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Lebanese President Michel Aoun has designated former education minister Hassan Diab as the country's next prime minister, according to a statement from the presidential palace on Thursday, CNN reports. 

Hassan Diab, who is backed by Hezbollah and its allies, was designed as the next premier after receiving more votes in parliament than the only other contender for the post, Nawaf Salam, who was believed to have been backed by Washington.

Diab, a professor at the American University of Beirut, is a little-known figure with no known political affiliations. But the fact that he is backed by Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant and political group, could complicate Lebanon's efforts to secure much-needed international aid at a crucial time.

Lebanon is enduring one of its worst-ever economic crises and has been wracked by weeks of mass protests that led to the resignation of the previous prime minister, Saad Hariri.