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.

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

But who is Joseph Aoun? And why did it take so long for the Lebanese parliament to agree that he was the right person to lead the country? Military experience. Born in 1964 in Sin

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 Lebanese parliament elected armed forces commander Joseph Aoun as the country's new president on Thursday in a second round of voting. Aoun received 99 votes in a second vote from the 128-member parliament.

It ended when former President Michel Aoun was elected. The president's role in Lebanon is limited under the power-sharing system in which the president is always a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament Shiite.

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s parliament voted Thursday to elect army ... Aoun, no relation to former President Michel Aoun, was widely seen as the preferred candidate of the United States and Saudi ...

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s parliament voted Thursday to elect ... Aoun, no relation to former president Michel Aoun, was widely seen as the preferred candidate of the United States and Saudi ...

(AP Photo/Hussein Malla) BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s parliament voted Thursday ... assistance for reconstruction. Aoun, no relation to former President Michel Aoun, was widely seen as the ...

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s parliament voted Thursday to elect ... Aoun, no relation to former President Michel Aoun, was widely seen as the preferred candidate of the United States and Saudi ...