Who is Nawaf Salam? ICJ President to Lebanon’s New Prime Minister

In light of the current economic crisis in the war-torn nation, Lebanese President-elect Joseph Aoun named veteran diplomat Nawaf Salam as the country’s new prime minister on Monday, January 13th.

Salam was chosen after receiving the required number of votes in parliament and the support of the majority of Lebanese legislators. He will be in charge of establishing a new administration which may encounter many difficulties given the current crisis in West Asia.

Nawaf Salam:

With his current position as President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest court in the United Nations that just declared that Israel was likely committing genocide in Gaza, Salam has a lengthy political career in Lebanon and a high profile abroad.

Salam was born into a prominent political family in Beirut on December 15, 1953. The Lebanese national airline, Middle East Airlines was founded in part by his father, Abdullah Salam. From 1952 to 1973, his uncle Saeb Salam served as prime minister four times. More recently from 2014 to 2016, his cousin Tammam Salam served as prime minister.

Following a distinguished teaching career at Harvard, Columbia and Yale, Salam made his political debut in Lebanon in 1999 after winning a seat in the Executive Office of the Economic and Social Council, a post he maintained until 2002.

Salam backed the popular Lebanese rebellion against Syria’s military occupation of the nation, known as the Cedar Revolution. He participated in a number of government organizations that sought to amend the electoral law after Syrian soldiers left the nation.

After that he entered the diplomatic field, serving from 2007 to 2017 as Lebanon’s ambassador, permanent representative to the UN and Security Council representative.

Running simultaneous to his political and diplomatic career, Salam also forged a successful legal career with him practicing as a lawyer at Takla Law Firm and teaching international law and international relations at the American University of Beirut.

In 2018, Salam was first appointed as Lebanon’s judge of the ICJ with him being appointed as the president of the UN’s highest court in 2024.