Lebanon Army Chief Joseph Aoun Elected as a New President After parliament’s 12 Failed Attempts in Past 2 Years
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RDA Gulf Correspondent - . January 9, 2025
- . Update: January 10, 2025 9:35 am
In an effort to pull the war-torn nation out of its financial catastrophe, Lebanese parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun as president on Thursday by filling a more than two-year void after 12 failed attempts to elect a new president. Wearing a dark suit and blue tie instead of his typical military uniform, Aoun who turns 61 on Friday appeared in parliament to take the oath of office to widespread cheers.
“Today, a new phase in Lebanon’s history begins,” he told the chamber.
In exchange for a much-needed financial bailout, international creditors have demanded reforms and Aoun must oversee a ceasefire in south Lebanon and appoint a prime minister who can carry them out. In order to name a new prime minister, he promised to call for parliamentary consultations as quickly as feasible.
Following a deadly conflict between Israel and the Shiite militant group Hezbollah this autumn, he pledged that the state would have “a monopoly” on carrying firearms.
“I pledge to call for discussing a comprehensive defence strategy… on the diplomatic, economic and military levels that will enable the Lebanese state — I repeat, the Lebanese state — to remove the Israeli occupation and deter its aggression,” he said.
In Aoun’s hometown of Aishiyeh in the south where locals had waited since the morning outside a church decorated with his photo and Lebanese flags and supporters burst into cheers.
