The weakening of Hezbollah in last year's war with Israel allowed Lebanon's long deadlocked parliament to reach consensus around a president who has the confidence of the international community.

Army chief Joseph Aoun, who was elected on Thursday ending a more than two-year vacancy, signalled a readjustment of Lebanon's foreign policy as the country works with international creditors to forge a way out of six years of deepening financial crisis.

Deadlock in parliament between pro- and anti-Hezbollah blocs had stalemated a dozen previous attempts to elect a president, leaving the country largely rudderless in its efforts to secure an emergency bailout.

But two months of full-fledged war with Israel last autumn dealt heavy blows to the Shiite Muslim militant group, with its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah killed in a September air strike.

Hezbollah also lost a strategic ally last month when Islamist-led rebels ousted longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad.

Hezbollah's "political........

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