Lebanese lawmakers elected army chief Joseph Aoun as head of state, filling the vacant presidency with a general who enjoys US approval and showing the diminished sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel. Aoun promises to reconstruct what Israel destroyed in the south and Beirut's southern suburbs, and work towards better relations with Arab countries and Syria. He is the fifth Lebanese army commander to be elected as president in Lebanon's history and kept Lebanon's army out of the war between Israel and Hezbollah. The election marks a new phase in Lebanon's history.