BEIRUT (Reuters) – General Joseph Aoun, the Lebanese army commander who was elected president on Thursday, kept his army out of a recent war between Israel and the armed group Hezbollah, ordering it to prioritize civil peace even as troops were killed .
Aoun, a 60-year-old career soldier, became the fifth Lebanese army commander to be elected president in Lebanon's history, ending a more than two-year vacuum in office.
Since assuming command of the military in 2017, he has led the institution through a national financial crisis that demolished the currency and with it the value of its soldiers' salaries, shaking an institution that has underpinned internal stability since the civil war in 1975-90.
It also kept him out of a more than year-long war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group that had long expressed reservations about Aoun's candidacy. More than 40 Lebanese soldiers were killed in Israeli attacks during that period, but the army did not clash directly with Israel.
Hezbollah has emerged battered from the conflict, with Israeli attacks killing most of its top commanders and causing devastation in the group's strongholds.
Aoun's media appearances are extremely rare and he has not expressed his opinion on Hezbollah's arsenal, widely considered more powerful than that of the Lebanese army.
Aoun plays a key role in underpinning a 60-day ceasefire brokered by Washington and Paris in November. The terms call for the Lebanese army to deploy to southern Lebanon as Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw their forces.
In meetings with lawmakers in the run-up to Thursday's election, U.S. and Gulf officials expressed approval of the new president, without expressly endorsing him, parliamentarians present told Reuters.
In a rare interview with the pro-Hezbollah Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar in 2017, Aoun said he would “limit political interference” in the military.
He did not discuss his presidential bid in any public forum and did not visit Lebanon's divided political factions to shore up support, as other candidates typically do before an election.
RARE POLITICAL STATEMENTS
Aoun was born in Sin el-Fil, near Beirut, and enlisted in the army in 1983 during Lebanon's civil war. His first assignment was as a platoon commander in the Army Rangers in 1985 and his training included two infantry officer courses in the United States.
Shortly after his appointment as commander, the military launched an offensive to expel Islamic State militants from an enclave on the Syrian border, drawing praise from the then-U.S. ambassador, who said the military had done an “excellent job.” job”.
By becoming president, a position reserved for a Maronite Christian in Lebanon's sectarian system, he will follow in the footsteps of other former army commanders who have taken office, including the last head of state, Michel Aoun, who is not related.
In an unusually political statement for an army commander, Aoun criticized ruling politicians over Lebanon's financial collapse in 2021, saying soldiers were starving along with the rest of the population and asking politicians “what do you plan to do?” “.
The United States, which has funneled more than $2.5 billion in support to the LAF since 2006, stepped in with additional aid, including salary support for soldiers.
Aoun described the support of friendly states, including Qatar, as “strong support during this phase.”
Under Aoun's leadership, American aid has continued to flow to the military, part of a U.S. policy focused on supporting state institutions to curb the influence of Hezbollah, which Washington considers a terrorist group.
Aoun is married and has two children.
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