The Lebanese president appointed ICJ judge Nawaf Salam as prime minister Politics News

The appointment shows a shift in the balance of power in Lebanon as Hezbollah wanted Najib Mikati to keep his job.

The newly elected president of Lebanon Joseph Aoun he called on Nawaf Salam, head of the International Court of Justice, to appoint him as the country’s prime minister after gaining the support of more than half of parliamentarians.

Monday’s announcement reflects the weakened position of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, which wanted interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati to keep his job, following a devastating war with Israel and the ouster of the group’s ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria last month.

Al Jazeera journalist Zeina Khodr, reporting from the Lebanese capital Beirut, said Salam’s appointment “symbolizes a new era” in Lebanese politics.

“Salam is a newcomer to politics, but he was an ambassador to the United Nations for years and has international experience,” she said.

“He is widely respected as a judge, lawyer and diplomat.”

She added: “Salam symbolizes change. He was elected by opposition and independent MPs, who are in favor of a new political order because he does not belong to the political class that has ruled this country for decades and is accused of mismanagement and corruption.”

The of choice last week’s election of army chief General Aoun as head of state, an election backed by the United States, also marked a change in Lebanon’s sectarian political landscape, where Hezbollah has long held a decisive influence.

His election ended a two-year power vacuum and revived hopes of pulling war-torn Lebanon out of the economic crisis.

This eastern Mediterranean country has been governed by an interim government since November 2022.

Aoun, a Maronite Christian, held consultations about the election of the prime minister with 128 parliamentary representatives on Monday.

By Monday afternoon, Salam secured the support of 78 MPs, nine of whom supported Mikati.

According to the Lebanese system of separation of powers, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the parliament a Shia Muslim.

‘The era of weapons is over’

Salam’s supporters see the judge and former ambassador Salam as an impartial figure who can implement much-needed reforms – unlike Mikati, who critics say is influenced by Hezbollah.

Lawmaker Georges Adwan of the Christian Lebanese Forces party said after meeting with Aoun and supporting Salam that it was time for Hezbollah to focus on “political work”.

“The era of guns is over,” Adwan told reporters.

Hezbollah emerged from the brutal war against Israel this fall seriously weakened.

Under the ceasefire agreement, the group must withdraw its fighters from an area of ​​southern Lebanon near the Israeli border while the national army – under Aoun’s command until last week – and UN peacekeepers are deployed there.

Hezbollah also lost a key ally in neighboring Syria when rebels ousted al-Assad last month.

Senior Hezbollah MP Mohammed Raad said opponents of the Iran-backed group are seeking its fragmentation and exclusion from power in Lebanon.

Speaking at the presidential palace after Hezbollah lawmakers met with Aoun, Raad said his group had “lent a hand” in helping secure the president’s election as Lebanon’s president last week, only to find its “hand cut off.”