Hezbollah elects Naim Qassem as new Secretary-General after Nasrallah

Hezbollah announced the election of Naim Qassem as the new Secretary-General of the party, succeeding Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on September 27, 2024, during an airstrike in southern Beirut.

In a statement, Hezbollah confirmed that the party’s Shura Council unanimously agreed on Qassem’s appointment. The statement emphasized their commitment to uphold the principles and objectives of Hezbollah, vowing to keep the spirit of resistance alive and pursue victory in honor of Nasrallah and the fallen martyrs.

Who is Naim Qassem?

Naim Qassem, born in Kfar Fila in 1953, is a religious cleric and the fourth Secretary-General of Hezbollah. He served as the party’s Deputy Secretary-General from 1991 until 2024, gaining prominence after Nasrallah’s assassination.

Education and Early Involvement

Qassem studied religious sciences under prominent cleric Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah and holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the Lebanese University. He was instrumental in founding the Lebanese Union of Muslim Students in the 1970s and joined the Amal Movement, which was led by Musa al-Sadr at the time.

He served as the head of the Islamic Society for Religious Education from 1974 to 1988 and later as an advisor to Al-Mustafa Schools. Qassem played a crucial role in Hezbollah’s foundational activities and was elected as Deputy Secretary-General in 1991.

In 2006, he published a book titled “Hezbollah: The Story from the Inside,” in which he expressed the party’s steadfastness against offers of financial aid in exchange for disarmament, stating, “We do not need their money; the resistance will continue regardless of the consequences.”

Qassem was officially elected as Hezbollah’s Secretary-General on October 29, 2024, following a consensus within the party’s Shura Council.