Naim Qassem: Hezbollah’s strategist, ideologue and now leader

Dubbed Hezbollah’s second-in-command for over 33 years, Naim Qassem capped more than four decades of Shia political Islam activism with his election as the movement’s fourth secretary-general on Tuesday.

Taking place exactly one month after Israel killed his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah, Qassem’s election by Hezbollah’s Shura Council comes as the group experiences its most difficult phase since it came into existence in 1982.

In addition to Nasrallah, Israel has killed a string of shadowy top military commanders, along with Hachem Safieddine, Nasrallah’s presumed successor, while launching a ground invasion of southern Lebanon and pummelling the country with air strikes.

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