3 months ago
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January 9, 2025 | 09:45 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Lebanon's parliament will try to elect a new head of state on Thursday, with officials seeing a better chance of success in a political landscape shaken by Israel's assault on Hezbollah and the ouster of the group's ally, Bashar al-Assad, in Syria. The post, reserved for a Maronite Christian in a sectarian power-sharing system, has been vacant since Michel Aoun's term ends in October 2022, Reuters reported.
While there have always been a number of Maronite candidates, including leaders of the two largest Christian parties - Samir Geagea and Gebran Bassil - the sources said the focus was now on three names:
Joseph Aoun
General Joseph Aoun, 60, has been commander of Lebanon's US-backed army since 2017, leading the military through a devastating financial crisis that crippled much of the country after the banking system collapsed in 2019.
Under Aoun's leadership, US aid has continued to flow to the army, part of a US policy focused on supporting state institutions to curb the influence of the heavily armed and Iran-backed Hezbollah, which Washington considers a terrorist group.
Shortly after his appointment, the army launched an offensive to clear Islamic State militants from the enclave on the Syrian border, drawing praise from the US ambassador at the time who said the military had done a “very good job”.
His training included two infantry officer courses in the United States.
Lebanese politicians say Mr Aoun’s nomination has been approved by the US. A US State Department spokesman said it was “up to Lebanon to choose its next president, not the United States or any other outside party”.
Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa said last week that there was “no veto” over Mr Aoun. But sources familiar with Hezbollah’s thinking said it would not support Mr Aoun.
His nomination is also opposed by Lebanon’s two largest Christian parties – the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement.
Three other former army chiefs – Emile Lahoud, Michel Suleiman and Michel Aoun – have served as president.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has said the constitution would have to be changed for Mr Aoun to take the post. It currently bars a sitting state official from becoming head of state.
Jihad Azour
Azour, 58, served as finance minister in the Western-backed government of former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora between 2005 and 2008, a period of bitter political conflict in Lebanon that pitted factions backed by Iran and Syria against factions backed by the West and Saudi Arabia.
Since 2017, he has served as director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Azour holds a PhD in International Finance and a postgraduate degree in International Economics and Finance, both from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris.
He first emerged as a presidential candidate in 2023, when factions including Lebanon's two main Christian parties - the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement - selected him. He received 59 votes.
Hezbollah and its closest allies voted for Suleiman Frangieh in that session - the last time parliament attempted to elect a head of state. Frangieh received 51 votes.
Hezbollah at the time described Azour as a confrontational candidate - a reference to his role in Siniora's cabinet.
Azour said at the time that his candidacy was not intended as a challenge to anyone, but rather "a call for unity, to break down partisanship and to find common ground to get out of the crisis".
Elias Al-Baysari
Major General Elias Baysari, 60, has been acting head of the General Security directorate since the term of his predecessor, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, expires in 2023 without agreement among Lebanon's factions on who should replace him.
The security agency headed by Baysari is Lebanon's most powerful internal security force, running border crossings and domestic intelligence operations.
He was a relatively unknown figure in Lebanese public life until he was promoted to head of General Security.
He holds a PhD in law from the Lebanese University.
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