Lebanon's parliament chose the head of the country's armed forces, Joseph Aoun, to be its next president, a post that's been vacant since October 2022.

Lebanon’s parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun as president on Thursday, filling a 14-month leadership void with a figure widely approved by the United States and international allies. The vote underscores Hezbollah’s diminished influence following its war with Israel and regional shifts, including the fall of its ally Bashar Assad in Syria.

Macron congratulated Joseph Aoun for being elected as Lebanese president following a two-year vacuum, and pledged that France will be by the country's side.

The election of army commander Gen. Joseph Aoun garnered rare consensus among the Lebanese, backed by the United States and Saudi Arabia in the first presidential election for Lebanon following the fall of the Assad regime.

A ruthless warlord during the civil war, his nomination for president would be deeply divisive. Indeed, he was one of General Aoun’s earliest supporters. Trying to veto a candidate who had little chance of winning anyway says much about Hizbullah’s diminished power.

A devastating economic crisis, a political power vacuum, massive corruption and most recently the war between Hezbollah and Israel: For a long time, things were not looking good for Lebanon. But, after two years without a president,

The Lebanese Parliament on Thursday elected the commander of the Lebanese armed forces Gen. Joseph Aoun as the country's next president. Why it matters: Lebanon hasn't had a president for more than two years while the country's leaders tried to reach consensus on a candidate,