Naim Qassem

Sheikh Naim Qassem (born 1953 in Lebanon) is a Lebanese Twelver Shia cleric and politician who became the fifth Secretary-General of Hezbollah in October 2024 following the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah on 27 September 2024. He had served as Hezbollah's Deputy Secretary-General since 1991 — a span of over three decades — making him one of the longest-serving senior figures in the organization and a key continuity figure during its most transformative period.

He was born and raised in Lebanon and pursued his religious education in Shia seminaries, developing a reputation as a scholar and ideologue as well as an organizational figure. As Deputy Secretary-General, he was responsible for significant aspects of Hezbollah's political, educational, and organizational infrastructure. He served as a liaison between Hezbollah's military and political wings and was involved in the party's public communications.

He is the author of several books on Hezbollah's ideology, structure, and philosophy, most notably "Hizbullah: The Story from Within" (2005), which provides an insider's account of the organization's founding, ideology, and operations. The book has been translated into multiple languages and is considered one of the primary sources for understanding Hezbollah's self-conception. He has given numerous interviews to international media explaining Hezbollah's positions. His selection as Secretary-General following Nasrallah's assassination was seen as providing institutional continuity at a moment of severe organizational stress, though questions remain about his ability to command the same personal authority that Nasrallah wielded for over three decades.