You have acted as the Lebanese Ambassador to the Untied Nations during very exciting times, when political and economic powers have been shifting worldwide. What can you tell us about the changes you have witnessed?

There is only one Arab seat on the 15-member United Nations Security Council, which rotates every two years among the 22 Arab countries. That means Lebanon is offered the seat only once every 44 years. It can only be called serendipitous, then, that when the most sweeping change to come to the Arab world in the modern era began in early 2011, Lebanon was in this seat. Nawaf Salam, the permanent representative of Lebanon to the United Nations, sat with Executive in New York to discuss what it was like being privy to, and influential in, the international power plays that took place in constructing the collective global response to these historic times in our region. They are indeed exciting times. First… it was a big challenge. You may recall the Lebanese political establishment was divided as to whether we should go for the seat in the Security Council or