Lebanese president dismisses interim government, leaves office

The President of Lebanon, Michel Aoun, signed a decree on Sunday dismissing the interim Government following the parliamentary elections on May 2022.

89-year-old Aoun, a Christian president ruled the country during its cataclysmic financial meltdown and the deadly Beirut port blast in August 2020, Reuters reports.

The Lebanese parliament has so far been unable to agree on a successor.

Lebanon is a unitary parliamentary republic where the president has the power to sign bills into law, and appoint new prime ministers and green-light government formations before they are voted on by parliament.

The country is currently governed by a caretaker cabinet as the premier designate has been trying for six months to form a government, as was the case during more than half of Aoun's time in office.

Aoun was a deeply divisive figure in Lebanese society, being adored by many Christians who viewed him as their defender in Lebanon's secular system but accused by his critics of allowing corruption to spread and assisting the Hezbollah organization to gain influence.