Will Hassan Diab Succeed in Satisfying Lebanese People Demands?

Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab said, on Friday evening, that he would intensify the pace of consultations he is holding to form a new government in order to reach the outcomes that the Lebanese people hope for.

In a statement, Diab called for a "new process similar to the will of the people", stressing that the demands of the protesters in their popular uprising are right as these demands constitute a basis for building a new country.

On Thursday December 19, 2019, Diab was designated as the prime minister of Lebanon to succeed Saad Hariri after winning the majority of parliamentary votes; he also was assigned to form a new government.

Following the binding parliamentary consultations conducted by President Michel Aoun, at Baabda's presidential palace, Diab won 69 votes, while Ambassador Nawaf Salam received 13 votes, and Professor Dr. Halima al-Kaakour received only one vote.

Who is Diab?

Hassan Diab is a university professor with a very short political experience, he does not belong to any political party.

Diab, 60, went into politics for the first time in 2011, as Minister of Education after Hezbollah overthrew the government of Saad Hariri at this period amid an acute political crisis.

The appointment of the vice-president of the American University of Beirut as a prime minister of Lebanon came in the wake of a severe political crisis and an accelerated economic and financial collapse that raised the anger of the Lebanese people who have been demonstrating for more than two months against the political authority.

Diab has a long academic experience, since joining the American University of Beirut in 1985, as a lecturer and researcher, then he became the Vice President of the university, in addition to the political experience he gained from 2011 till 2014.

With the rapid economic deterioration, Diab’s task in forming a government that satisfies the demands of the Lebanese people will not be easy at all, especially with the international community’s requirement to provide any financial support to Lebanon through forming a reformist government.