Lebanese army commander elected president weeks after a tenuous cease-fire agreement halted a 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Lebanon’s parliament voted Thursday to elect the country’s army commander, Joseph Aoun, as head of state, filling a more than two-year-long presidential vacuum. The session was the legislature’s 13th attempt to elect a successor to former President Michel Aoun — no relation to the army commander — whose term ended in October 2022.

After years of gridlock, Lebanon’s parliament elected Aoun, the chief military commander, as president. His win could unlock money for postwar reconstruction.

The Lebanese Parliament on Thursday elected the commander of the Lebanese armed forces Gen. Joseph Aoun as the country's next president. Why it matters: Lebanon hasn't had a president for more than two years while the country's leaders tried to reach consensus on a candidate,

The Lebanese parliament elected armed forces commander Joseph Aoun as president on Thursday in a second round of voting. Aoun received 99 votes in a second vote from the 128-member parliament. A first vote in the morning produced no result.

Lebanon’s parliament is set to vote to elect a president to fill a more than an two-year-long presidential vacuum

Lebanon's lawmakers elected on Thursday army chief Joseph Aoun as president after a two-year vacancy of the position, in a step towards lifting the war-battered country out of financial crisis.

Lebanon's army chief Joseph Aoun on Thursday fell short of the two-thirds majority to become president in the first round of a parliamentary vote, but could still become head of state.The Mediterranean country has been without a president since the term of Michel Aoun -- not related -- ended in October 2022,