Nawaf Salam was named as Lebanon’s newest Prime Minister on Monday, bringing an end to more than two years of political paralysis. His appointment finally cuts loose ex-PM Najib Mikati’s cabinet, which officially resigned in 2022 but remained in a caretaker capacity until a new head-of-state could be elected.
Mr Salam’s appointment means he must forsake his post as president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, to which he was elected for a three-year term in February 2024.
Support for Mr Salam illustrates a major break in the power balance of Lebanon's sectarian politics, after Hezbollah, the most dominant faction in Lebanon’s governance, took a beating in a war with Israel last year, its Syrian ally Bashar Al Assad was toppled and its supporter Iran’s geopolitical standing plummeting as a result.
With Mr Al Assad gone and Hezbollah considerably weakened politically and militarily, many hope Mr Salam’s appointment will start a new chapter in Lebanon's history. In only five years, the small country has been marred by war, major economic collapse, and deep distrust and dissatisfaction with the ruling classes.
In the wake of Lebanon's 2019 economic collapse, which led to the resignation of several governments, his name was frequently raised by opposition groups as an independent candidate for the position of prime minister.
His designation, along with the election of Gen Joseph Aoun to Lebanon’s presidency, marks a new era in Lebanese politics following years of deadlock. Still, as with many Lebanese officials elected to high government stations, Mr Salam comes from a somewhat dynastic, prominent political family; many of his relatives have played key political roles in Lebanon's history. His grandfather, Salim Salam, was the deputy of Beirut in the Ottoman parliament in 1912. His uncle Saeb Salam, who is regarded as one of the country's founding fathers, and his cousin, Tammam Salam, each served as prime minister.
Despite his dynastic background, those close to Mr Salam describe him as a reformist and a moderate intellectual. The diplomat, jurist, academic and now Prime Minister became involved in pro-Palestinian and leftist circles during his university years in the 1970s – a time when the world experienced a vibrant wave of student movements.
His friend, political scientist Karim Bitar, described him to The National in February as a “well-read multidisciplinary intellectual, familiar with sociology, history and political science, and an avid reader, who always has a reformist bend and cares about Lebanon's Arabic identity”.
Professor to judge
Mr Salam began his teaching career in the late 1970s as a history professor at Sorbonne University in Paris, then at Harvard Law School in Boston and the American University of Beirut, where he taught international relations and law.
In the 1990s, alongside teaching, Mr Salam dedicated himself to bringing about change in Lebanon, with a focus on transcending sectarianism towards a civil state and reforming the electoral code and the judicial system.
In 2007, Mr Salam moved to New York, where he served for 10 years as Lebanon’s permanent representative to the UN.
“Having taught international relations for 20 years, it felt like an opportunity to bridge the gap between theory and practice,” he told The National of his time at the UN last year.
During his term, he consistently advocated respecting UN Resolution 1701 for border stability in south Lebanon, establishing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon for former prime minister Rafik Hariri's assassination, and defending Palestinian rights.
In 2017, he was appointed a judge at the ICJ by the UN General Assembly and the Security Council. Mr Salam was the first Lebanese and the second Arab to head the UN's World Court, created in 1945 to settle disputes between states.
Despite Lebanon's continuing crisis, wrecked financial sector and political paralysis, Mr Salam has said he remains resolutely optimistic about his country's future.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
