Newly appointed prime minister Nawaf Salam forms government in Lebanon

Table of Contents

Lebanon's new Prime Minister formed the country's first complete government since 2022 at the weekend.

The President, Joseph Aoun, made a statement saying that he had accepted the resignation of the previous caretaker government and signed an order with Nawaf Salam as the new Prime Minister forming the new government.

Salam's 24-member cabinet, divided equally between Christian and Muslim ministers, was formed just weeks after his appointment, and comes as Lebanon struggles to rebuild its badly damaged southern region and secure its southern border following a devastating conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group. The war between these two parties was brought to an end by a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement in November.

Lebanon is still going through a devastating economic crisis, entering its sixth year, which has severely weakened its banks, ruined its state power grid, and left many people in financial difficulties, unable to access their life savings.

G'day, a diplomat and ex-president of the International Court of Justice, has promised to reform Lebanon's justice system and its struggling economy, and bring stability to the troubled country, which has been hit with heaps of economic, political, and security issues for decades.

Although Hezbollah hasn't officially backed Salam as prime minister, the Lebanese group has been negotiating with him regarding the distribution of seats allocated to Shia Muslims in the government, in line with Lebanon's power-sharing system.

The new authorities in Lebanon are also moving away from leaders with ties to Hezbollah, with the aim of strengthening relationships with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states that have been uneasy about Hezbollah's increasing influence over the past decade.

In early January, former army chief Aoun was elected president, pluggin a gap in that position. He was also a candidate not backed by Hezbollah and their key mates.

Aoun has expressed the same view as Salam, reaffirming the state's entitlement to "monopolise the carrying of weapons", reportedly alluding to Hezbollah's arms.