Lebanon names diplomat Mustapha Adib as prime minister

Mustapha Adib, a little-known diplomat, was nominated to become Lebanon's new prime minister Monday.

Adib succeeded in securing 90 out of 128 parliamentary votes, which will allow him to form a government.

Adib has been Lebanon's ambassador to Germany since 2013 and his name only emerged on Sunday to replace Hassan Diab, whose government resigned in the aftermath of the deadly August 4 blast at Beirut port.

Adib said that this is the time for work and for all parties to cooperate for the country to heal and restore hope.

"Lebanese people are worried about the present and the future. We will hopefully be able to form a government with professional people to implement fast reforms to put the country on the right track for restoring prosperity," Adib said, following his meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace.

He also vowed to swiftly launch a reformist government and seek international financial assistance after the Beirut blast deepened a political and economic crisis.

He said there is "a need to form a government in record time and to begin implementing reforms immediately, starting with an agreement with the International Monetary Fund".

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Who is he?

The 48-year-old was born in the northern city of Tripoli and is a Sunni Muslim, making him eligible to become prime minister under Lebanon's sectarian-based power-sharing system.

His biography on the Berlin embassy website presents him as an academic who holds a PhD in political science.

It says he has conducted "research and expert work in the areas of both human and state security, parliamentary oversight of the security sector, decentralization and local democracy, and electoral laws".

From 2000 to 2004, he served as an adviser to Najib Mikati, a billionaire and former prime minister who backed his nomination on Monday.

In 2011, then-prime minister Mikati appointed Adib as his chief of cabinet.

Former premiers Saad Hariri and Fouad Siniora also threw their weight behind Adib after two other candidates were reportedly rejected by the dominant Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah and its political allies.

His appointment came on the day French President Emmanuel Macron was due to arrive for another landmark visit.

(With input from AFP)

(Cover: Mustapha Adib talks to the media at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, August 31, 2020. /Reuters)