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.

Lebanon's last president, Michel Aoun, left office two years ago, and the position has remained vacant since. He bears no relation to Joseph Aoun. On Thursday, the country is set to hold elections to fill the top post, potentially ushering in a new era of leadership.

The parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state, filling the vacant presidency with a general who has U.S. support and showing the weakened sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel.

Former President Michel Aoun received Prime Minister-designate Judge Nawaf Salam at his residence in Rabieh, where they discussed the current situation and the challenges facing Lebanon. President Aoun praised the speech delivered by Salam at the presidential palace following his appointment as Prime Minister,

The 60-year-old career soldier is the fifth Lebanese army commander to be elected president in the country's history

After more than two years of presidential deadlock, Joseph Aoun has been elected the 14th President of Lebanon.

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s new president and former army commander Joseph Aoun has maintained a low profile. Those who know him say he is no-nonsense, kind and averse to affiliating himself with any party or even expressing a political opinion — a rarity for someone in Lebanon’s fractured, transactional political system.

Lebanon's newly elected president, Joseph Aoun, said Thursday that "a new phase" has started for the war-ravaged country and pledged to rebuild the state, adopt a policy of "positive neutrality" and fight corruption.

Analysts say Aoun, who turns 61 on Friday and is considered a man of “personal integrity”, could be the right candidate to finally replace Michel Aoun ... into southern Lebanon as Israeli ...

Aoun, no relation to former President Michel Aoun, was widely seen as the preferred candidate of the United States and Saudi Arabia, whose assistance Lebanon will need as it seeks to rebuild. The session was the legislature’s 13th attempt to elect a ...

Joseph Aoun, Lebanon's army chief who was elected president on Thursday, is a political neophyte whose position as head of one of the country's most respected institutions helped end a two-year deadlock.

Lebanon's 128-member parliament elected Army ... In 2016, Hezbollah had forced the election of its ally, former Army commander Michel Aoun, after a 29-month vacuum in the presidency.