BEIRUT – Lebanon formed a new government on Saturday, the first since 2022, following more than three weeks of talks with rival political parties, with government positions allocated according to sect.
President Joseph Aoun announced in a statement that he had accepted the resignation of the former caretaker government and signed a decree with new Prime Minister Nawaf Salam forming the new government.
Speaking to reporters at the presidential palace, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the 24-member cabinet, evenly divided between Christian and Muslim sects, would prioritise financial reforms, reconstruction, and the implementation of a United Nations resolution seen as a cornerstone to stability on the Lebanese southern border.
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.
Following the announcement of Lebanon’s new cabinet, Minister of Information Paul Morcos pointed to the major risks that are looming over the country, stressing that the new government “will strive seriously and responsibly and take the necessary decisions.”
“There is no intention to exclude or provoke anyone, and the circumstances we are living in are very complex. We have reconstituted the executive authority and we are now facing a new direction and a new hope that we must all benefit from,” Morcos added.
The United Nations said the government formation “heralds a new and brighter chapter for Lebanon” and said it hoped to work with the new cabinet on reforms and implementing U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.
Lebanese president Joseph Aoun was elected on Jan. 9, ending more than two years of a presidential vacuum in Lebanon due to political disagreements.
Days after his election, Aoun invited Salam, a judge with the International Court of Justice, to form a new government.
