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Nawaf Salam

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Nawaf Salam
نواف سلام
Prime Minister-designate of Lebanon
Assuming office
TBD
PresidentJoseph Aoun
SucceedingNajib Mikati
President of the International Court of Justice
In office
6 February 2024 – 14 January 2025
Vice PresidentJulia Sebutinde
Preceded byJoan Donoghue
Succeeded byJulia Sebutinde (acting)
Judge of the International Court of Justice
In office
6 February 2018 – 14 January 2025
Preceded byChristopher Greenwood
Succeeded byVacant
Other positions held
Ambassador of Lebanon to the United Nations
In office
13 July 2007 – 15 December 2017
Vice President of the United Nations General Assembly
In office
1 September 2012 – 31 August 2013
President of the United Nations Security Council
In office
1 September 2011 – 30 September 2011
In office
1 May 2010 – 31 May 2010
Personal details
Born
Nawaf Abdallah Salim Salam

(1953-12-15) 15 December 1953 (age 71)
Beirut, Lebanon
SpouseSahar Baassiri
Children2
RelativesSalim Ali Salam (grandfather)
Saeb Salam (uncle)
Tammam Salam (cousin)
EducationHarvard University (LL.M.)
Sciences Po (Ph.D., Political Science)
Sorbonne University (Ph.D., History)
School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences
OccupationInternational Judge • Diplomat • Academic
WebsiteOfficial Twitter

Nawaf Abdallah Salim Salam (Arabic: نواف عبد الله سليم سلام; born 15 December 1953) is a Lebanese politician, diplomat, jurist and academic who is the prime minister-designate of Lebanon.[1]

Salam previously sat on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for a nine-year term beginning in 2018,[2][3] and additionally served as Lebanon's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from 2007 to 2017, during which he held the positions of President of the Security Council and Vice President of the General Assembly.[4] In 2024, he was elected the 27th president of the ICJ, becoming the second Arab and the first Lebanese judge to hold the office. He resigned from the court after the parliament of Lebanon nominated him as prime minister.

Background and education

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Son of Abdallah Salam and Reckat Beyhum, Nawaf was born into a prominent family from Beirut, Lebanon. His grandfather, Salim Salam, the leader of the "Beirut Reform Movement", was elected deputy of Beirut to the Ottoman parliament in 1912. His uncle, Saeb Salam, fought for Lebanon's independence from the French Mandate of Lebanon and subsequently served four times as Prime Minister of Lebanon between 1952 and 1973.[5] His cousin Tammam Salam was also Prime Minister of Lebanon between 2014 and 2016.

Nawaf Salam holds a Doctorate in Political Science from the Sciences Po (1992), a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Harvard Law School (1991), and a Doctorate in History from the Sorbonne (1979).[6][7][8]

Career

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From 1979 to 1981, Salam was a lecturer on the contemporary history of the Middle East at Sorbonne 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.[9] Between 1985 and 1989, he was a lecturer at the American University of Beirut,[10] 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[11] 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.[12]

On 9 November 2017, Salam was elected judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) after receiving 135 votes in the United Nations General Assembly and 12 votes in the Security Council. After Fouad Ammoun, he became the second Lebanese to serve as a judge of the ICJ.[13]

On 6 February 2024, he was elected as the President of the ICJ.[14][15] Salam's appointment as President of the ICJ in February 2024 coincided directly with the first hearing on South Africa's genocide lawsuit against Israel in January 2024. Salam took over the case brought by South Africa against Israel.[16]

Public interest work

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Salam served as a member of the Executive Bureau of the Economic and Social Council of Lebanon from 1999 to 2002[17] and as a member of the Lebanese National Commission of UNESCO from 2000 to 2004.[18] In 2005 and 2006, he was a member and Secretary General of The National Commission on Electoral Reform[19] 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.[20]

Ambassador of Lebanon to the United Nations

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From July 2007 to December 2017, he served as Lebanon's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.[21]

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 of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701,[22] 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 the Special Tribunal for Lebanon[23] in the matter of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri[24] pursuant to United Nations Security Council resolution 1757.[25]

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 rotating Presidency of the Security Council.[26]

According to a report by UN Watch, during his tenure as Lebanon's ambassador to the UN, Salam voted to condemn Israel 210 times. According to the same report, Salam also voted against UN resolutions condemning crimes committed by Iran, Lebanon, Cuba and Syria.[27] In 2008, Salam delivered a speech accusing "terrorist Jewish organizations" of committing "organized massacres."[27] In 2015, he called Israel a "Triumph of blatant racist & colonialist choices" and wrote "Unhappy birthday to you, 48 years of occupation.” on Twitter.[28][29] Months later, the Jewish 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".[30]

He served as vice-president of the 67th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations from September 2012 to September 2013 and as acting President of the General Assembly of the United Nations in July 2013.[31]

Candidacy for Prime Minister

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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 until the remainder of President Michel Aoun's term.[32]

In the wake of the election of Joseph Aoun as president of Lebanon on 9 January 2025, multiple opposition MPs reached a consensus on nominating Salam as Prime Minister.[33] His candidacy is supported by many Western and Arab states, who call for his nomination, against current caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati. On 13 January 2025, Salam was nominated by 84 out of 128 MPs, making him the Prime Minister-designate of Lebanon.[1] He flew to Lebanon on 14 January after departure from The Hague.[34] That very day, he stepped down as a member of the International Court of Justice.[35]

Premiership

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See also: Cabinet of Nawaf Salam

Salam explicitly stated his intent to avoid exclusion and promote unity across the political spectrum especially since Hezbollah's parliamentary leader Mohammad 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.[36] 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.[37] He vowed to reopen the investigations of the Beirut port explosion and proposed engaging with international partners.[37][38] On January 16, 2025, It was announced that the investigation of the Beirut port explosion has resumed.[39]

Personal life

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Salam is married to Sahar Baassiri, columnist and Lebanon's Ambassador to UNESCO as of January 2018.[40] He has two sons, Abdallah and Marwan.[41] The Associated Press describes him as "a member of a prominent Sunni Muslim family from Beirut."[42] Under the National Pact, the prime minister of Lebanon is always selected from the Sunni community.

Decorations

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Salam was awarded in 2012 the French Legion of Honour (Légion d'honneur) at the rank of Officer (Officier) by President Nicolas Sarkozy.[43][44]

Notable publications

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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.[45]

Books and booklets

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  • Editor and Contributor: Lebanon in the Security Council, 2010-2011 (in Arabic), Dar Al Saqi, Beirut, 2013 ISBN 978-1-85516-970-8[46]
  • Editor and Contributor: Le Moyen-Orient à l'Epreuve de l'Irak, Actes-Sud/Sindbad, Paris, 2005. ISBN 2-7427-5249-8[47]
  • Editor and Contributor: Options for Lebanon, I.B.Tauris, London and New York, 2004. ISBN 1-85043-928-1 (Arabic version published by Dar An-Nahar ISBN 9953-10-003-9).[48]
  • Co-editor with Theodor Hanf and Contributor: Lebanon in Limbo, Nomos, Baden-Baden, 2003. ISBN 3-8329-0310-0[49]
  • Co-editor with Fares Sassine, Lebanon. A Century in Pictures (Trilingual English-French-Arabic), Dar An-Nahar, Beirut, 2003. ISBN 2-84289-286-0[50]
  • Civil Society in the Arab World: The Historical and Political Dimensions, Islamic Legal Studies Program, Harvard Law School, Occasional Publications, Cambridge, 2002. ISBN 0-88086-050-2[51]
  • La condition libanaise. Communautés, citoyen, Etat; suivi de: La citoyenneté en pays d'Islam. Dar An-Nahar, Beirut, 1998. (2nd ed. 2001). ISBN 2-84289-099-X[52]
  • Mythes et Politiques au Liban. Trois Essais, Fiches du Monde Arabe, Beirut, 1987.[53]
  • Prospects for Lebanon. An Essay on Political Opportunities and Constraints, C.L.S., Oxford, 1987. ISBN 1-870552-06-7

References

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  1. ^ a b Bassam, Laila; Perry, Tom; Williams, Alison (13 January 2025). "Lebanon's Salam wins backing of enough MPs to be named PM, political sources say". Reuters.
  2. ^ "Press Release, Unofficial – United Nations General Assembly and Security Council elect four Members of the Court" (PDF). icj-cij.org. 10 November 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 June 2018.
  3. ^ "Four judges elected to International Court of Justice". UN News. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  4. ^ "Permanent Missions Permanent Mission to the United Nations".
  5. ^ "Saeb Salam, 95, Former Lebanese Prime Minister". The New York Times. 23 January 2000. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  6. ^ "Accueil". Sciences Po. Archived from the original on 4 September 2009.
  7. ^ "Harvard Law School". Archived from the original on 17 July 2014.
  8. ^ "Official website of Paris Sorbonne University - Paris IV". Archived from the original on 17 February 2011.
  9. ^ Feldman, Noah (3 October 2011). "Welcome | The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs". Wcfia.harvard.edu. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  10. ^ "Judge Nawaf SALAM" (PDF). icj-cij.org.
  11. ^ "Edwards Wildman". Eapdlaw.com. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  12. ^ "New Permanent Representative of Lebanon Presents Credentials". United Nations. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  13. ^ Bouffé, Monique (14 November 2017). "Second Lebanese judge elected to ICJ in 60 years". The New Arab. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  14. ^ Massoud, Adla (6 February 2024). "Lebanese judge Nawaf Salam elected President of International Court of Justice". The National. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  15. ^ "President of ICJ" (PDF). ICJ.
  16. ^ "Nawaf Salam: ICJ president named Lebanon's new prime minister". BBC News. 14 January 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  17. ^ "Welcome To The Economic & Social Council Of Lebanon". Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  18. ^ "Home". Lncu.org. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  19. ^ "NCEL members". Elections-lebanon.org. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  20. ^ "Welcome". lcps-lebanon.org. 18 October 2008. Archived from the original on 18 October 2008.
  21. ^ "H.E. Mr. Nawaf A. Salam, Curriculum Vitae". Archived from the original on 27 December 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  22. ^ "Statement by Mr. H.E. Dr. Nawaf Salam Berro, Permanent Representative of Lebanon To the United Nations at the Security Council on the Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question" (PDF). un.int. 15 January 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 January 2009.
  23. ^ "Special Tribunal for Lebanon". Stl-tsl.org. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  24. ^ "Prime Minister Rafic Hariri – The Official Web Site". Rhariri.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  25. ^ "Nawaf Salam, Ambassador of Lebanon to the UN on the Investigation Commission – نواف سلام". YouTube. 19 December 2008. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  26. ^ "Security Council Press Statement on Darfur". Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  27. ^ a b Pelaez, Luis (18 July 2024). "Report: Head of World Court Condemned Israel 210 Times as Lebanon's UN Rep, Sided With Regimes in Iran, Syria, Belarus, Cuba". UN Watch. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  28. ^ Salam, Nawaf (18 March 2015). "#Israel: Triumph of blatant racist & colonialist choices". Twitter.
  29. ^ "Lebanese, anti-Israel judge Nawaf Salam elected new president of ICJ," The Jerusalem Post
  30. ^ "Lebanese, anti-Israel judge Nawaf Salam elected new president of ICJ". The Jerusalem Post. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  31. ^ Agencies (14 January 2025). "New Lebanese PM Nawaf Salam: A distinguished diplomat and jurist". Gulf News: Latest UAE news, Dubai news, Business, travel news, Dubai Gold rate, prayer time, cinema. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  32. ^ "Mikati named PM-designate with 54 votes as Salam gets 25". Naharnet. 23 June 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  33. ^ "الوكالة الوطنية للإعلام - Makhzoumi withdraws from premiership race in favor of Nawaf Salam". National News Agency. 13 January 2025. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  34. ^ "Lebanons PM-designate Nawaf Salam pledges to build modern state; seeks justice for Beirut blast victims, depositors in first remarks". LBCI. 14 January 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  35. ^ "Lebanon's PM designate Nawaf Salam resigns as member of International Court of Justice". Reuters. 14 January 2025.
  36. ^ "Hezbollah lawmaker says Lebanese opponents are working to exclude the group". Reuters. 13 January 2025.
  37. ^ a b "Lebanon's new PM says reaching out to all sides to save country". France 24. 14 January 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  38. ^ "After economic meltdown and war with Israel, Lebanon's new prime minister vows to rebuild". AP News. 14 January 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  39. ^ "Beirut Port explosion investigation resumes as Judge Bitar prepares to question key individuals". LBCIV7. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  40. ^ "Lebanon's Salam, ICJ judge turned prime minister". France 24. 14 January 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  41. ^ "من عائلة سياسية معروفة.. ما لا تعرفه عن نواف سلام". Al Arabiya (in Arabic). 13 January 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  42. ^ "Head of the International Court of Justice is named Lebanon's new prime minister". Associated Press News.
  43. ^ "S.E.M. Nawaf Salam, Amb. du". Twitter. franceonu. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  44. ^ "Nawaf Salam décoré en grande pompe, à New York, de la Légion d'honneur". L'Orient-Le Jour. 17 March 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  45. ^ "Nawaf Salam elected head of International Court of Justice". Naharnet. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  46. ^ "فكر وسياسة – الصفحة الرئيسية" (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 1 December 2017.
  47. ^ "Le Moyen-Orient à l'épreuve de l'Irak Sous la dir. de Nawaf Salam Berro" (in French). Archived from the original on 8 March 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  48. ^ [1][permanent dead link‍]
  49. ^ Lebanon in Limbo: Postwar society and state in an uncertain regional environment. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft m.b.h. &Co KG. OL 22605261M.
  50. ^ Lebanon, a century in pictures 1900-2000 – Liban, le siècle en images. Dar An-Nahar. 2003. ISBN 2-84289-286-0. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011.
  51. ^ "Islamic Legal Studies – at Harvard Law School" (PDF).
  52. ^ "La condition libanaise : communautés, citoyen, état. Suivi de La citoyenneté en pays d'Islam / Nawaf Salam . – 1st ed". library.palestine-studies.org. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  53. ^ Salam, Nawaf (1987). "Mythes et politiques au Liban: trois essais". Fiches du Monde Arabe.
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