Nader Durgham
Middle East Eye / January 13, 2025
Salam is now tasked to form a government to lead the war-torn country through numerous challenges.
Nawaf Salam, president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), was nominated as Lebanon’s prime minister on Monday.
Salam secured the backing of 85 lawmakers out of 128, following a day of parliamentary consultations led by newly elected President Joseph Aoun.
If able to form a government, Salam will replace Najib Mikati, whose administration has been functioning in a caretaker capacity for over two years.
Salam’s designation comes without the support of Lebanon’s Shia MPs, mostly represented by Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal movement. Hezbollah lent its support to Mikati to continue in his post.
Under Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni and the speaker of parliament a Shia.
Salam served as Lebanon’s ambassador to the United Nations from 2007 to 2017 before joining the ICJ in 2018. He was elected president of the court in February last year.
Some of his backers view Salam as a relatively impartial figure outside of Lebanon’s political class.
Al-Akhbar newspaper, which is close to Hezbollah, described Salam’s nomination as akin to a “complete US coup” on its website’s homepage on Monday.
Hezbollah MP Mohammed Raad said that the group had “extended its hand” last week by electing Aoun as president last week, but had now found its “hand cut off”.
The next step will be to form a new government – a process that has in the past taken weeks, and even months, due to political divisions.
The new government will be tasked with dealing with a severe economic crisis, which has persisted for over five years and resulted in the lira losing almost 100 percent of its value.
It will also be faced with the task of reconstructing the country after over a year of Israeli bombardment, which was halted by a fragile ceasefire that came into effect in late November.
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Nawaf Salam, the ICJ president who became Lebanon’s prime minister
Nader Durgham
Middle East Eye / January 14, 2025
Hailing from a prominent political family, the Beirut native faces the tough challenge of rebuilding his war-torn country.
International jurist Nawaf Salam was in the Hague presiding over the International Court of Justice (ICJ) when he was named Lebanon‘s prime minister on Monday.
The 71-year-old Beirut native hails from a prominent political family and had been named as a candidate for the country’s premiership on several occasions but failed to garner enough parliamentary support.
While Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal movement, objected to Salam’s nomination, the vast majority of lawmakers threw their support behind him, helping secure the way to his designation.
Experts believe Salam may bring a sense of optimism to the crisis-hit country as it recovers from a devastating war and economic collapse.
“If you look at the profile of the prime ministers of the past years, you’ve had prime ministers who are billionaires [and] sons of billionaires, with the exception of Hassan Diab [2019-2021],” Mohanad Hage Ali, senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center, told Middle East Eye.
For Hage Ali, there was a need in Lebanon for “a prime minister who is one of us”.
‘Strong background’
Born in the Lebanese capital in 1953, Salam studied law and political science in institutions that include Harvard University in the US and Sciences Po in Paris.
His grandfather, Salim Salam, was a deputy in the Ottoman parliament in the early 20th century while his uncle Saeb served as prime minister four times between 1952 and 1973.
‘He is seen as someone who has no interest in corruption whatsoever … That gives people a lot of hope’ – Mohanad Hage Ali, Carnegie
His cousin, Tammam, also held that role between 2014 and 2016.
As for Salam, he served as Lebanon’s ambassador to the UN from 2007 until 2017 before joining the ICJ as a judge in 2018.
He was made president of the World Court in February 2024, where he notably oversaw South Africa’s genocide case against Israel over its war on Gaza and announced the court’s findings that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land was “illegal”.
“He was an ambassador abroad for many years, he was a judge, he has a great education profile, and he is seen as someone who has no interest in corruption whatsoever,” Hage Ali said.
“He comes as someone with a strong background, international institutions’ credibility, international relations, and ability to project Lebanon’s image and have some sort of a vision moving forward. That gives people a lot of hope.”
Difficult mission
Salam’s ascent to the country’s premiership comes at a sensitive and critical time for Lebanon.
Still reeling from an economic crisis that started in 2019, the country now must deal with the aftermath of Israel’s two-month invasion in late 2024.
Over 4,000 people were killed and much of the infrastructure in the south, the east and Beirut’s southern suburbs was destroyed in Israeli attacks.
In his first speech since his nomination, Salam condemned “Israel’s latest barbaric aggression against Lebanon” and prioritised the reconstruction of homes, businesses and schools in areas that were bombed by Israel.
“Reconstruction is not just a promise, but a commitment,” he said.
Salam also promised justice for the victims of the 2020 Beirut port blast, which killed over 200 people and ravaged large swaths of the Lebanese capital.
He will face opposition from Hezbollah, whom he indirectly addressed in his speech by saying he extends his hand to all parties to cooperate with him.
The group, backed by Iran, had last week reluctantly lent support in the election of President Joseph Aoun, who is supported by the US and Saudi Arabia.
Hage Ali says Salam “definitely represents” the politics of Hezbollah’s opponents, which may present problems.
“They’re fearful also of his scepticism towards their brand of resistance and their pro-Iran politics. He is critical of that,” Hage Ali added. “They don’t like it, they want a different approach.
“They want to deal with someone like [former Prime Minister Najib] Mikati, who is practical, who can say whatever he needs to say in front of the international community, and then turn his back and deal with Hezbollah to provide them and engage with their government demands in a more constructive way.”
Despite this, the new prime minister said he felt hopeful for the future.
“I will immediately start working in full cooperation with his excellency the president, and I have great hope that we will launch together the project to build the new Lebanon,” he said, concluding his speech.
Nader Durgham is a Lebanese journalist based in Beirut
