Tammam Salam, who was handed on Saturday the tough task of forming a new Lebanese government, comes from a family with a long legacy in the Lebanese politics.

Tammam Salam, who was handed on Saturday the tough task of forming a new Lebanese government, comes from a family with a long legacy in the Lebanese politics.

A Sunni Muslim -- as constitution dictates for Lebanon's prime ministers -- the new premier is a son of Saib Salam -- who himself held the job six times between 1952 and 1973 -- and a woman hailing from Damascus.

Known for his calm temperament, Salam, 67, was first elected a Beirut MP in 1996. He was re-elected in 1996.

Both times, he was on the Hariri electoral list -- firstly that of Rafiq Hariri, an ex-premier assassinated in 2005, and then on that of Rafiq's son, Saad.

Two weeks after Najib Mikati resigned as premier, Salam won almost all MPs' votes for the post, amid hopes he would help ease the country's stark divisions.

Garnering the backing he needs for now, his toughest challenge lies ahead -- forming a government that suits both the March 14 and March 8 movements.

In his first speech to the nation, Salam expressed a wish to safeguard fragile Lebanon from the impact of the raging conflict in neighboring Syria.

The newly appointed premier's grandfather was prominent during the Ottoman era and the French mandate period at the start of the 20th century.

During Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, which pitted Muslim militias allied to the Palestinians against Christian factions who rejected their presence in Lebanon, Saib Salam raised slogans such as "one Lebanon, not two" and "neither victors nor vanquished".

He is married to Lama Baddreddine and has three children.