After 2 years without a president, Lebanese MKs pick army chief Joseph Aoun for role

Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun arrives for a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, December 16, 2024. (AP/Bilal Hussein)
Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun arrives for a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, December 16, 2024. (AP/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanese lawmakers elects army chief Joseph Aoun as head of state, filling the vacant presidency with a general who enjoys US approval and showing the diminished sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group after its devastating war with Israel.

The country has been without a president for two years, and multiple previous efforts to elect one had failed.

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