The president-elect Joseph Aoun during his swearing-in ceremony at the Lebanese Parliament on Jan. 9, 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
A few minutes after having won 99 votes in the 128-seat Parliament, the elected president, Joseph Aoun, addressed the Chamber and the Lebanese people with an acceptance speech full of promises and both direct and indirect messaging.
Here is the full text of his speech , warmly applauded on several occasions by parliamentarians, particularly during his positions concerning the monopoly on weapons in the hands of the State and the independence of justice:
Mr. Speaker,
Mr. Prime Minister,
Ladies and Gentlemen, MPs and Ministers,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Heads and Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Dear Lebanese Women,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great honor for me to have been elected President of the Lebanese Republic by you, gentlemen of the parliament. This title is the greatest of honors and responsibilities. I became the first president after the centenary of the creation of the State of Greater Lebanon, in the midst of a Middle East crisis where alliances have collapsed and systems have fallen, and whose borders could change!
But Lebanon has remained itself, despite wars, explosions, interventions, aggressions, greedy ambitions, and the mismanagement of our crises … Because Lebanon is the witness of history, because religions are complementary, and because the people are one. Our identity, despite our diversity, is Lebanese. We love creativity as the essential breath of life and we cling to our land as a fundamental space of freedom. Our character is courageous, our strength lies in our ability to adapt. We make dreams and live them, and no matter our differences, in times of crisis, we support each other, because if one of us breaks, we are all broken.
Dear beloved people,
We have reached the moment of truth.
We are going through a crisis of governance that requires a change in the way we conceive of politics, in order to preserve our security and our borders, in our economic policies; in the management of our social affairs; in the definition of our democracy, in the governance of the majority and the rights of minorities; in the way Lebanon presents itself abroad and in our relations with the diaspora; in our philosophy of responsibility and oversight; in the centrality of the state and in the fight against economic injustice, unemployment, poverty and human and environmental desertification.
It is a crisis of governance and rulers, a failure in the application of laws or a poor interpretation and formulation of these laws!
My oath to the Lebanese, wherever they are, and to the whole world to hear:
Today begins a new phase in the history of Lebanon. I have taken an oath before your honorable Assembly and before the Lebanese people, swearing loyalty to the Lebanese Nation and committing myself to be the first servant of the preservation of the National Pact, as well as to apply its principles in a way that serves the higher interest of the nation and to fully exercise my presidential powers as a just arbiter between institutions, whose objective is to protect the sacredness of individual and collective freedoms, which constitute the essence of Lebanon.
These freedoms must be based on the rule of law, on governance that guarantees rights, ensures accountability, and ensures equality among all citizens. Because if we want to build a nation, we must all be under the roof of law and justice, where there will be no more mafias or security islands, no more leaks or money laundering, no more drug trafficking, no more interference in the judicial system, in police stations, no more protections or clientelism, no more immunity for criminals and the corrupt. Justice is the bulwark, it is the only guarantee that every citizen has. This is my commitment!
My commitment is to work with the next government to adopt a new law on the independence of the judiciary, with regard to its judicial, administrative and financial branches, to develop the work of the prosecutor's offices, to make judicial appointments based on criteria of integrity and competence, to strengthen the Judicial Council, to simplify judicial procedures, to reform prisons and to speed up judgments in order to guarantee freedoms and rights, while encouraging investment and fighting corruption.
My commitment is to challenge the validity of any law that violates the principles of the Constitution, and to respect the separation of powers, by exercising my supervisory function honestly and objectively, and having the right to refer to Parliament or the government laws and decrees that do not serve the public interest.
My commitment is to call for swift parliamentary consultations to appoint a prime minister who is a partner in responsibility and not an adversary, so that we exercise our powers in a positive manner, aimed at ensuring the continuity of public services, prioritizing competence over patronage, nation over faction, efficiency over bureaucracy, and transparency over private business, and embracing global developments rather than dwelling on past conflicts.
My commitment to the Parliament and the government is to restructure the public administration, introduce rotation in senior public offices, and appoint regulatory authorities; to restore the dignity of the state and civil servants, restore their status, and attract elites to create a modern, electronic, agile, efficient, impartial, decentralized administration that improves the management of its resources, has no complexes about the private sector, prevents monopolies and is not afraid to be transparent with controllers and users. It will strengthen competition, protect the consumer, avoid waste, activate monitoring mechanisms, and improve planning, budgeting, and public debt management. Because there is no value in a public administration that does not provide quality services to citizens at the best price, as an essential condition for preserving the dignity of the Lebanese, revitalizing the economy, and creating job opportunities.
My commitment is to carry out my duties as the supreme commander of the armed forces and as the chairman of the Higher Defense Council, working to ensure the state's right to hold a monopoly on weapons, and to invest in the army to monitor the borders, maintain their security in the south, define the boundaries in the east, north and at sea, prevent smuggling, fight terrorism and preserve the unity of the Lebanese territory. The army has a defense doctrine that protects the people and fights according to the principles of the Constitution.
My commitment is to ensure that the security forces, in their various missions, play an essential role in maintaining order and enforcing the laws.
My commitment is to ask for an integrated defense policy to be debated, as part of a national security strategy on the diplomatic, economic and military levels, to enable the Lebanese state, I repeat, the Lebanese state, to eradicate the Israeli occupation and repel its aggressions on all Lebanese territories.
My commitment is to rebuild what was destroyed by the Israeli aggression in the south, in the Bekaa, in the southern suburbs and throughout Lebanon, in a transparent manner, and to believe that our martyrs are the soul of our determination, that our prisoners are a responsibility that falls on us, and to never make any concessions to the sovereignty and independence of Lebanon. Our unity is the guarantee of our security, our diversity is the richness of our experience. It is time to bet on Lebanon, and to capitalize on our external relations, and not to bet on the foreign to oppose each other.
My commitment is that we all adhere to the principle of rejecting the settlement of the Palestinian brothers, thus preserving their right of return and strengthening the two-state solution, adopted at the Beirut Summit according to the Arab Peace Initiative. I also commit to defending the right of the Lebanese state to exercise its sovereignty over all its territory, including the Palestinian refugee camps, while preserving their human dignity.
My commitment is to establish the best relations with the brotherly Arab countries, based on the principle that Lebanon belongs to the Arab family, and to build strategic partnerships with the countries of the Levant, the Gulf and North Africa, preventing any conspiracy against their regimes and sovereignty. We will practice a policy of positive neutrality and offer them only the best of what we have, whether in products, industries, or attracting Arab tourists, students and investors to evolve with them, enriching our human relations and building integrated and collaborative economies.
My commitment, in the face of the rapid developments in the regional situation, is to seize a historic opportunity to begin a serious and respectful dialogue with the Syrian state to resolve all the outstanding issues between us, including those concerning respect for the sovereignty and independence of the two countries; border control in both directions; the absence of interference in each other's internal affairs; the file of the missing and the issue of Syrian refugees, which has existential implications for Lebanon. We will work with Syria and the international community to resolve this crisis, far from racist proposals or negative approaches, and we will work with the incoming government and the National Assembly to establish a clear, immediately applicable mechanism that will allow these refugees to return to their country.
My commitment is to open Lebanon to both worlds, East and West, to create alliances and strengthen Lebanon's external relations with friendly countries and the international community, based on mutual respect, to preserve Lebanon's sovereignty and its freedom of decision.
My commitment is that every Lebanese in the diaspora will be proud of Lebanon, just as Lebanon is proud of its expatriates. Their right to vote is a sacred right that transforms their exile into a new bond of belonging to every village and city in Lebanon. Thus, those who wish and have the opportunity will return, and permanent emigration will turn into a temporary idea for which there will be no need.
My commitment is to push, with future governments, to develop electoral laws in order to strengthen opportunities for rotation in power, to guarantee proper representation, transparency and accountability. I will also work towards the adoption of a bill for expanded administrative decentralization to reduce the suffering of citizens and promote sustainable and balanced development.
My commitment is to maintain a free Lebanese economy and protect private property, with banks operating under a regime of governance and transparency, where the law is the only rule, and where no secrets exist except professional secrecy. I pledge not to neglect the protection of citizens' deposits.
My commitment is to promote and expand social protection networks, in particular social security and health services, while working to preserve the environment and respecting freedom of the press and expression within constitutional and legal frameworks.
My commitment is to invest in science, again and again in science, in public schools, the Lebanese university and the preservation of the freedom of private education.
My commitment is your commitment, honorable members of parliament, and that of every Lebanese person who wants to build a strong state, a productive economy, stable security, a united nation and a promising future.
There is no longer any question of wasting time or opportunities. I invite you not to think about the upcoming elections, but to think about the future of your children and the dignity of your elders. Our duty is to be statesmen and women, to think about the future of generations to come, and not about our personal interests, to consider that we belong to Lebanon, and not that it belongs to us.
To my brothers in arms: At this moment, I am taking off my military uniform to put on civilian clothes, but I remain one of you and I am proud of my membership in your national school, that of honor, sacrifice and loyalty. I keep in my heart, my mind and my soul your sacrifices and your heroism. You are the institution on which the country is built, which protects its unity. You have never betrayed the people, and I, in my turn, will not betray you.
To the dear Lebanese, I say: My commitment is yours, and the work is vast, I cannot assume it alone. These are responsibilities that fall to the MPs, the ministers, the justice system, the political parties and the civil society. My commitment is to work with everyone to defend the public interest and the rights of the Lebanese, whether individual or collective and to prove to the world that there is no word "failure" in the Lebanese dictionary. This is the time for your creativity, the time to bend the world by the force of your determination, the time for peace, conscience, work and solidarity among you. No sect should be favored over another, and no citizen should have privilege over another. This is the time for respecting the Constitution, building the state and applying the laws. This is the oath of Lebanon!
Long live Lebanon!
