Lebanese MPs have elected a staunch ally of Iran as president, ending a paralysing two-year standoff rooted in a broader rivalry between Tehran and Saudi Arabia.



The appointment of retired general Michel Aoun, 81, came after he gained the backing of the former Lebanese prime minister Saad al-Hariri, Riyadh’s preferred leader, and further edges the balance of power in the region towards Iran and its allies.

The pact also politically legitimises Hezbollah as a nationalist group with cross-sectarian support – a landmark moment for an organisation that had largely been defined by its sectarian origins.



Demonstrations in support of Aoun were held in the Hezbollah-dominated southern suburbs of Beirut, and on the streets of Damascus, where the regime of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad had also strongly backed the new president’s candidacy.

At his swearing-in in the Beirut parliament building, Aoun said Lebanon must be protected from “regional fires” - a reference to the conflict in neighbouring Syria where Hezbollah is fighting in support of Assad, but did not set out a position on the conflict. “It remains a priority to prevent any sparks from reaching Lebanon,” Aoun said after taking the presidential oath.

Saudi Arabia had been vehemently opposed to Aoun’s nomination, fearing he will consolidate Iran’s influence on the brittle state, which has remained vulnerable state since the end of its destructive civil war 25 years ago.

Senior Saudi officials had sponsored Hariri as a rival power base to Hezbollah, urging him to oppose the powerful militant group and political bloc, which has played an increasingly prominent role in Lebanese and regional affairs.



However, over the past year Saudi confidence in Hariri had waned, as had his efforts to draft a rival candidate, Sleiman Frangieh, as president.

The billionaire businessman’s fortunes and domestic support also dipped sharply, and Hariri is now expected to return to the role of prime minister, from which he was ousted in 2011, capping a difficult five years largely spent in exile.

Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said he would not oppose Hariri being named as prime minister and called for the Lebanese people to accept Aoun’s election. Nasrallah has backed Aoun for more than two years , meeting regularly to discuss developments in Lebanon and Syria, where Hezbollah is heavily engaged in a battle to support the Syrian leader.

Aoun’s run towards Monday’s parliamentary vote began on 6 February 2006, when he and Nasrallah signed a pact based on him eventually becoming president. Aoun’s political bloc, which accounts for roughly half of Lebanon’s Christian population, aligned its strategic interests with Hezbollah, and united against the political weight of Hariri’s Sunni-dominated Future bloc.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has been in steady retreat from Lebanon. It withdrew its ambassador in September and cancelled funding for the Lebanese military. Before Monday’s vote, Riyadh sent a senior envoy to consult Lebanese officials in what was seen as a tacit approval of the pivot to Aoun, as well as an increasing disengagement from Lebanese affairs.



Though largely ceremonial in Lebanon, the president appoints the cabinet and influences foreign policy. The Lebanese constitution stipulates that the president must be a Maronite, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of the parliament a Shia Muslim.



Aoun has remained a contentious figure in Lebanon since the civil war, when he served as military commander and stood against the Syrian occupation.

He served briefly as prime minister of one of the two rival governments established near the war’s end. Besieged by Syrian troops, he sought refuge in the French embassy and fled to Paris, where he remained in exile for close to 15 years until Syrian troops were forced to flee Lebanon after the assassination of their former leader Rafiq Hariri.



Aoun remained a staunch critic of the Syrian regime. However, his position shifted after he returned to Lebanon, where he became a powerful political presence. He soon won the patronage of Iran, setting his sights on the country’s highest office and tailoring his message to suit Tehran.