Hezbollah’s Shura Council has elected Naim Qassem as the organization’s new Secretary General, according to a recent statement.
Qassem previously served as Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General under the leadership of Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in Israeli airstrikes on Beirut on September 27.
Born in Beirut in 1953, Qassem has been a senior figure within Hezbollah for over 30 years. He graduated with a degree in chemistry from Lebanese University and founded the Lebanese Muslim Students’ Union in the 1970s.
His political involvement began with the Shia Amal movement, and in 1982, he became one of Hezbollah’s founding members in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
In 1991, he was appointed Deputy Secretary-General by Hezbollah’s then-leader, Abbas al-Moussawi. After Moussawi’s death in an Israeli helicopter attack the following year, Nasrallah succeeded him, and Qassem continued as deputy.
Qassem has long been a prominent spokesman for Hezbollah, regularly addressing the international press on the ongoing conflict with Israel.
In a statement on September 30, Qassem announced that Hezbollah would elect Nasrallah’s successor “at the earliest opportunity” and reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to continue its struggle against Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
