Nawaf Salam named as Lebanon’s new PM

Nawaf Salam, the president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, has been named as Lebanon's new prime minister.

Two thirds of the 128 members of parliament nominated the 71-year-old judge for the post - reserved for a Sunni Muslim under a sectarian power sharing system - during consultations with newly elected President Joseph Aoun. Caretaker PM Najib Mikati got nine votes.

The presidency said Salam would return to Lebanon on Tuesday.

His appointment is another blow to Hezbollah, which had sought to reappoint Mikati but ended up nominating no candidate. The Iran-backed Shia Muslim militia and political party has been significantly weakened by its recent war with Israel.

Salam is a member of a prominent Sunni family from Beirut. His uncle, Salam, helped Lebanon gain independence from France in 1943 and served several terms as prime minister. His cousin, Tammam, was also prime minister from 2014 to 2016.

He holds a doctorate in political science from Sciences Po university in France, a doctorate in history from the Sorbonne and a Master of Law degree from Harvard Law School.