Lebanon names ICJ chief as PM of distressed nation, angering Hezbollah
Beirut: Lebanese diplomat Nawaf Salam, a former United Nations envoy and current head of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, has been named the country’s prime minister with the task of forming a new government.
Newly elected President Joseph Aoun held binding parliamentary consultations on Monday (Beirut time) to appoint a PM, with most of the 128 MPs voting in favour of Salam, Aoun’s office said. Current Prime Minister Najib Mikati received nine votes.
ICJ presiding Judge Nawaf Salam reads the ruling on an urgent plea by South Africa for judges to order Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza and withdraw from the enclave, in May last year.Credit: AP
Salam won backing from Christian and Druze factions, and prominent Sunni Muslim MPs, including allies of Hezbollah, which is both a political party and a designated terrorist group in the West – and opponents of the group who have long demanded it give up its powerful arsenal, arguing it has undermined the state.
But MPs from Hezbollah and its Shiite ally the Amal Movement, which hold all the seats reserved for Shiites in parliament, did not name anybody, indicating they currently do not intend to participate in Salam’s government and raising the prospect of a sectarian rift if they remain outside cabinet.
The prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim according to Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system based on religious affiliation. The presidency goes to a Maronite Christian and the speaker of parliament must be a Shiite Muslim.
Loading
Aoun who was seen as having the support of the US and Gulf states, was elected the country’s first president in more than two years last week. Salam’s nomination shows it is breaking with its old guard and shifting closer to the West, in a sign of Iran’s waning influence in the region.
A lawyer and judge, Salam, 71, served as Lebanon’s UN envoy for 10 years and has always been popular with citizens demanding political and economic reform. He was awarded the French Legion d’honneur at the rank of officer in 2012 and has been a member of the ICJ since 2018. He was named head of the world’s top court as it held its first hearing in 2024 on a case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip, which Israel has dismissed as baseless, though is now expected to step down from the position.
Salam will be faced with the daunting task of forming a new government that is expected to implement reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund to unlock a $US3 billion ($4.8 billion) package as well as international aid. The incoming cabinet will also oversee parliamentary elections slated for next year and carry out the implementation of the ceasefire agreement with Israel that ended its two-month war with Hezbollah late last year.
