Nawaf Salam
Nawaf Salam became Prime Minister of Lebanon in January 2025, having spent the previous seven years as a judge of the International Court of Justice. Born in Beirut in 1953 into a prominent Sunni family — his uncle Saeb Salam and his cousin Tammam Salam both served as prime minister — he was educated in France and the United States, taking doctorates in history at the Sorbonne and in political science at Sciences Po, and a master's in law at Harvard. He practised as a lawyer in Beirut and taught international law and international relations at the American University of Beirut for two decades. He was appointed Lebanon's permanent representative to the United Nations in 2007 and held the post for ten years, serving twice on the Security Council during his country's non-permanent membership. He was elected to the International Court of Justice in 2018 and became its president in February 2024. In that capacity he presided over the hearings in South Africa's case against Israel under the Genocide Convention, and over the advisory proceedings on the legal consequences of the occupation of Palestinian territory — the most closely watched matters the court had handled in years. He was designated prime minister in January 2025 after Lebanon's parliament finally elected a president, ending a vacancy of over two years, and after a war between Israel and Hezbollah, an economic collapse that had wiped out most of the currency's value and the banking system, and the Beirut port explosion of 2020. He formed a government within a month, and has committed to financial restructuring, an IMF programme and the state's monopoly on arms. He resigned from the ICJ on taking office. He is a Sunni Muslim, as the post requires under Lebanon's confessional system, and was the first prime minister in decades to come from outside the country's political class.
- Lived: 1953 CE – ?
- Nationality: Lebanese
- Roles: Prime Minister of Lebanon (2025-present)
