BEIRUT, LEBANON – The appointment of International Court of Justice (ICJ) President Nawaf Salam as Lebanese Prime Minister has many Lebanese in a mood of optimism.
His success in securing enough votes in parliament on Monday ends a period of rapid political change since Joseph Aoun was elected president last week, filling the post that had been vacant since 2022. It sank.
Mr. Aoun named Mr. Salam to his cabinet on Monday, potentially allowing him to serve as prime minister at least until Lebanon’s next parliamentary elections in 2026.
Salam’s victory is seen as a boon for the reform movement after he failed to secure enough votes in 2022, losing the premiership to his current successor, Najib Mikati. .
The reform movement, which took to the streets in massive protests that began on October 17, 2019, sees Salam as their spokesperson. Although he is a member of a prominent Beiruch family, he has never held political office at home, instead holding prominent positions abroad.
“He represents the aspirations of the 17 October Movement,” Lebanese journalist and author Dalal Maawad told Al Jazeera. “He is a person with a very clear political vision and conviction.”
Salam made his priorities clear in his first speech as prime minister-elect on Tuesday.
“We have wasted many opportunities for nation-building,” he said. “I’ve had enough wasted opportunities.”
Overseas experience
Born in Beirut in 1953, Salam began his career as an academic and lecturer at universities such as the American University of Beirut (AUB), the Sorbonne in Paris, and Harvard University in the United States.
Mr. Maawad, who served as Lebanon’s ambassador to the United Nations from 2007 to 2017, where he “created foreign policy when Lebanon didn’t have one,” said Mr. Mawad, who interned with Mr. Salam during his time at the United Nations.
Salam, a lawyer and judge, joined the ICJ in 2018 and became its president in 2024. He presided over an ongoing case in South Africa accusing Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip and ruled that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory was illegal. He also worked on UN resolutions, including No. 1701, which formed the basis of the current ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
Salam’s friends and former colleagues described him as a humble and intelligent man who was well versed in the inner workings and flaws of Lebanon’s political system.
Karim Emir Bitar, a political analyst familiar with Salam, said the next prime minister would advocate for Palestinian rights, Lebanese Arab identity, the unity of the Lebanese people, and “a new social contract based on democratic citizenship.” He said he strongly believes in it. Confessionalism.”
Confessionalism is a reference to the country’s political system that divides positions of power by religious sects. Salam is a Sunni Muslim and is eligible to serve as prime minister, but not the office of president, which is given to a Maronite Christian.
“He is a really honest person,” Hilal Kashan, a political scientist who worked with Salam at AUB, told Al Jazeera. “He understands that Lebanon’s political system needs to be reformed, and issues of accountability, transparency and responsibility are very important to him.”
Salam’s government plans include reforming the political system, ensuring accountability for Lebanese crimes such as the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port explosion and banking crisis, and ensuring the independence of the Lebanese judiciary, according to people interviewed. The focus is likely to be on advocacy.
Political scientist Ziad Majid told Al Jazeera: “He has always been committed to reform, change and progressive movements. I hope he will succeed in translating all that into a political platform. ” he said.
change?
Salam may come from a family that includes two former prime ministers, but he is primarily seen as a technocrat.
Other technocrats have been appointed to key positions in the Lebanese government in the past, but experts say the ceasefire between the Shiite militia Hezbollah and Israel, the weakening of Iran, and the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria are key. He said regional events such as the Collapse changed the political landscape. reality in Lebanon.
Iran and al-Assad’s influence in the country appears to be weakening, favoring support from Western and Gulf states, which have long tempered relations due to Hezbollah’s strong role in Lebanon.
Salam and Aoun’s new positions are themselves seen as evidence of Hezbollah’s weakening, with Hezbollah preferring those positions to be filled by people seen as more supportive of the group. It was.
Salam and Aoun may choose to exploit weaknesses in Hezbollah after it lost much of its leadership in the war with Israel, including longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah. .
Salam said in a speech on Tuesday that he had “reached out to everyone”, including Hezbollah, after its members reacted negatively to the appointment of a new prime minister.
It is unclear whether Hezbollah and its allies will accept the reforms that Salam believes are necessary for Lebanon, or reject decisions they see as weakening Lebanon’s commitment to Israel or bringing Israel into the pro-Western regional camp. be.
For now, Salam believes he is in a position to carry out the national agenda he wants.
“He was very keen to have these conditions in place, because he wouldn’t have taken this job if he was set up to fail,” Mawad said. “He knows Lebanon better than anyone.”
