Joseph Aoun, the Lebanese army chief who was elected president on Thursday, is a 60-year-old career soldier who kept his military on the sidelines of a recent war between Israel and armed group Hezbollah, earning widespread respect in a country ridden by sectarian divides.

Lebanese army chief Joseph Aoun, who was elected president in a second round of a parliamentary vote Thursday, is a political neophyte but is expected to benefit from his position as head of one of the country’s most respected institutions.

Widely seen as the preferred pick of the US, as well as regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia, he is perceived as being best placed to maintain a fragile ceasefire and pull the country out of financial collapse.

Analysts say Aoun, who turns 61 on Friday and is considered a man of “personal integrity”, could be the right candidate to finally replace Michel Aoun – no relation – whose term as president ended in October 2022.

A dozen previous attempts to choose a president failed amid tensions between Hezbollah and its opponents, who accused the Shiite group of seeking to impose its preferred candidate.