Nawaf Salam | |||||||||||||||||||||
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نوّاف سلام | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Salam in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 53rd Prime Minister of Lebanon | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 8 February 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Joseph Aoun | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Tarek Mitri | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Najib Mikati | ||||||||||||||||||||
| President of the International Court of Justice | |||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 6 February 2024 – 14 January 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Vice President | Julia Sebutinde | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Joan Donoghue | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Yuji Iwasawa | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Judge of theInternational Court of Justice | |||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 6 February 2018 – 14 January 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Christopher Greenwood | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Vacant | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Nawaf Abdallah Salim Salam (1953-12-15)15 December 1953 (age 71) Beirut,Lebanon | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Independent | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Sahar Baassiri | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Salim Ali Salam (grandfather) Saeb Salam (uncle) Tammam Salam (cousin) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Harvard University (LL.M.) Sciences Po (Ph.D., Political Science) Sorbonne University (Ph.D., History) School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences) International College, Beirut | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | International Judge •Diplomat •Academic •Politician | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | Official X | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nawaf Abdallah Salim Salam (Arabic:نوّاف عبد الله سليم سلام; born 15 December 1953) is aLebanese politician, diplomat, jurist and academic who has been serving as the 53rdprime minister of Lebanon since 8 February 2025. Salam previously sat on theInternational Court of Justice (ICJ) for a nine-year term beginning in 2018,[1][2] and additionally served as Lebanon's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to theUnited Nations inNew York from 2007 to 2017, during which time he held the positions of President of theSecurity Council and Vice President of theGeneral Assembly.[3] In 2024, he was elected the 27th president of the ICJ, becoming the secondArab and the first Lebanese judge to hold the office. He resigned from the court after theparliament of Lebanon nominated him as prime minister.
He is from a prominentSunni political family. He studied in France and the United States. He worked as a university lecturer and lawyer.
Son of Abdallah Salam and Reckat Beyhum, Nawaf was born into a prominent family fromBeirut, Lebanon. His grandfather,Salim Salam, the leader of the "Beirut Reform Movement", was elected deputy of Beirut to theOttoman parliament in 1912. His uncle,Saeb Salam, fought for Lebanon's independence from theFrench Mandate of Lebanon and subsequently served four times as Prime Minister of Lebanon between 1952 and 1973.[4] His cousinTammam Salam was also Prime Minister of Lebanon between 2014 and 2016.
Nawaf Salam holds aDoctorate inPolitical Science from theSciences Po (1992), aMaster of Laws (LL.M.) fromHarvard Law School (1991), and aDoctorate inHistory from theSorbonne (1979).[5][6][7]
From 1979 to 1981, Salam was a lecturer on the contemporary history of the Middle East atSorbonne University. In 1981, he left Paris to spend an academic year as a visiting scholar at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University.[8] Between 1985 and 1989, he was a lecturer at theAmerican University of Beirut,[9] during which time he also practiced law as an associate at Takla Law Firm. He was a visiting researcher at Harvard Law School from 1989 to 1990, and a foreign legal consultant at Edwards & Angell LLP[10] from 1989 to 1992. He resumed his practice at the Takla Law Firm in 1992 as well as his teaching of International Law and International Relations at the American University of Beirut. He was appointed Visiting associate professor of Political Science in 2003, and later associate professor of Political Science in 2005. From 2005 to 2007, he was the Chairman of the Political Studies and Public Administration Department.[11]
Salam served as a member of the Executive Bureau of the Economic and Social Council of Lebanon from 1999 to 2002[12] and as a member of the Lebanese National Commission of UNESCO from 2000 to 2004.[13] In 2005 and 2006, he was a member and Secretary General of The National Commission on Electoral Reform,[14] which was entrusted with the task of preparing the draft of a new electoral law for Lebanon. He has also served on the board of trustees of the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies (LCPS), a non-partisan think tank whose mission is to produce and advocate policies that improve governance in Lebanon and the Arab world.[15]
From July 2007 to December 2017, he served as Lebanon's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.[16]
Salam's mandate at the UN was marked by his repeated interventions before the Security Council calling for security and stability in South Lebanon through the implementation ofUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 1701,[17] promoting the establishment of an independent Security Forces to protect civilians from Ambassador of Lebanon to the United Nations policy of "disassociation" from the Syrian conflict, and seeking an end to impunity through the establishment of theSpecial Tribunal for Lebanon[18] in the matter of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime MinisterRafic Hariri[19] pursuant to United Nations Security Council resolution 1757.[20]
He represented Lebanon on the Security Council in 2010 and 2011, for Lebanon's two-year term as a non-permanent member. In May 2010 and September 2011, he held the rotatingPresidency of the Security Council.[21]
In 2015, he called Israel a "Triumph of blatant racist & colonialist choices" and wrote "Unhappy birthday to you, 48 years of occupation." on Twitter.[22][23] Months later, theJewish News Syndicate reported that he wrote: "Israel must stop the violence and end the occupation" and "portraying critics of Israeli policy as anti-Semites is an attempt to intimidate and discredit them, which we reject".[24]
He served as vice-president of the 67th session of theGeneral Assembly of the United Nations from September 2012 to September 2013 and as acting President of theGeneral Assembly of the United Nations in July 2013.[25]
On 9 November 2017, Salam was elected judge of theInternational Court of Justice (ICJ) after receiving 135 votes in the United Nations General Assembly and 12 votes in the Security Council. AfterFouad Ammoun, he became the second Lebanese to serve as a judge of the ICJ.[26]
On 6 February 2024, he was elected as the President of the ICJ.[27][28] Salam's appointment as President of the ICJ in February 2024 coincided directly with the first hearing onSouth Africa's genocide lawsuit against Israel in January 2024. Salam took over the case brought by South Africa against Israel.[29]
Salam was a candidate for Prime minister towards the end of Michel Aoun's term to replace Najib Mikati in 2022. However, Mikati won again, becoming prime minister designate on 23 June 2022 with 54 votes against Salam's 28 to form a new cabinet for the remainder of President Michel Aoun's term.[30]
In the wake of the election ofJoseph Aoun as president of Lebanon on 9 January 2025, multiple opposition MPs reached a consensus on nominating Salam as Prime Minister.[31] His candidacy was supported by many Western and Arab states, who called for his nomination, against current caretaker prime ministerNajib Mikati. On 13 January 2025, Salam was nominated by 84 out of 128 MPs, making him the Prime Minister-designate of Lebanon.[32] He flew to Lebanon on 14 January after departure from The Hague.[33] That very day, he stepped down as a member of the International Court of Justice.[34]
Salam explicitly stated his intent to avoid exclusion and promote unity across the political spectrum especially since Hezbollah's parliamentary leaderMohammad Raad stated that Hezbollah "extended its hand" by helping to secure Aoun's election only to find the "hand cut off" accusing the opposition of fragmentation and exclusion from power in Lebanon.[35] He also pledged to extend the authority of the Lebanese state across its entire territory, aligning with the full implementation of U.N.Resolution 1701.[36] He vowed to reopen the investigations of theBeirut port explosion and proposed engaging with international partners.[36][37] On 16 January 2025, it was announced that the investigation of the Beirut port explosion has resumed.[38]
Salam's cabinet was confirmed by PresidentJoseph Aoun on 8 February 2025.[39]
Salam emphasized In his inaugural televised interview the need for comprehensive reforms in order to restore citizens' trust in the Lebanese state. He highlighted the importance of restructuring the banking sector to attract investments and safeguard deposits, asserting that a robust banking system is essential for economic growth. Salam also called for serious efforts toward establishing an independent judiciary, stating that without it, there can be no protection for freedoms, guarantee of rights, or encouragement of investments. He underscored that judicial independence is the cornerstone of both financial and political reforms. Additionally, Salam advocated for the full implementation of the Taif Agreement, particularly administrative decentralization, warning that delays have exacerbated national crises. He reaffirmed his commitment to implementing U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, emphasizing the state's exclusive authority over weapons and security matters. Addressing the financial crisis, Salam rejected any solutions that would involve writing off citizens' deposits, emphasizing the need to protect depositors' rights. He concluded by expressing his intent to engage with international partners to support Lebanon's reform and recovery efforts.[40] On 26 February, Salam's government won a confidence vote in parliament.[41]
Salam is married toSahar Baassiri, columnist and Lebanon's Ambassador toUNESCO as of January 2018.[42] He has two sons, Abdallah and Marwan.[43] TheAssociated Press describes him as "a member of a prominentSunni Muslim family from Beirut."[44] Under theNational Pact, the prime minister of Lebanon is always selected from the Sunni community.[45]
Salam was awarded in 2012 the FrenchLegion of Honour (Légion d'honneur) at the rank of Officer (Officier) by PresidentNicolas Sarkozy.[46][47]
Salam has written books and articles on political and constitutional reform, electoral law reform, overcoming sectarianism, and fighting corruption and promoting accountability through strengthening the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law. He has also written on the question of citizenship and civil society in the Arab world as well as on the development of international law.[48]
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Judge of theInternational Court of Justice 2018–2024 | Vacant |
| Preceded by | President of the International Court of Justice 2024–2025 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Lebanon 2025–present | Incumbent |
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