BEIRUT (AP) — 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 parliament has elected its US-backed army chief to be the country’s next president, ending a years-long political stalemate and presidential vacuum.

The election took place six weeks after Lebanon's government agreed a ceasefire to end a devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah, which significantly weakened the Iran-backed