Who is Nawaf Salam, the top UN judge appointed as Lebanon’s new prime minister?

Lebanon's new prime minister, Nawaf Salam, has been tasked to form a government to pull the war-scarred country out of economic crisis, after two years of a caretaker government. (AFP)
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Updated 16 January 2025
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Who is Nawaf Salam, the top UN judge appointed as Lebanon’s new prime minister?

  • Nawaf Salam’s appointment as Lebanon’s new prime minister reflects Hezbollah’s declining political influence
  • Broad international backing, including from Saudi Arabia and the EU, raises hope for reform and much-needed funding

DUBAI: From the halls of a top UN courthouse to steering a nation in turmoil, Nawaf Salam has been named as Lebanon’s new prime minister, signaling a shift in the political landscape toward consensus after two years of paralysis.

Salam, 71, a former president of the International Court of Justice at The Hague, arrived in Beirut on Tuesday tasked with forming a new government capable of implementing reforms to pull Lebanon out of the economic mire and spearhead postwar recovery.

He was nominated after securing 84 votes from the 128-member legislature, compared to nine votes for Najib Mikati, the caretaker prime minister, during consultations with parliamentary blocs on Monday led by Lebanon’s new President Joseph Aoun.




Lebanon's new President Joseph Aoun (C) and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) meeting with the new prime minister-designate Nawaf Salam (R) at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on January 14, 2025. (Lebanese presidency handout photo/AFP)

Thirty-four legislators abstained, opting instead for a “non-designation” stance after it became clear Mikati would lose.

Salam’s nomination was another strong indication of an emerging political consensus in Lebanon after last week’s election of army chief Aoun as president ended a two-year power vacuum.

Like Aoun, Salam does not hail from the country’s traditional political class or follow any political bloc.

The outcome was seen as a reflection of a growing momentum behind addressing Lebanon’s chronic governance challenges, restoring hope in the possibility of breaking the nation’s political gridlock amid a deeply divided parliament.




Lebanese people gather at Martyrs' Square in Beirut on January 13, 2025, in support of the nomination of former ICJ judge Nawaf Salam as prime minister of Lebanon. (AFP)

The choice of Salam also underscored the significant shift that has taken place in the balance of power among Lebanon’s sectarian factions in which the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia had long held sway.

Lawmakers from Hezbollah and its Shiite ally, the Amal Movement, failed to rally behind Mikati or delay the consultative process, which could have disrupted Salam’s designation.

In past years, Hezbollah has repeatedly blocked Salam from becoming prime minister, casting him as a US-backed candidate.

His appointment over Mikati, who is backed by the Hezbollah-led alliance, reflected the militia’s declining influence following its recent pummeling by Israel and the toppling of its Syrian regime ally Bashar Assad in December.

Hezbollah and Amal’s decision to abstain, without explicitly naming an alternative candidate, indicated they currently do not intend to participate in Salam’s government.




Hezbollah lawmaker Mohammad Raad speaks after meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, on January 13, 2025. (REUTERS)

Salam won the backing of Christian and Druze factions, as well as prominent Sunni MPs, including Hezbollah allies and opponents who have long demanded the militant group give up its powerful arsenal, arguing it has undermined the state.

In a surprising turn, the Lebanese Forces announced their decision to withdraw the nomination of MP Fouad Makhzoumi for prime minister-designate and back Salam instead.

Signaling his satisfaction with the decision, Makhzoumi said: “Having multiple opposition candidates will inevitably lead to everyone losing.”

Salam’s prospects were further strengthened by the withdrawal of MP Ibrahim Mneimneh, who cited the need for consensus to address Lebanon’s many challenges during what he called a “foundational and transitional” phase.

In another unexpected development, Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil declared his support for Salam’s nomination as prime minister.




Gebran Bassil, leader of the Christian party Free Patriotic Movement, speaks after meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, on January 13, 2025. (REUTERS)

Sunni MPs, the Kataeb party’s bloc, the Renewal Bloc, Change MPs and several independents initially supportive of Makhzoumi and Mneimneh, shifted their votes to Salam.

Salam’s background in law and diplomacy has bolstered his image as a figure of professionalism and integrity, resonating well with widespread calls for reform.

The prime minister-designate holds a doctorate in political science from France’s prestigious Sciences Po university as well as a doctorate in history from the Sorbonne. He also has a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School.

Salam hails from a prominent Sunni family from Beirut. His late paternal uncle, Saeb Salam, was one of the Lebanese leaders who fought for the country’s independence from France and later served as prime minister four times between 1952 and 1973.




This photo taken on September 28, 2011, shows Nawaf Salam (L), Lebanon's ambassador to the UN, with Riyad Mansour (R), Palestine ambassador to the UN, ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on the Palestinian request for full United Nations membership. (AFP file)

His cousin, Tammam Salam, also served as prime minister for two years in 2014-16.

Salam’s father, Abdullah Salim Salam, was the founder of Lebanon’s national airline, while his grandfather, Abi Salam, served as mayor and deputy of Beirut during the Ottoman era and was a leading advocate for reform.

Salam began his career in 1984 as a lawyer in several Lebanese courts, serving as a legal adviser to several local legal bodies and as a legal representative for international organizations until 2007.

In parallel, he pursued an academic path starting in 1979 as a lecturer at the Sorbonne, specializing in the modern history of the Middle East.




In this photo taken on September 23, 2011, then Lebanese Ambassador to UN Nawaf Salam is shown acknowledging that he received, as head of the Security Council, a formal request from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for the state of Palestine to become a full member of the UN. (AFP file)

He later became a visiting fellow at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and a lecturer at the American University of Beirut where he taught international law and relations, served as a visiting professor and associate professor in political science, and rose to become the head of the Department of Political Studies and Public Administration in 2007.

Salam is also an accomplished author, with contributions in law, international law, history, and political science.

In 2007, he was named Lebanon’s permanent representative to the UN in New York, where he served for 10 years. During his tenure, Salam presided over the 67th session of the UN Security Council and served as vice president of the General Assembly until 2013, where he became an advocate for Lebanon’s vital interests and broader Arab and international issues.




In this photo taken on July 19, 2024, Nawaf Salam 2nd R), judge and president of the International Court of Justice, delivers a non-binding ruling on the legal consequences of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem at the ICJ in The Hague. (AFP)

In 2018, Salam became a judge at the ICJ and, in February last year, was elected president of the court, becoming the first Lebanese citizen to hold the post.

He took over the court’s presidency as it held its first hearing in 2024 on a case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, which Israel has dismissed as baseless. He is set to be replaced by Ugandan judge Julia Sebutinde, who will now oversee the case.

During his tenure at the ICJ, Salam issued a historic advisory opinion condemning the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and called for the halt of the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Earlier, Salam played a significant role in electoral reform during his three-year tenure as a member of the executive office of Lebanon’s Economic and Social Council and as a rapporteur in the National Commission for Electoral Law Reform until 2005.




Lebanon's new Prime Minister Nawaf Salam faces the challenge of rebuilding areas damaged by Israeli airstrikes during its war with Hezbollah. (AFP) 

Salam now faces one of the biggest challenges of his career as he begins consultations with MPs to form a new cabinet.

Lebanese political leaders and President Aoun, in his inaugural address, have emphasized that the new government must be built on national unity to address the urgent needs of the Lebanese people and navigate the country’s dire economic, social, and political crises.

Rebuilding areas damaged by Israeli airstrikes during its war with Hezbollah and implementing reforms to satisfy international donors amid the country’s worst economic crisis in its history are the top priorities ahead of Salam.




Another key challenge facing PM Nawaf Salam is the disarmament of the Hezbollah militia, whose war with Israel has brought about massive deaths and destruction to Lebanon. (AFP photo)

One of the most sensitive tasks is the disarmament of Hezbollah, consolidating all weapons under state institutions in accordance with national laws and as pledged by Aoun in his inaugural address.

Salam’s government will need to craft new political understandings to redefine Lebanon’s approach to Hezbollah. This includes guiding the militia’s transition from its historical reliance on Iranian and Syrian ties to a framework that prioritizes national interests.

Deploying the Lebanese army to reclaim full sovereignty over national borders and to secure the return of territories occupied by Israel — particularly those seized during the recent conflict — will be critical.




A convoy of Lebanese army military vehicles is seen entering the southern Lebanese coastal town of Naqura, on the border with Israel on January 7, 2025, after Israel's withdrawal from the area as part of the ceasefire agreement between the two countries. (AFP)

These efforts will involve leveraging regional and international support to implement UN Resolution 1701, which mandates an end to hostilities with Israel under international law.

Salam’s appointment has already garnered widespread backing, particularly from Saudi Arabia, alongside other Arab nations, Western allies, the Arab League, and the UN, which have expressed their commitment to Lebanon’s democratic process and the incoming government.

Shortly after the announcement of the new prime minister, Mikati called Salam to congratulate him and wish him success in his mission to form a new administration.




Lebanon's new Prime Minister Nawaf Salam (L) speaks with the country's outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati during their meeting in Beirut on January 14, 2025.(AFP)

Mikati said his caretaker government, which navigated Lebanon during a tumultuous period, had laid the foundations for postwar recovery through issuing draft laws ready for parliamentary approval and preparing reform projects.

He stressed the need for unity and consensus to lead the next phase for Lebanon.

“Past experiences have shown that there is no alternative to consensus and that an approach of defiance has cost us many opportunities for recovery,” Mikati said. “The challenges we face are undoubtedly great, but the will of our people is stronger.”

Congratulating Salam, EU Ambassador to Lebanon Sandra De Waele called for a swift government formation to launch much-needed reforms and revive state institutions.

The regional and international backing for Salam’s designation is likely to lead to a flow of funds from Western and Arab nations, crucial in helping his new cabinet in the reconstruction process and Lebanon’s recovery.
 

 


’Hell worse than what we have already?’ Gazans reject Trump plans

Updated 5 sec ago
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’Hell worse than what we have already?’ Gazans reject Trump plans

  • Under Trump’s scheme, Gaza’s about 2.2 million Palestinians would be resettled and the United States would take control and ownership of the coastal territory, redeveloping it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”
  • Any suggestion that Palestinians leave Gaza — which they want to be part of an independent state also encompassing the West Bank with East Jerusalem as its capital — has been anathema to the Palestinian leadership for generations

CAIRO/RAMALLAH/GAZA: With his Gaza home destroyed in Israel’s military offensive, Shaban Shaqaleh had intended to take his family on a break to Egypt once the Hamas-Israel ceasefire was firmly in place.
He changed his mind after US President Donald Trump announced plans to resettle Gaza’s Palestinian residents and redevelop the enclave, and said they should not have the right to return.
The Tel Al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City, where dozens of multi-story buildings once stood, is now largely deserted. There is no running water or electricity and, like most buildings there, Shaqaleh’s home is in ruins.
“We are horrified by the destruction, the repeated displacement and the death, and I wanted to leave so I can secure a safe and better future for my children — until Trump said what he said,” Shaqaleh, 47, told Reuters via a chat app.
“After Trump’s remarks I canceled the idea. I fear leaving and never being able to come back. This is my homeland.”
Palestinians fear that Trump’s plan would enforce another Nakba, or Catastrophe, when they experienced mass expulsions in 1948 with the creation of Israel.
Under Trump’s scheme, Gaza’s about 2.2 million Palestinians would be resettled and the United States would take control and ownership of the coastal territory, redeveloping it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
“The idea of selling my home or the piece of land I own to foreign companies to leave the homeland and never come back is completely rejected. I am deeply rooted in the soil of my homeland and will always be,” Shaqaleh said.
Any suggestion that Palestinians leave Gaza — which they want to be part of an independent state also encompassing the West Bank with East Jerusalem as its capital — has been anathema to the Palestinian leadership for generations. Neighbouring Arab states have rejected it since the Gaza war began in 2023.

SATURDAY DEADLINE
After Hamas said on Monday it was suspending the release of Israeli hostages set out in the ceasefire deal due to alleged Israeli violations, Trump said the Palestinian militant group should release all those it still holds by noon on Saturday or he would propose canceling the truce and “let hell break out.”
“Hell worse than what we have already? Hell worse than killing?” said Jomaa Abu Kosh, a Palestinian from Rafah in southern Gaza, standing beside devastated homes.
One woman, Samira Al-Sabea, accused Israel of blocking aid deliveries, a charge denied by Israel.
“We are humiliated, street dogs are living a better life than us,” she said. “And Trump wants to make Gaza hell? This will never happen.”
Israel began its assault on Gaza after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed about 1,200 people while some 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
The operation has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, by Gaza authorities’ counts, and obliterated much of the enclave.
Some Gazans said Palestinian leaders must find a solution to their problems.
“We don’t want to leave our country but also need a solution. Our leaders — Hamas, the PA (Palestinian Authority) and other factions — must find a solution,” said a 40-year-old carpenter who gave his name as Jehad.

’DOES HE OWN GAZA?“
In the occupied West Bank, Palestinians were also aghast at Trump’s words.
“Does he own Gaza to ask people to leave it?” said Nader Imam. “Regarding Trump I only blame the American people. How can a country like this, a superpower, accept a person like Trump? His statements are savage.”
“What will Trump do? There is no fear, we rely on God,” said another West Bank resident, Mohammed Salah Tamimi.
The proposal shattered decades of US peace efforts built around a two-state solution and added pressure on neighboring Egypt and Jordan to take in resettled Palestinians.
Both countries, who receive billions in aid from the United States, rejected the plan citing concerns for national security and their commitment to the two-state solution.
For Jordan, which borders the West Bank and has absorbed more Palestinians than any other state since Israel’s creation, the plan is a nightmare.
Trump said he might withhold aid to Jordan and Egypt if they refused to cooperate. Jordan’s King Abdullah is set to meet Trump in Washington on Tuesday and is expected to express his rejection of the plan.
“Jordan can never accept resolving this issue at its expense.” said Suleiman Saud, the chairman of the Palestine Committee in Jordan’s House of Representatives. “Jordan is for Jordanians, and Palestine is for Palestinians.”

 


Friends of Italian priest long missing in Syria hope for news

Updated 19 min 3 sec ago
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Friends of Italian priest long missing in Syria hope for news

  • Tens of thousands of people have been detained or gone missing in Syria during more than a decade of conflict, many disappearing into Assad’s jails

NABEK, Syria: In a centuries-old monastery on a rocky hill north of Damascus, friends of missing Italian priest Paolo Dall’Oglio carry on his legacy, hopeful Bashar Assad’s ouster might help reveal the Jesuit’s fate.
“We want to know if Father Paolo is alive or dead, who imprisoned him, and what was his fate,” said Father Jihad Youssef who heads Deir Mar Musa Al-Habashi, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Damascus.
For years, Dall’Oglio lived in Deir Mar Musa — the monastery of St. Moses the Ethiopian — which dates to around the 6th century. He is credited with helping restore the place of worship.
A fierce critic of Assad, whose 2011 repression of anti-government protests sparked war, he was exiled the following year for meeting with opposition members, returning secretly to opposition-controlled areas in 2013.
He disappeared that summer while heading to the Raqqa headquarters of a group that would later become known as the Daesh, to plead for the release of kidnapped activists.
Conflicting reports emerged on Dall’Oglio’s whereabouts, including that he was kidnapped by the extremists, killed or handed to the Syrian government.
Daesh’s territorial defeat in Syria in 2019 brought no new information.
Tens of thousands of people have been detained or gone missing in Syria during more than a decade of conflict, many disappearing into Assad’s jails.
His December overthrow has enabled his friends at the monastery to openly discuss suspicions Dall’Oglio might have been “imprisoned by the regime,” Youssef said.
“We waited to see a sign of him... in Saydnaya prison or Palestine Branch,” Youssef said, referring to notorious detention facilities from which detainees were released after Assad’s toppling.
“We were told a lot of things, including that he was seen in the Adra prison in 2019,” Youssef said, referring to another facility outside Damascus, “but nothing reliable.”

Dall’Oglio, born in 1954, hosted interfaith seminars at Deir Mar Musa where Syria’s Christian minority and Muslims used to pray side by side, turning the monastery into a symbol of coexistence.
Youssef said it became a bridge for dialogue between Syrians in a country that “the former regime divided into sects who feared each other.”
Some 30,000 people visited in 2010, but the war and Dall’Oglio’s disappearance scared them away for more than a decade.
The monastery reopened for visitors in 2022.
“I didn’t know Father Paolo,” said Shatha Al-Barrah, 28, who came to Deir Mar Musa seeking solace and reflection.
But “I know he reflects this monastery, which opens its heart to all people from all faiths,” said the interpreter as she climbed the 300 steps leading to the building, built on the ruins of a Roman tower and partly carved into the rock.
Julian Zakka said Dall’Oglio was one of the reasons he joined the Jesuit order.
“Father Paolo used to work against associating Islam with extremists,” said the 28-year-old, “and to emphasize that coexistence is possible.”

After Islamist-led rebels ended half a century of one-family rule, the new authorities have sought to reassure minorities that they will be protected.
Assad had presented himself as a protector of minorities in multi-ethnic, multi-confessional Syria, but largely concentrated power in the hands of the Alawite community to whom his family belonged.
This month, Jesuits in Syria emphasized the need for healing, noting in a statement that fear had “shackled” the community for years.
Youssef said that while “the regime presented itself as protecting us, in fact it was using us as protection.”
He expressed optimism that “at last, the load has been lifted from our chests and we can breathe” after decades of “political death,” adding that he hoped the new authorities would be inclusive.
For now, Youssef is intent on spreading Dall’Oglio’s message.
“We will return to organizing activities like he loved to do,” Youssef said, including a march in Homs province, home to Alawites, Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
“The regime caused deep wounds between the Islamic sects” in Homs, he said.
“Father Paolo wanted to organize a large procession there — to pray at the mass graves, to be a bridge between people — to let them listen to each other’s pain, grieve and cry together, and stand hand in hand.”
 

 


Lebanon PM says ‘state must extend authority’ to all areas

Updated 21 min 12 sec ago
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Lebanon PM says ‘state must extend authority’ to all areas

  • Nawaf Salam’s government faces the daunting task of overseeing the fragile Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s prime minister said Tuesday the state must be in control of all Lebanese territory, in a televised interview days before a deadline to implement the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire agreement.
Nawaf Salam’s government, which was officially formed on Saturday after more than two years of caretaker leadership, faces the daunting task of overseeing the fragile ceasefire and rebuilding a war-scarred country.
The Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire has been in place since November 27, after more than a year of hostilities including two months of all-out war.
“When it comes to the areas south of the Litani and north of the Litani, across the entire area of Lebanon... what should be implemented is.... the Lebanese state must extend its authority through its own forces across the (Lebanese) territory,” Salam told journalists in the interview aired on state television.
“We want the Israeli withdrawal to happen... and we will continue to mobilize all diplomatic and political efforts until this withdrawal is achieved,” he added.
Under the deal, Lebanon’s military was to deploy in the south alongside UN peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period, which has been extended until February 18.
Hezbollah was also meant to leave its positions in the south, near the Israeli border, over that period.
Salam said that World Bank estimates had put the cost of reconstruction of war-hit areas of Lebanon “at between $8 and $9 billion, but today it has risen to between $10 and $11 billion.”


Israeli kibbutz says elderly hostage held in Gaza dead

Updated 46 min 10 sec ago
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Israeli kibbutz says elderly hostage held in Gaza dead

  • The kibbutz called on the Israeli government and world leaders “to continue acting with determination to bring back all the hostages, both the living and the dead, and not to allow painful stories like Shlomo’s to repeat themselves”

JERUSALEM: An elderly Israeli man taken hostage by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, has been declared dead, a statement from his kibbutz said on Tuesday.
“With heavy hearts, we, the members of the kibbutz, received the news this morning about the murder of our dear friend, Shlomo Mansour, 86 years old, who was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Kissufim during the Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2023,” the community said of the Iraqi-born Israeli.
The Israeli military said in a statement on Tuesday that the “decision to confirm his death was based on intelligence gathered in recent months.”

Shlomo Mantzur, an Israeli hostage who was kidnapped in the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas and announced that he was killed on that same day, by Israel authority today, is pictured in this undated handout photo. (REUTERS)

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a post on X that Mansour had been “murdered in captivity” by Hamas on October 7.
One of the founders of Kibbutz Kissufim, Mansour was kidnapped from a henhouse during Hamas’s attack on southern Israel.
His wife Mazal Mansour, with whom he lived for 60 years, managed to escape the attack. The couple have five children and 12 grandchildren.
The Israeli hostage forum said in a statement that Mansour, born in Baghdad, was a survivor of the Farhud pogrom — a 1941 attack on Iraq’s Jewish community — and immigrated to Israel with his family at 13.
“This is one of the most difficult days in the history of our kibbutz,” the community of Kissufim said in a statement.
“Shlomo was much more than a community member to us — he was a father, grandfather, a true friend and the beating heart of Kissufim.”
“Our hearts are broken that we couldn’t bring him back to us alive.”
The kibbutz called on the Israeli government and world leaders “to continue acting with determination to bring back all the hostages, both the living and the dead, and not to allow painful stories like Shlomo’s to repeat themselves.”
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he and his wife, Sara, “share in the family’s deep mourning.”
“We will not rest and will not be silent until he is returned to a burial in Israel. We will continue to act with determination and without pause until we return all of our hostages — both the living and the fallen,” he said.
A fragile ceasefire reached last month between Hamas and Israel appeared strained on Tuesday, a day after Hamas threatened to postpone the release of Israeli hostages scheduled for Saturday.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump warned that “all hell” would break loose if every Israeli hostage is not released from Gaza within the coming days, a threat Hamas said “further complicates matters.”
The war in Gaza was triggered by the Hamas attack, the deadliest in Israel’s history, which resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Militants also took 251 hostages, of whom 73 remain in Gaza, including 35 that Israeli officials say are dead.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the war has killed at least 48,208 people in the territory, figures which the UN considers reliable.
 

 


Turkmenistan reaches deal with Turkiye to ship natural gas via Iran

Updated 11 February 2025
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Turkmenistan reaches deal with Turkiye to ship natural gas via Iran

  • Turkiye imports gas via pipelines from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan: Turkmenistan has struck a deal to ship natural gas to Turkiye via Iran, a government daily reported Tuesday.
The official daily Neutral Tyrkmenistan said that Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, the chairman of the country’s People’s Council, welcomed the deal in a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Berdymukhamedov said it was a major development in the regional energy cooperation.
Gas supplies under the contract that was signed between the state-run Turkmengas company and Turkiye’s state-owned BOTAS will begin on March 1.
“With this agreement, which we have been working on for many years, we will strengthen the natural gas supply security of our country and our region, while furthering the strategic cooperation between the two countries,” Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said in a statement.
Turkiye imports gas via pipelines from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran.
Last year, Turkmenistan signed a contract with Iran for 10 billion cubic meters (353 billion cubic feet) of natural gas to be shipped on to Iraq.
The ex-Soviet Central Asian country relies heavily on the export of its vast natural gas reserves. China is the nation’s main customer for gas and Turkmenistan also is working on a pipeline to supply gas to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.