عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Lebanese Government Faces Daunting Task to Fill Vacant Positions

Lebanese Army soldiers in Parliament’s square, downtown Beirut (dpa file photo)
Lebanese Army soldiers in Parliament’s square, downtown Beirut (dpa file photo)
TT
20
TT

Lebanese Government Faces Daunting Task to Fill Vacant Positions

Lebanese Army soldiers in Parliament’s square, downtown Beirut (dpa file photo)
Lebanese Army soldiers in Parliament’s square, downtown Beirut (dpa file photo)

The Lebanese government is facing a significant challenge in administrative reform, particularly in filling high-level vacancies in ministries and public institutions.

Naming officials to category one positions requires broad political consensus, as these appointments must be approved by two-thirds of the government’s members. This means that upcoming cabinet meetings are expected to witness intense political negotiations over the proposed candidates.

Lebanese citizens hope that Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government will adopt a merit-based approach to appointments, moving away from sectarian quotas and political favoritism. There is also a push to restore the role of the Civil Service Board, which would review candidates’ qualifications and propose three nominees for each vacant position, allowing the cabinet to select one and issue an official decree.

Mohammed Shamseddine, researcher at Beirut-based Information International, said that there are currently 47 vacant category one positions, with a significant number allocated to the Maronite community, including the commander of the Lebanese Army, the governor of the Central Bank, and director generals of key ministries such as Finance, Education, and Energy.

He added that Sunni-designated positions include the director general of the Internal Security Forces, the president of the Judicial Inspection Authority, and key roles in telecommunications, civil aviation, and tourism.

The Shiite community has seven vacant senior positions, including director general of General Security and the Financial Prosecutor. The Druze, Greek Orthodox, and Greek Catholic communities also have several unfilled roles, such as the director general of the Ministry of Health, the government commissioner to the Central Bank, and the chairman of the Lebanese state television, Tele Liban. The Armenian Catholic community has one vacant senior post, the director general of Central Statistics.

According to Shamseddine, beyond Category One, the government must also address a growing number of vacancies in Category Two and Three positions, which are crucial for the daily operations of public administration. There are currently around 270 vacant posts out of a total of 600 in these categories. Diplomatic and consular positions are also a priority, with 69 Lebanese embassies lacking ambassadors, including those in major capitals such as Washington, Paris, London, Moscow, and Beijing.

Judicial appointments are an equally pressing issue, given that Lebanon’s judiciary has been nearly paralyzed due to vacancies in key positions. The Supreme Judicial Council has been nonfunctional since September 2024, an unprecedented situation in the country’s history. The appointment of a new Financial Prosecutor, the president of the Judicial Inspection Authority, and members of the Judicial Council is seen as essential to restoring the judiciary’s effectiveness. Once the Supreme Judicial Council is reconstituted, it is expected to implement long-delayed judicial appointments.

Most Viewed

 
Arab World

Lebanon’s PM Visits Syrian President to Discuss Border Demarcation and Security

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
TT
20
TT

Lebanon’s PM Visits Syrian President to Discuss Border Demarcation and Security

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam led a high-level ministerial delegation to Syria on Monday for talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, marking the most significant diplomatic visit between the two countries since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December.

"My visit to Damascus today aims to open a new page in the history of relations between the two countries, based on mutual respect, restoring trust, good neighborliness," Salam said in a statement on X.

At the center of discussions was implementing a March 28 agreement signed in Saudi Arabia by the Syrian and Lebanese defense ministers to demarcate land and sea borders and improve coordination on border security issues, Salam said in the statement.

The Lebanese-Syrian border witnessed deadly clashes earlier this year and years of unrest in the frontier regions, which have been plagued by weapons and illicit drug smuggling through illegal crossings.

During Monday’s meeting, Salam and Sharaa agreed to form a joint ministerial committee to oversee the implementation of the border agreement, close illegal crossings and suppress smuggling activity along the border.

The border area, especially near Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and Syria’s Qusayr region, has long been a corridor for illicit trade, arms trafficking, and the movement of fighters — including Hezbollah fighters who backed the Assad government during Syria’s 14-year civil war.

Hezbollah has been significantly weakened in its recent war with Israel and since Assad's ousting, it lost several key smuggling routes it once relied on for weapons transfers.

Lebanon also pressed Syria to provide clarity on the fate of thousands of Lebanese nationals who were forcibly disappeared or imprisoned in Syrian jails in the 1980s and 1990s, during Syria’s nearly 30-year military presence in Lebanon. Human rights groups have long documented the lack of accountability and transparency regarding these cases, with families of the missing holding regular demonstrations in Beirut demanding answers.

Syrian officials for their part raised the issue of Syrian nationals detained in Lebanese prisons, Salam said. Many of the detainees were arrested for illegal entry or alleged involvement in militant activity. Rights advocates in both countries have criticized the lack of due process in many of these cases and the poor conditions inside detention facilities.

Lebanon pledged to hand over people implicated in crimes committed by the Assad government and security forces, many of whom are believed to have fled to Lebanon after the government’s collapse, if found on Lebanese soil, a ministerial source told The Associated Press.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to publicly comment.

In return, Lebanese officials requested the extradition of Syrians wanted in Lebanese courts for high-profile political assassinations, "most notably those involved in the bombing of the Al-Taqwa and Al-Salam mosques, those convicted of assassinating President Bashir Gemayel, and other crimes for which the Assad regime is accused," Salam said.

For decades, Lebanon witnessed a long series of politically motivated assassinations targeting journalists, politicians and security officials, particularly those opposed to Syrian influence. The 2013 twin bombings of the Al-Taqwa and Al-Salam mosques in Tripoli in northern Lebanon killed more than 40 people and intensified sectarian tensions already heightened by the spillover from the Syrian war.

Syria has never officially acknowledged involvement in any of Lebanon’s political assassinations.

Salam said he also pushed for renewed cooperation on the return of Syrian refugees.

Lebanese government officials estimate the country hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, of whom about 755,000 are officially registered with the UN refugee agency, or UNHCR, making it the country with the highest number of refugees per capita in the world.

While Lebanese authorities have long urged the international community to support large-scale repatriation efforts, human rights organizations have cautioned against forced returns, citing ongoing security concerns and a lack of guarantees in Syria.

Since the fall of Assad in December, an estimated 400,000 refugees have returned to Syria from neighboring countries, according to UNHCR, with about half of them coming from Lebanon, but many are hesitant to return because of the dire economic situation and fears of continuing instability in Syria.