From a shadowy companion, here is the veteran thrust into full light at an extremely delicate moment for his troops. This Tuesday, Hezbollah designated Naïm Qassem, 71, to take charge of the movement after the elimination of Hassan Nasrallah on September 27 in an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut.
This face of the Lebanese militia, who does not disdain to appear on television with his white beard and his head wrapped in the white turban of the Shiite clergy, is in fact an old Hezbollah backpacker, whose destiny is closely linked to that of Nasrallah.
The man in fact accompanied the pro-Iranian Islamist group from its earliest days. Coming from the great Shiite Amal movement, Naïm Qassem was already one of the founders of the movement created in 1982 under the leadership of Iran in the wake of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. He even became the deputy secretary general of the movement, a year after the end of the civil war in Lebanon (1975-1990).
Artisan with Nasrallah of the rise to power
When Hassan Nasrallah took the reins of Hezbollah in 1992 – already after the death of previous leader Abbas Moussaoui in an Israeli raid – Naïm Qassem supported him. The two men managed side by side an armed organization which, from decade to decade, gained considerably in influence. Until becoming a key player in geopolitics in the Middle East.
Member of the Shura Council, the governing body of Hezbollah, Naïm Qassem was therefore legitimate to succeed Nasrallah, especially since the other putative candidates were killed one after the other, like Hachem Safieddine, another senior leader of the movement killed in early October.
The new strongman of the Shiite militia, who speaks French and English, was born in Beirut into a family from Kfar Fila, a village in southern Lebanon. Until a month ago and the start of the Israeli offensive on Hezbollah positions, he regularly gave interviews to the media, remaining one of the few executives of the movement to still appear freely in public. Beyond his protocolary functions, he also managed political questions and parliamentary and government files, a source close to him told AFP.
Less charisma, more sobriety
But since the recent Israeli escalation, he has no longer appeared in public. He simply delivered three pre-recorded speeches broadcast by Hezbollah’s Al-Manar channel, asserting in each of them that Hezbollah supporters are “the sons of Nasrallah.”
Less charismatic than Hassan Nasrallah, he favors speeches with a sober tone, read in classical Arabic, unlike his predecessor Hezbollah, who spoke in front of the camera, in fiery diatribes in Lebanese dialect, sometimes punctuated with biting irony.
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Married and father of six children, this chemistry graduate from the Lebanese University taught in public high schools for six years, according to his official biography. He has published numerous books on religious education as well as essays on politics, again according to his official website. It has a network of schools primarily attended by its community, attending graduation ceremonies every year.
Ready “for all military scenarios”
After the incredible episode of the beepers which decimated his troops and while Israeli strikes rained down relentlessly on Hezbollah strongholds, killing thousands, Naïm Qassem addressed the Israelis in mid-October. “The solution” which would allow the inhabitants of northern Israel, displaced by Hezbollah fire for a year, to return home, was “a ceasefire”, he said, threatening, otherwise, to strike “ everywhere” in Israel.
At the end of September, a week before the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, he attended the funeral of “great commander” Ibrahim Aqil, once the head of Hezbollah’s elite force. “Threats will not stop us: we are ready for all military scenarios” against Israel, he threatened then.
