Presidents in Lebanon are brought to power by near political consensus, but more than six contenders were still in play. Debates were heated and army chief Joseph Aoun was dismissed by many politicians as constitutionally unqualified for the presidency because of his military post.

Lebanon’s parliament voted to elect Gen. Joseph Aoun, commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, as the country’s new president on Jan. 9.

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.

Lebanese lawmakers have elected army commander Joseph Aoun as the country's first president in more than two years. David Wood, International Crisis Group's Lebanon Senior Analyst spoke to Bloomberg's Christine Burke on Horizons Middle East and Africa about the task ahead for the new President as well as the role of Hezbollah and Iran in the country moving forward.

General Joseph Aoun was widely seen as the preferred candidate of the United States, which funds, trains, and arms the Lebanese military and helped broker a cease-fire between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah in November.

Lebanese government bonds extended their three-month-long rally on Thursday as the crisis-ravaged country's parliament voted in a new head of state for the first time since 2022.