
“He has the reputation of being a man of integrity”political scientist Karim Bitar tells AFP.
“Within the Lebanese army, he is seen as someone dedicated, who defends the national interest, and who tries to consolidate the institution, the only one still spared by confessionalism and still standing”he adds.
Mohanad Hage Ali, of the Carnegie think-tank for the Middle East, highlights his “links with the United States”the Lebanese army being financially supported by Washington.
“He maintained relations with everyone, but he was often criticized by Hezbollah-affiliated media” precisely for this American connection, he adds.
Another soldier
In addition to the American ally, the institution has received aid from Qatar and France.
An international conference organized in Paris in October raised $200 million for the army, vital support: at the height of the economic crisis in 2020, the army even had to remove meat from meals served to its soldiers .
“Everyone recognizes his faultless record at the head of the army”a Western diplomat told AFP. “But can he become a politician? That’s the question.”
Fluent in French and English, General Aoun is the father of two children. He comes from the Maronite Christian community, to which the presidency is reserved, by virtue of the confessional sharing of power which grants Sunni Muslims the post of Prime Minister and Shiite Muslims that of President of Parliament.
“Even among those who respect him, many are against his election to the presidency, mainly because he comes from the army”underlines Mr. Bitar.
Because certain ex-presidents with a similar profile have left the Lebanese “a bitter aftertaste”he adds. Not to mention that this could endorse the idea that the head of the army can “systematically become president”.
Michel Aoun was also a former commander of the Lebanese armed forces, and the three predecessors also came from the ranks of the army.
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