PM Salam has formed a new government as Hezbollah appears increasingly sidelined.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun has announced the formation of a new government after more than two years of an interim cabinet amid political wrangling and a major economic collapse.
The presidency said on Saturday it accepted the resignation of the caretaker government and appointed Prime Minister Nawaf Salam‘s new cabinet of 24 ministers, the country’s first full-fledged government since 2022.
The cabinet is now charged with drafting a policy statement – a broad outline of the upcoming government’s approach and priorities – and will then need a vote of confidence from Lebanon’s parliament to be fully empowered.
Salam, a diplomat and former president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), promised to reform Lebanon’s judiciary, implement economic reforms and bring about stability.
Speaking to reporters at the presidential palace, he said Lebanon would implement UN resolution 1701, which ended a previous war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006 and calls for the withdrawal of Hezbollah and other non-state armed actors from the area south of the Litani River, on the border with Israel.
Lebanon’s new government marks a shift away from leaders that are close to Hezbollah, as Beirut hopes to access reconstruction funds and investments after last year’s devastating war with Israel and to recover from a debilitating economic crisis that has gripped the country since 2019.
Though Hezbollah did not endorse Salam as prime minister, the Lebanese group did engage in negotiations with him over the Shia Muslim seats in government, as per Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system.
Former army chief Aoun – also a candidate not endorsed by Hezbollah and key allies – was elected president in early January, ending that position’s vacuum.
The announcement comes after US Deputy Middle East Envoy Morgan Ortagus on Friday demanded that Hezbollah be excluded from Lebanon’s government, saying that Washington had made its continued presence in the cabinet a “red line”.
The US Embassy to Lebanon issued a statement on Saturday saying it welcomed the new government and hoped it would implement reforms and rebuild state institutions.
The United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, welcomed the announcement saying the end of the political impasse “heralds a new and brighter chapter for Lebanon”.