EstablishedNovember 111989

Position Holder: Hassan Nasrallah

The position of Secretary General was created during Hezbollah’s first conclave in 1989, years after Hezbollah’s initial establishment, and four years after the group declared its existence in 1985 with the publication of its Open Letter. The holder of the position is elected by the Shura Council from among their own membership, and the Secretary General essentially serves as a “first among equals” on the Council. The party’s original rules stipulated that the holder of the Secretary General could only be nominated to the post for two terms. However, this was amended in 1998, allowing unlimited re-election. According to Deputy Secretary General NaimQassem, the Secretary Genera is charged with supervisory, administrative, and guidance responsibilities, coordination between Shura Council members and the various Assembly Heads, and expressing the Party’s official leadership stance.

Though the group’s leadership is meant to be collective, as the organization has progressed, the position of Secretary General has become its center of gravity. The Secretary General also headsthe party’s Jihad Council and, through his presidency of the Shura Council, its subordinatemilitary and security apparatus. In practical terms, the Secretary General additionally directly controls the military organ’s operational headquarters, which is nominally under the control of the entire Shura Council.

Hassan Nasrallah is the third individual to hold the position of Secretary General, after Subhi al-Tufayli (1989- May 22, 1991) and Abbas al-Mousaoui (May 22, 1991 – February 16, 1992). However, he has become virtually synonymous with the position of Secretary General since his impromptu election in mid-May 1993, in the wake of his predecessor Abba al-Mousaoui’sassassination by Israel. He is the public face and political face of the movement, and the central actor in almost all of Hezbollah’s political and military decision-making. 

Since his first term as Secretary General, Nasrallah has proven himself as an indispensable and charismatic leader. He demonstrated religious, political, and military skills that propelled the group’s successes beyond the efforts of his predecessors. This prompted his re-election in 1995 to a second term, and the amendment of the party’s rules to elect him for a third, fourth, and fifth term in 1998, 2001, and 2003, respectively. (Other sources claim Nasrallah was elected as Secretary General for life in 2001). His loyalty and successes also impressed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, without whom the amendment of the party’s rules would not have happened.

Rumors have emerged in recent years that Hezbollah intends to change the nature of the position of Secretary General, and that Nasrallah will not be running for another term. However, he will not be giving up any of the powers he currently holds. Instead, either the post of secretary-general will be awarded, with reduced powers, to a successor, or it will be transformed into an institution and no longer headed by a single figure. Any decision on this change has been postponed by Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syrian Civil War.