Joseph Aoun: What do we know about the new president of Lebanon?

After more than two years of stalemate, the majority of Lebanese political forces agreed on the name of the current army commander, Joseph Aoun, to be President of the Lebanese Republic, succeeding General Michel Aoun, whose term ended on October 30, 2022.

Aoun received 99 votes in the second round of voting, during a session held by the Lebanese Parliament today, Thursday, attended by all 128 representatives.

Thus, Joseph Aoun will be the fourth president of Lebanon to move from the position of army commander directly to the presidency of the republic, as meetings and consultations between the political forces intensified during the last hours of Thursday’s session, with the aim of reaching a “consensus” regarding the army commander, in light of external pressures to fill the presidential vacuum. In a country with multiple sects and parties, the parliament does not have a clear majority, and the president arrives largely according to political settlements.

The name of Joseph Aoun has emerged in recent days as the most likely candidate, and he enjoys the approval of external parties, such as the United States, Saudi Arabia, and France.

After his election, Aoun will need a constitutional amendment to assume his new position, as the Lebanese constitution does not allow the election of employees who still hold first-category positions, and requires that two years have passed since their resignation or referral to retirement.

Who is the army commander who will become president of the Lebanese Republic after a long wait?

Joseph Aoun belongs to the Christian community in Lebanon, where custom in the country requires that the President of the Republic be a Maronite Christian.

The new president of Lebanon was born in 1964, from the town of Al-Aishiya in southern Lebanon. He obtained a degree in political science and a degree in military science, after joining the Military Academy in 1983 and graduating with the rank of lieutenant in 1985.

Aoun worked in the Lebanese Army and held several positions until he was promoted to the rank of General in 2017, and since March of that year he served as Commander of the Lebanese Army.

In August 2017, Aoun led the Lebanese army in a battle against groups of ISIS, which were based in mountainous areas bordering Syria.

During his reign as army commander, Lebanon also witnessed protests in 2019 as a result of the economic crisis, and confrontations occurred between the Lebanese army and demonstrators in several areas, especially in the capital and in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon.

Also during this period, the Lebanese army also suffered from the economic crisis, after the Lebanese national currency lost its value in an unprecedented manner, as Aoun relied on foreign aid to solve the army’s problems, especially from the United States.

As a result, Aoun was criticized because the army accepted American aid to pay the soldiers’ wages after losing a large portion of their salaries.

In response, Joseph said, “The people are hungry… and the military is also suffering and hungry,” stressing that “without the aid, the situation would have been much worse.”

Joseph Aoun also relied on aid from other countries to manage the army he leads, including France, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.

The international community is counting heavily on Joseph Aoun to lead the country through the “sensitive stage” it is experiencing, as the American envoy to Lebanon, Amos Hockstein, said during his visit to Lebanon that Aoun possesses the specifications required in the next stage, although he is not the only one with these specifications.

Observers and analysts believe that the role required of the army in the next phase of implementing a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah constituted a decisive element in tipping the balance in favor of the army commander to be president of the country.

Aoun will leave the command of his country’s army, which includes about 80,000 soldiers, and over the past weeks, he began strengthening its deployment in southern Lebanon as part of the agreement that entered into force on November 27, ending more than a year of war between Israel and Hezbollah.