Michel Aoun, the former Lebanese army chief, has been elected president of Lebanon, ending more than two years of deadlock surrounding the vacancy.

Aoun, 81, secured the presidency by winning the support of 83 MPs, well above the absolute majority of 65 needed to win, according to a tally of votes read out in a televised broadcast from parliament on Monday.

Fireworks echoed across Beirut as the tally showed Aoun the winner.

Aoun, an MP, was shown smiling in his seat. The Lebanese presidency is reserved for a Maronite Christian in the country's sectarian power-sharing system.

READ MORE: What will a new president mean for Lebanon?

Lebanon had been without a head of state for 29 months after Michel Suleiman stepped down as president at the end of his term in May 2014.

Since then, 45 sessions to elect a new leader have failed due to political infighting that led to of a lack of quorum.

Around noon on Monday, more than 100 of the 128-member legislature arrived at the parliament building guaranteeing the needed quorum for the session to start.

Turning point

The situation turned in Aoun's favour earlier this month when Saad Hariri, the former prime minister who heads the largest bloc in parliament, said he would support Aoun for president.

Hariri's decision to endorse Aoun marked a major political concession, which was seen by some analysts as reflection of a diminished role of Saudi Arabia in Lebanon, and decisive influence wielded by the Tehran-backed Hezbollah.

Saudi Arabia had backed Hariri and his allies through years of political struggle with Hezbollah and its allies.

Hariri's own financial misfortunes are said to have played a big part in bringing about the breakthrough. His political network in Lebanon was hit by a cash crunch caused by financial troubles at his Saudi-based construction firm, Saudi Oger.

Analysts say the position of prime minister, which he previously held from 2009 to 2011, should help him shore up his support ahead of parliamentary elections that are due to be held next year.

Aoun is due to meet MPs later this week on their preferences for prime minister. He is obliged to designate the candidate with the greatest support among MPs, expected to be Hariri.

Security tightened

Lebanese forces tightened security in downtown Beirut in the lead-up to the parliament vote. Army helicopters flew over the city and cars were banned from entering most of central Beirut.

Metal detectors were set up in the streets around the parliament building.

Elsewhere in Lebanon, thousands of Aoun's party supporters gathered in major squares and streets of Christian areas for celebrations.

Aoun will be Lebanon's 13th president since the country gained independence from France in 1943.

He will return to the presidential palace in the southeastern Beirut suburb of Baabda, exactly 26 years after he was forced out of it as army commander and interim premier by Syrian forces and Lebanese troops loyal to a rival commander.</s>The Lebanese parliament is set to meet on Monday to elect former general Michel Aoun as president, following 2½ years of caretaker government since Michel Suleiman retired in May 2014.

Lebanon has been without a president since Suleiman’s retirement, and while deputies elected in 2009 renewed their mandate twice, and tried and failed 45 times to secure a quorum to elect a new head of state. Since Aoun (81) was the sole candidate acceptable to Hizbullah and his Free Patriotic Movement, his opponents have bowed to the inevitable.

The breakthrough came when former prime minister Saad Hariri declared his support for Aoun, arguing the country could no longer afford to drift. Hariri’s decision has been opposed by some members of his own Future Movement, the largest bloc in parliament, but praised by the Maronite Catholic patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt.

Aoun commanded the country’s armed forces during the waning years of the 1975-90 civil war. His ambition to rule was realised in 1988 when outgoing president Amin Gemayel staged a coup by appointing a military council of three Christians and three Muslims to take over from the legitimate power-sharing government. The Christians accepted, the Muslims did not. According to Lebanon’s national pact, the president should be a Maronite Catholic and the prime minister a Sunni Muslim.

Aoun became both prime minister and president; the incumbent government challenged his elevation, leaving Lebanon with competing cabinets. In March 1989 Aoun declared war on Syrian troops who had been invited to enter Lebanon in 1976 as peacekeepers and stayed on. His “liberation war” killed scores of civilians and prolonged the civil war until October 1990 when Washington gave Damascus the green light to oust Aoun who fled to France.

Aoun returned to Beirut in 2005 after the withdrawal of Syria’s forces and forged an improbable alliance between his movement, the largest Christian party, and the Shia Hizbullah, the largest political grouping in the country. Since then the Shia-Christian parliamentary bloc has rivalled the Sunni-Christian coalition headed by Hariri, creating periodic deadlock on the political scene.

The quid pro quo for Hariri’s support for an Aoun presidency is the appointment of a new cabinet headed by Hariri. The deal has been blessed by his patron, Saudi Arabia. Its acceptance of Aoun appears to signal a softening of Riyadh’s hard line against Hizbullah, an ally of Saudi antagonists Iran and Syria.

However, with Hariri as prime minister, Saudi Arabia expects to exercise influence in Lebanon. Hariri expects Riyadh to restructure his company’s $8 billion debt incurred when the Saudis suspended payment for completed construction projects following the fall in the price of oil, the kingdom’s chief source of income.

Aoun is set to win the presidency if Lebanon’s 127 deputies constitute a quorum and two-thirds vote for him in the first round or a simple majority backs him in the second. He is most likely to secure the required votes in the second round.</s>BEIRUT (AP) — Michel Aoun, Lebanon’s strong-willed Christian leader, has waited more than three decades for the chance to become president.

On Monday, the 81-year-old politician finally fulfilled his ambition, becoming the country’s 13th head of state after he was voted in by a majority in parliament.

A former army commander known affectionately by his many supporters as “the General,” Aoun led his forces through some of the deadliest battles of Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war and has repeatedly shifted alliances to survive the country’s notoriously thorny politics — briefly rising to become prime minister in 1988.

In 1990, Syrian troops forced an embattled Aoun from Lebanon’s Baabda palace and pushed him into exile in France, where he remained for 14 years. Now, he returns triumphantly to the presidential palace.

“I have come from a long history of struggle full of sacrifices, especially in the military establishment,” Aoun said in a speech shortly after he was elected. “I hope that we will guarantee the stability that the Lebanese hope for.”

Thousands of Aoun supporters waved his party’s orange flags in celebrations that erupted across Lebanon following Monday’s vote. There was some hope, even among his many detractors, that his election would help end the country’s long-running political crisis. His appointment fills a 29-month presidential vacuum that has paralyzed state institutions and brought the troubled Mideast country dangerously close to collapse.

Lebanon has been without a head of state since President Michel Suleiman stepped down at the end of his term in May 2014. Since then, the deeply fractured parliament has failed more than forty times to elect a new leader because of disagreements over who should hold the country’s top post.

Aoun, who has been a fixture in Lebanese politics for the past four decades, is a divisive figure, often described as mercurial, temperamental and obsessed with becoming president. Yet he is also a pragmatist, who has shown a willingness to build bridges with former adversaries to expand his own power.

He was born in the southern Beirut suburb of Haret Hreik in 1935 and went to Catholic schools before joining Lebanon’s military academy. He graduated as a first lieutenant in 1958 specialized in artillery.

After Lebanon’s 15-year civil war broke out in 1975, Aoun remained in the army and took part in several major battles, including the so-called War of the Mountains waged in 1983 between the Lebanese army, supported by the main Christian militia, against Syrian-backed groups. During his command of the elite 8th Infantry Brigade, Aoun led the 1983 battles of Souk al-Gharb. The mountain resort was subjected to repeated attacks by Syrian-backed troops, who ultimately failed to penetrate it.

In June 1984, Aoun was named army commander. Four years later, the then-President Amin Gemayel appointed Aoun as interim prime minister before stepping down with no replacement. Gemayel also tried to appoint a government made up of military officers, but Muslim military leaders refused to take part and Aoun consequently headed up a government consisting of just two Christian senior officers.

In March 1989, Aoun launched the so-called “War of Liberation” aimed at expelling Syrian troops stationed in Lebanon. The battle left thousands of people dead or wounded and caused widespread destruction and displacement, but ended just months later after Aoun failed to achieve his goal.

Later that year, Lebanese legislators traveled to the Saudi city of Taif where they reached an agreement to end the war — a pact that took away powers previously held by the Maronite Christian President. Aoun rejected the deal and dissolved the parliament, although the legislature ignored his decree and continued with business as usual.

In 1990, intense fighting broke out between Lebanese army troops loyal to Aoun and the Lebanese Forces Christian militia, leading to the deadliest Christian infighting since the war started.

During that time, thousands of Aoun supporters flocked every day to Baabda palace where he was holed up, cheering as the uniform-clad general addressed them from the palace balcony with his trademark “Oh, great people of Lebanon,” and promising not to budge.

But on Oct. 13, Syrian soldiers and Lebanese troops loyal to the new President Elias Hrawi, who was elected by parliament under the Taif peace agreement, stormed the palace, assisted by Syrian airstrikes. Aoun was forced to flee to the French embassy, and eventually to exile in France.

The attack marked the end of the civil war, which had killed more than 100,000 people.

During his exile, Aoun campaigned against Syria and Hezbollah. He called for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and the disarming of the Shiite militant group. Aoun’s supporters, many of them from Lebanon’s educated youth population, were frequently beaten up at anti-Syrian demonstrations at home, persecuted and imprisoned.

Aoun returned from France in 2005, after Syria pulled its troops from Lebanon in the wake of former prime minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination.

In February 2006, he signed a memorandum of understanding with his former rival, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in a church south of Beirut, marking the beginning of a close alliance that has lasted until today.

Two years later, he visited Syria and was welcomed by President Bashar Assad, justifying the reconciliation on grounds that Syrian troops were no longer occupying Lebanon.

Aoun today heads the second-largest bloc in parliament and is considered by many as the country’s strongest Christian leader. He enjoys wide support among Christians and Shiite Muslims, the country’s largest sect.

He is married to Nadia al-Shami and they have three daughters, Mireille, Claudine and Chantal.</s>In this October 20, 2016 file photo, Maronite Christian leader Michel Aoun speaks to journalists after former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri endorsed him for Lebanese President, in Beirut. Lebanon’s parliament has elected Mr. Aoun, a former army commander and strong ally of Hezbollah, as President, ending a more than two-year vacuum in the country.

The presidency is reserved for a Maronite Christian in the country’s sectarian power-sharing system.

The Lebanese parliament elected former army commander Michel Aoun as President on Monday, ending a 29-month presidential vacuum as part of a political deal that is expected to make Sunni Muslim leader Saad al-Hariri Prime Minister.

Mr. Aoun, who is in his 80s, secured the presidency by winning the support of 83 MPs, well above the absolute majority of 65 needed to win, according to a tally of votes read out in a televised broadcast from parliament.

Fireworks echoed across Beirut as the tally showed Mr. Aoun the winner. Mr. Aoun, an MP, was shown smiling in his seat. The Lebanese presidency is reserved for a Maronite Christian in the country's sectarian power-sharing system.

Mr. Hariri’s decision to endorse Mr. Aoun marked a major political concession reflecting the diminished role of Saudi Arabia in Lebanon, and the decisive influence wielded by the Tehran-backed Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia had backed Mr. Hariri and his allies through years of political struggle with Hezbollah and its allies.

Mr. Hariri’s own financial misfortunes have also played a big part in bringing about the breakthrough. His political network in Lebanon was hit by a cash crunch caused by financial troubles at his Saudi-based construction firm, Saudi Oger.

Analysts say the position of Prime minister, which he previously held from 2009 to 2011, should help him shore up his support ahead of parliamentary elections that are due to be held next year.

Mr. Aoun is due to meet MPs later this week on their preferences for Prime minister. He is obliged to designate the candidate with the greatest support among MPs, expected to be Mr. Hariri.</s>The election of Michel Aoun as President of the Republic of Lebanon more than two years after the end of term of his predecessor is crucial for the future of the country. Lebanon is confronted by many challenges, starting with the conflict in neighbouring Syria, and is giving hospitality to hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Today's election of the President opens the way for all political parties to now engage in constructive dialogue and share the responsibility to address the longstanding institutional crisis and the needs of the Lebanese citizens. As the European Union, we remain fully committed to support Lebanon in all fields, and in particular on the refugee crisis.

National unity based on the Constitution, the Taeff agreement, the ministerial Baabda declaration and commitment to relevant Security Council resolutions, including 1701, remain crucial for the future of Lebanon. The new government will have to guarantee the stability of the country in this new political phase while adopting the necessary social and economic measures for the sake of all Lebanese.

The upcoming 2017 parliamentary elections will be another key moment for Lebanon's democracy. The legislative framework should be agreed in a constructive spirit. The European Union stands ready to support them and will deploy an election observation mission upon invitation of the Lebanese authorities.

Finally, let me praise the role of Prime Minister Salam and Parliament Speaker Berri during the period of institutional crisis and commend the role of the Lebanese Armed Forces and all security agencies in providing security during this time. Lebanon has proven its resilience in many difficult circumstances: the European Union has always been, is and will stay at its side.</s>On Monday, Iranian backed politician and ally of militant group Hezbollah, General Michel Aoun was chosen by Lebanon’s parliament to lead the country.

Saad Hariri is expected to be appointed prime minister.

This is bad news for Saudi Arabia and opens up a new chapter for the country that was once described as the Venice of the Mediterranean before regional and religious conflicts tore it apart over the last decades.

Aoun, 81, is an ally of Hezbollah, the Shiite militia and political party backed by Iran that has helped Syrian President Bashar Assad survive a five-year civil war on Lebanon’s border.

The vote for Aoun, by 83 of parliament’s 127 members, shows Iran-backed political factions shouldered past those aligned with Saudi Arabia, replacing Syria as Lebanon’s chief foreign power broker.

Aoun’s “victory now is a victory for Hezbollah and that alliance, and certainly a kind of black eye for Saudi Arabia,” said Paul Salem, vice president for policy and research at the Middle East Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C.

Saad Hariri, a pro-Western and Saudi-oriented politician, formally endorsed Aoun last week after failing to garner enough support for the presidency. In return, Aoun is expected to appoint Hariri prime minister.

“It’s a power-sharing system,” Salem said. “In a way, the status quo will continue.”

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby congratulated Lebanon on the election results.

“This is a moment of opportunity, as Lebanon emerges from years of political impasse, to restore government functions and build a more stable and prosperous future for all Lebanese citizens,” he said in a statement.

Asked later about Aoun’s support from Hezbollah, which the State Department has designated a terrorist organization, Kirby said: “Let’ see what decisions he makes, what kind of leadership he exudes as president.”

The U.S. routinely assesses its foreign assistance programs “and we will do that with Lebanon going forward,” Kirby said at a press briefing.

Aoun’s election drew immediate praise from a top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

The adviser, Ali Akbar Velayati, described the choice as a victory for Iran and its allies in Lebanon, because the Lebanese president is “a very significant ring in the chain of the Islamic resistance,” according to Iran’s government-owned Tasnim News Agency.

Aoun, in his first speech after becoming president, pledged to fight corruption and protect Lebanon from the fires raging around it, referring to the Syrian civil war, according to the Associated Press. He also promised to liberate contested territory under “Israeli occupation,” according to Hezbollah’s Al Manar-TV, apparently referring to territory Israel considers part of the Golan Heights, which it conquered from Syria during the 1967 war.

Lebanon has been without a head of state since May 2014, when then-president Michel Suleiman’s six-year term expired. Since then, 45 sessions to elect a new leader have failed because of political infighting, the AP reported.</s>BEIRUT, (Reuters) – The Lebanese parliament elected former army commander Michel Aoun as president on Monday, ending a 29-month presidential vacuum as part of a political deal that is expected to make Sunni Muslim leader Saad al-Hariri prime minister.

Aoun, who is in his 80s, secured the presidency by winning the support of 83 MPs, well above the absolute majority of 65 needed to win, according to a tally of votes read out in a televised broadcast from parliament.

Fireworks echoed across Beirut as the tally showed Aoun the winner. Aoun, an MP, was shown smiling in his seat. The Lebanese presidency is reserved for a Maronite Christian in the country’s sectarian power-sharing system.

Hariri’s decision to endorse Aoun marked a major political concession reflecting the diminished role of Saudi Arabia in Lebanon, and the decisive influence wielded by the Tehran-backed Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia had backed Hariri and his allies through years of political struggle with Hezbollah and its allies.

Hariri’s own financial misfortunes have also played a big part in bringing about the breakthrough. His political network in Lebanon was hit by a cash crunch caused by financial troubles at his Saudi-based construction firm, Saudi Oger.

Analysts say the position of prime minister, which he previously held from 2009 to 2011, should help him shore up his support ahead of parliamentary elections that are due to be held next year.

Aoun is due to meet MPs later this week on their preferences for prime minister. He is obliged to designate the candidate with the greatest support among MPs, expected to be Hariri.</s>Michel Aoun is slated to be sworn in as the country's president Monday, ending a political stalemate that had left the country without a head of state for more than two years.

"The President expressed his thanks to the Prime Minister and all ministers, and requested that the Cabinet [act] as a caretaker until the formation of a new Cabinet," Aoun said in a statement.

A Maronite Christian known as "The General," Aoun is a politically-divisive figure who is affiliated with Hezbollah and other members of the political coalition known as the March 8 Alliance, which ruled Lebanon between mid-2011 and early 2013.

The two-and-a-half-year political void was the product of disagreements between the March 8 Alliance and the anti-Syrian March 14 Alliance led by ex-Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his Sunni Lebanese Future Movement. A woman kisses a portrait of Michel Aoun as revelers celebrate Monday on the outskirts of Beirut. Hariri, the son of slain former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri , and who has close ties to Saudi Arabia, backed Aoun's nomination in a move that could be seen as a political win for Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies. Under Lebanon's constitution, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister must be a Sunni and the speaker of the parliament must be a Shiite Muslim. Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement is the main party in the March 8 Alliance and the second-largest party in Lebanon, behind the Future Movement. He won 84 votes in the first round of voting, not quite enough to secure the necessary two-thirds majority in the 128-seat parliament, according to the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar television station In a second round, Aoun surpassed the 50%-plus-one quorum requirement with 83 votes, Al-Manar reported. A man drinks champagne during a celebration marking Lebanon's first president in 29 months. During Lebanon's civil war, Aoun's battalion fought pro-Syria forces. He became the country's president in 1988, although some factions disputed it. He was then forced out of the presidential palace and into exile in France in 1990. He returned to Lebanon in 2005 and has served as a member of parliament since then. He signed a memorandum of understanding with Hezbollah in 2006. The Republican Guard Brigade welcomed Aoun back to Baabda Palace outside Beirut with a 21-gun salute, the state-run National News Agency, an arm of the Information Ministry, reported. considers Hezbollah a foreign terrorist organization. In 2012, the U.S. Treasury Department considers Hezbollah a foreign terrorist organization. In 2012, the U.S. Treasury Department The U.S. State Department considers Hezbollah a foreign terrorist organization. In 2012, the U.S. Treasury Department also designated Hezbollah a terrorist group for its support of the Syrian regime. "This action highlights Hezbollah's activities within Syria as well as its integral role in the continued violence being carried out by the (President Bashar) Assad regime against the Syrian population," said David Cohen, then-Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.</s>Washington, DC - The United States congratulates the people of Lebanon on the election of President Michel Aoun, in accordance with Lebanon’s constitution. This is a moment of opportunity, as Lebanon emerges from years of political impasse, to restore government functions and build a more stable and prosperous future for all Lebanese citizens.

As Lebanon forms a new government, we look to all parties to uphold Lebanon’s international obligations, including those contained in UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701, which emphasize that there be no authority other than that of the Government in Lebanon.

The United States will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Lebanese people and support Lebanon’s independence, sovereignty, security, and stability.
Michel Aoun is elected President of Lebanon following 29 months of parliamentary deadlock to fill the position.