“Nawaf Salam is widely respected for his academic rigor, independent views, and commitment to justice and human rights.” File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Nawaf Salam, Lebanon’s new Prime Minister, is a leading international judge who won support for staying out of the political infighting that has paralysed the crisis-hit country in recent years.

The 71-year-old, who until now was presiding judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, hails from a prominent Beirut political family.

He had previously been put forward to form a cabinet in the deeply divided Mediterranean country, but Iran-backed Hezbollah had repeatedly objected, with opponents of the group hoping Mr. Salam would be able to reform state institutions long under its grip.

Hezbollah has since been badly weakened by its recent war with Israel and the loss of a key ally in Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, enabling new Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday to task Mr. Salam with forming a government.

The group and its ally Amal again objected to Mr. Salam, but for the first time, other political parties previously allied to the Shiite movement have endorsed him.

“Nawaf Salam is widely respected for his academic rigor, independent views, and commitment to justice and human rights,” said Lebanese analyst Imed Salamey.

“His ability to maintain equal distance from Lebanon’s divided parties, while embodying principles of justice and governance, makes him a symbol of hope for a more accountable and inclusive future.”

As the country’s economy was collapsing in 2019, mass protests erupted demanding an overhaul of a ruling class accused of corruption and largely unchanged since the 1975-1991 civil war.

But they petered out as the Covid pandemic hit, before a massive explosion at the Beirut port ravaged the capital in 2020.

‘Reformist’

Born in Beirut in 1953, Mr. Salam studied law and political science, including at Harvard in the United States and Sciences Po in France.

Mr. Salam was made Lebanon’s ambassador to the United Nations in 2007, when anti-Hezbollah politician Fuad Siniora was prime minister, and stayed in the post for a decade.

Politicians opposed to Hezbollah would go on to suggest several times that Mr. Salam head a new government.

Mr. Salam became president of the ICJ in February last year.

“His role at The Hague bolsters his profile as a reformist capable of addressing corruption and inefficiency, aligning him with the demands of Lebanon’s citizens for accountability and transparency,” said Salamey.

Mr. Salam’s prolific writings include a 2004 essay about reforming the Lebanese electoral system.

In July, he announced that the ICJ had found that Israel’s continued presence in the Palestinian territories was “illegal” and called for an end to “its unlawful presence as rapidly as possible”.

The statement was not binding, but came amid mounting concern over the death toll and destruction in Israel’s war against Hamas, sparked by the Palestinian group’s attack on October 7, 2023.

Israel slammed the decision as “lies”, while Palestinians said it was a “watershed moment”.

‘Right path’

Mr. Salam’s selection comes after lawmakers — under international pressure, especially from the United States and Saudi Arabia — finally elected Aoun as president following a two-year vacancy in the role.

Lebanese university professor Ali Mrad said support for Mr. Salam’s nomination reflected “the real changes that Lebanon is experiencing”.

Mrad said that picking a premier with international values, reformist qualities and a track record of having taken a firm stand on the Palestinian issue, could set Lebanon on the “right path”.

Mr. Salam follows in the footsteps of his uncle Saeb, who headed the government four times between 1952 and 1973, and his cousin Tammam, who was premier from 2014 to 2016.

His wife Sahar Baassiri is a former Lebanese envoy to the UN cultural and education fund in Paris.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun appointed Nawaf Salam Prime Minister of the crisis-hit country. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday picked international jurist Nawaf Salam to form a government to pull the war-scarred country out of economic crisis.

A majority of Lebanese lawmakers endorsed Mr. Salam, the presiding judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, after two years of a caretaker government.

“The president of the republic has called on Judge Nawaf Mr. Salam to task him with forming a government,” the presidency said.

Mr. Salam was abroad but would return to Lebanon on Tuesday, it said.

Mr. Aoun, whose election last week ended a two-year vacancy for the post, had held consultations with lawmakers earlier in the day ahead of announcing his selection.

As of Monday afternoon, 84 members of parliament had told Mr. Aoun they backed Mr. Salam, according to a tally by Lebanese media, with nine endorsing interim prime minister Najib Mikati to stay in the position.

Thirty-five refused to back either contender.

With the prime minister named by the president, the eastern Mediterranean country had been run by a caretaker government for more than two years amid a crushing economic crisis.

Mr. Aoun’s election last week was made possible in part by the weakening of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in a war with Israel last year.

Speaking to the press on Monday evening, Mr. Aoun said he hoped forming a government would be “smooth and as quick as possible”.

‘Purely Lebanese’ nomination’

Firas Hamdan, one of around a dozen independent lawmakers elected after mass protests against the ruling class in 2019, said Nawaf’s nomination was a “purely Lebanese political initiative” devoid of any foreign interference.

Mr. Salam “is a personality that resembles all Lebanese who refuse to see any more corruption or nepotism”, he told AFP.

The prime minister’s backers view the judge and former ambassador as an impartial figure able to carry out much-needed reforms.

Critics view Mikati as emblematic of the old crony politics system that also included Hezbollah and steered the country towards financial collapse.

The new prime minister will face major challenges, including implementing reforms to satisfy international donors to lift the country out of the worst financial collapse in its history.

He will also face the daunting task of reconstructing swathes of Lebanon destroyed in the Israel-Hezbollah war, as well as implementing the November 27 ceasefire agreement.

Under that deal, Hezbollah must pull its fighters from areas of southern Lebanon near the Israeli border as the national army — until last week under Aoun’s command — and UN peacekeepers deploy there.

Lawmaker Georges Adwan of the Lebanese Forces, a major Christian party, said after endorsing Mr. Salam that it was time for Hezbollah to focus on “political work”.

“The era of weapons is over,” he told reporters.

Hezbollah also lost a key ally in neighbouring Syria when Islamist-led forces toppled president Bashar al-Assad last month.

Independent lawmaker Melhem Khalaf earlier in the day said he backed Mr. Salam as a candidate of change.

‘U.S. coup’

A source close to Hezbollah had told AFP before the Monday consultations that the group and its ally the Amal movement supported Mikati.

The Monday front page of Al-Akhbar, a newspaper close to Hezbollah, said Mr. Salam’s nomination would be tantamount to a “complete US coup”, after Washington had backed Aoun for president.

In his inaugural speech on Thursday, Mr. Aoun said his election would usher in a “new phase” for the country.

Some opposition lawmakers on Saturday threw their weight behind anti-Hezbollah lawmaker and businessman Fouad Makhzoumi, but on Monday he withdrew to allow for consensus around Mr. Salam.

According to Lebanon’s constitution, the president designates the prime minister after talks with all political parties and independent lawmakers in parliament. By convention, he chooses the candidate with the most votes during these consultations.

Nominating a premier does not guarantee a new government will be formed imminently.

The process has previously taken weeks or even months due to deep political divisions and horse-trading.