Who is Nawaf Salam? Lebanese PM-elect voted against Israel 210 times as UN envoy but why Hezbollah hates him

ICJ President Nawaf Salam was backed by 84 of the 128 MPs while Hezbollah, which is allied with the Shi'ite Amal Movement, did not nominate anyone

Nawaf Salam President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Nawaf Salam has been named the Lebanese Prime Minister | AFP

With Hezbollah weakened, the political dynamics in Lebanon is seeing a sudden shift. Nawaf Salam, the head of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is set to become the country's new Prime Minister.

The new Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has summoned Salam to designate him as the PM after he won backing of a majority of the lawmakers. Out of the 128 Parliamentarians, 84 named Salam. He also has won support of the US and Saudi Arabia.

Salam is known for voting to condemn Israel 210 times when he was Lebanon's ambassador to the UN. He also voted against UN resolutions condemning crimes committed by Iran, Lebanon, Cuba and Syria.

Who is Nawaf Salam?

Nawaf Salam is the president of the ICJ in the Hague, becoming the second-ever Arab judge to do so. His full name is Nawaf Abdallah Salim Salam. In the past he has served as the Lebanon's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN from 2007 to 2017.

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His grandfather Salim Salam was the leader of the Beirut Reform Movement and was the MP in Ottoman Parliament in 1912, two years before the First World War broke out. Lebanon which was part of the Ottoman Empire was under French occupation following the war. 

His uncle. Saeb Salam. who fought for the Lebanese independence, became the country's PM four times from 1952 to 1973. Besides, his cousin, Tammam Salam, was also the Lebanese PM from 2014 to 2016.

Nawaf Salam, who served as a lecturer on Middle East contemporary history at Sorbonne University, Paris, from 1979 to 1981, also taught at the the American University of Beirut from 1985 to 1989. He was also a visiting researcher at Harvard Law School from 1989 to 1990.

He was conferred the French Legion of Honour in 2012 by then-President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Hezbollah skips vote

Hezbollah, which is allied with the Shi'ite Amal Movement, did not nominate anyone. The Shia group wanted Najib Mikati to become the Prime Minister. Lebanese Constitution requires the President to be a Maronite Christian, the PM to be a Sunni Muslim and the Speaker to be Shiite.

Hezbollah MP Mohammed Raad said the group's rivals want to divide the group, which is already suffering due to Israeli attacks as well as the defeat of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria.

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