Lebanon’s parliament voted Thursday to elect army commander Joseph Aoun as head of state, filling a more than two-year-long presidential vacuum. The vote came weeks after a tenuous ceasefire agreement halted a 14-month conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and at a time when Lebanon’s leaders are seeking

As the country endured economic crisis and a devastating war, lawmakers failed 12 times to pick a head of state. They have now settled on Joseph Aoun, the leader of the military.

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.

Though Lebanon’s presidency is mostly symbolic, it has a few important powers, like approving prime ministers and cabinets. In a country still haunted by the memory of civil war, symbolism is important too: how the head of state is chosen says much about the balance of power in Lebanon’s factious politics.

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.

General Joseph Aoun secured 99 votes from the 128-seat parliament, after winning an endorsement from the Hezbollah-backed candidate. The career soldier is the fifth army commander to be elected president in Lebanon’s history.

The Biden administration in its final days is shifting more than $100 million in military aid from Israel and Egypt to Lebanon as it tries to bolster a ceasefire agreement it helped mediate between Israel and Hezbollah.

NOW A LOT OF THE DAMAGE FROM THIS THREE STORY BUILDING IS ON THE OTHER SIDE. AND WE CAN SHOW YOU THAT HERE. THE FIRE CHIEF SAYS THAT THE FIRE AT 39 MECHANIC STREET WAS REPORTED JUST BEFORE 11:00 LAST NIGHT.

Lebanon’s parliament is set to convene Thursday to attempt to elect a head of state for the 13th time during a presidential vacuum of over two years.

Lebanon elected army commander Joseph Aoun as the country’s first president in more than two years, picking a US-backed candidate in a sign of Iran’s waning influence in the region.

Lebanon’s Parliament chose a U.S.-trained general as president, ending a two-year vacancy in a sign of Hezbollah’s waning influence.