Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who has U.S. support and showing the weakened sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel.

The Lebanese parliament Thursday elected Army Chief Joseph Aoun as the new president, ending more than two years of a political deadlock that had left the country without a head of state. According to house speaker Nabih Berri,

Lebanon’s parliament chose the country’s army commander, Joseph Aoun, as head of state, filling a more than two-year-long presidential vacuum.