Lebanon Forms First Government Since 2022, Diminishing Hezbollah Influence

Members of staff prepare the main chamber of the Parliament and set up a ballot box, a day ahead of a parliamentary session to elect a president, in Beirut, Lebanon, on Jan. 8, 2025. Anwar Amro/AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon is forming its first full-fledged government since 2022 as the embattled nation seeks to diminish the power of Hezbollah and eject Israeli forces from its southern region.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun announced on Feb. 8 that he had accepted the resignation of the caretaker government and signed a decree recognizing the new government with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam at its head.

“This government will seek to restore confidence between citizens and the state, between Lebanon and its Arab surroundings, and between Lebanon and the international community,” Salam said in a speech on Saturday.

“Reform is the only path to a true salvation,” he added.

The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon welcomed the Cabinet announcement, saying it hopes the new government will rebuild Lebanon’s state institutions and implement needed reforms.

Salam’s Cabinet of 24 ministers is split evenly between Christian and Muslim sects and comes at a time when Lebanon is struggling to establish security and safety for its citizens due to years of internal strife and bombardment from Israel to the south.

To that end, Salam said the Cabinet will prioritize financial reforms, reconstruction, and the implementation of a United Nations resolution seen as a cornerstone to stability on the Lebanese border with Israel.

Notably, neither Aoun nor Salam were endorsed by Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah, which has maintained its own shadow state within Lebanon for decades. Instead, the new government has largely sidelined Hezbollah.

Aoun has also vowed to consolidate the state’s right to “monopolize the carrying of weapons,” in an apparent reference to end the de facto reign of Hezbollah’s militias.

Instead of being directly involved in the formation of the government, Hezbollah ally Amal was allowed to choose four new Cabinet members to represent Lebanon’s Shiite community, including the minister of finance.

That move will prevent Hezbollah and its allies from amassing a third blocking force in the government, where a two-thirds vote is needed to pass some decisions.

Similarly, the Christian Lebanese Forces Party, which is fiercely opposed to Hezbollah and has not been included in a government Cabinet in more than five years, was also allowed to select four ministers, including those for foreign affairs and energy.

Salam has vowed to reform Lebanon’s judiciary and bring about stability in the troubled country, which has faced numerous economic, political, and security crises for decades.

He also promised to follow through on implementing a cease-fire agreement that ended the most recent war between Israel and Hezbollah last November and to ensure that Israeli forces withdraw from Lebanese territory as part of that arrangement.

The Cabinet is now charged with drafting a broad outline of its priorities and will need a vote of confidence from Lebanon’s parliament to be fully empowered. Hezbollah retains some influence in the multi-party parliament, controlling 15 of 128 seats. Amal likewise controls 15 seats.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.