Nawaf Salam’s appointment is another blow to Hezbollah, which is trying to re-install interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
The Lebanese Parliament elected the head of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Nawaf Salam, as the country’s Prime Minister. The BBC reported this yesterday.
Thus, two-thirds of the 128 members of the Lebanese parliament voted for the candidacy of the 71-year-old judge for this position. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati received only nine votes.
Nawaf Salam is expected to return to Lebanon today.
“Salam’s appointment is another blow to Hezbollah, which tried to reappoint Mikati but ultimately failed to nominate a candidate. The Shia Muslim movement, along with the Iranian-backed political party, has lost its former strength due to recent war with Israel,” the report said.
Nawaf Salam is a member of a prominent Sunni family from Beirut. His uncle helped Lebanon gain independence from France in 1943 and served as prime minister several times. His cousin Tammam also served as prime minister from 2014 to 2016.
Salam worked as a lawyer and lecturer at several universities and later served as Lebanon’s permanent representative to the UN in New York from 2007 to 2017.
In 2018, he became a member of the International Court of Justice, the highest court of the United Nations. Last February, he was elected president of the judiciary for a three-year term.
Salam took this position while the International Court of Justice was hearing a case brought by South Africa, which accused the Israeli military of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israel has rejected the accusations, calling them baseless.
We remind you that last week the Lebanese parliament elected the president of the country. Joseph Auna became the commander of the army. The presidential position has remained vacant since the end of October 2022, when the term of office of the former head of state expired.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.