Lebanon’s parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun as president on Thursday, filling a 14-month leadership void with a figure widely approved by the United States and international allies. The vote underscores Hezbollah’s diminished influence following its war with Israel and regional shifts, including the fall of its ally Bashar Assad in Syria.

Lebanon's lawmakers on Thursday elected army chief Joseph Aoun as president after a two-year vacancy in the position, in a step towards lifting the war-battered country out of financial crisis.Aoun, who turns 61 on Friday,

Though Lebanon’s presidency is mostly symbolic, it has a few important powers, like approving prime ministers and cabinets. In a country still haunted by the memory of civil war, symbolism is important too: how the head of state is chosen says much about the balance of power in Lebanon’s factious politics.