Lebanon’s president vacates office

Lebanon’s president Michel Aoun has vacated the presidential palace a day before his six-year term ends, leaving a void at the top of a failing state.

Parliament has so far been unable to agree on a successor in the role, which has the power to sign bills into law, and appoint new prime ministers and green-light government formations before they are voted on by parliament.

Lebanon is currently governed by a caretaker cabinet as the premier designate has been trying for six months to form a government.

Aoun’s path to the presidency began in the 1975-1990 civil war, during which he served as commander of Lebanon’s army and the head of one of two rival governments.

He returned to Beirut after 15 years in exile, once Syrian forces withdrew under international pressure following the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

In 2006, the FPM formed an alliance with Hezbollah, which lent important Christian backing to the armed group.

Aoun secured the presidency in 2016, endorsed by both Hezbollah and rival Maronite Christian politician Samir Geagea in a deal that brought then-leading Sunni politician Saad al-Hariri back as prime minister.

The six-year term that followed saw Lebanon’s army fight off Islamist militants on the Syrian border in 2017 with Hezbollah’s help, a new electoral law passed in 2018 and top energy companies begin exploratory drilling in offshore blocks in 2020.

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In his final week in the palace, he signed onto a U.S.-mediated deal delineating Lebanon’s southern maritime border with Israel.

His fans have hailed those achievements but his critics say those modest successes pale in comparison to the 2019 financial meltdown, which has pushed more than 80% of the population into poverty and prompted widespread anti-government protests.

Aoun’s term was also marked by the massive blast at the Beirut port in 2020 that killed more than 220 people.

Aoun later said he had known about the chemicals stored there and referred the file to other authorities to take action. Victims’ families said he should have done more.

Zainab Sa’id