Naim Qassem ascends: Closer look at Hezbollah's new leader

Naim Qassem, the Deputy Secretary General of Hezbollah, has been elected as the new leader of the organization.

Born in 1953 in the Lebanese city of Kfar Fila to a Shiite family, Qassem pursued higher education in the 1970s, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Lebanese University while also studying religious and theological subjects under Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

His political career began in the 1970s as a member of the Shiite Amal party, which was led by Imam Musa al-Sadr, who disappeared in Libya. Qassem was a founding member of the Lebanese Muslim Students Union and served as the head of the Islamic Religious Education Association from 1974 to 1988.

Active in Hezbollah since its inception, Qassem became the organization's Deputy Secretary General on May 22, 1991, overseeing Hezbollah's parliamentary and governmental operations.

In a November 7, 2023, interview with NBC, Qassem threatened to escalate Hezbollah's attacks on Israel if the latter continued its operations in the Gaza Strip. He also accused the United States of being the "mastermind" behind Israel's campaign in Gaza.

More recently, on April 18, 2024, he reiterated that while Hezbollah does not seek to escalate the conflict with Israel, it would respond to any Israeli actions in Lebanon. Additionally, he criticized Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE for their support of Israel in defending against Iranian missile attacks.

Qassem is a prolific author, having written over a dozen books, including Hezbollah: The Inside Story (2006), which details the group's history and ideology. This work has been translated into several languages, including English, Farsi, French, Indonesian, and Turkish.

Fluent in French, Qassem is married and has six children.

By Tamilla Hasanova