Lebanon is a small country located in Western Asia and is considered a part of the Middle East. You may have heard of the country in recent times due to last year’s massive Beirut port explosion, its recent antigovernment protests, and the activities of the Hezbollah Shia Islamist militant group and political party within the country, which is thought to have a powerful sway over the country’s government and politics.
The country is bordered with Israel, the occupied Golan Heights, and Syria, the border with Israel is a particular flashpoint between Hezbollah, other affiliated militant groups, and the Israeli military and security forces. Lebanon also has a coast along the Mediterranean Sea, with Turkey, Cyprus, and Egypt not far. Lebanon’s capital city Beirut is located on the central coast.
Evidence of human civilization in the area dates back at least seven thousand years which goes beyond recorded history. The Phoenicians also originated in the area; a maritime cultural people who would exist for close to three millennia. The Roman Empire would later conquer the area in 64 BC. The Maronite Eastern Catholic Church originated in the area, with the religion persisting to this day. Arab Muslims would conquer the Levant next which included Lebanon, and in the 11th Century another major religion of the area would emerge, known as Druze, which would spawn a number of powerful feudal families.
Crusades had attempted to return the area to Christian control, but only the First Crusade had any kind of success but would not last, with the Ottoman Empire conquering the area in the 16th Century and who would go on to rule the area for the next four centuries, during this time the area enjoyed partial autonomy under emirates. The Ottomans took direct control from 1865, during this time early nationalist elements would emerge against Ottoman rule, with a civil war in 1860 and rebellion in 1866, a prominent figure of this time was Youssef Bey Karam and these events are seen as the earliest points of Lebanese nationalist resistance.
Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire following World War I the state of Greater Lebanon was established under the French Mandate of Lebanon and Syria. The unrecognized state of the Arab Kingdom of Syria claimed Lebanese territory as their own but this was put to an end following the Franco-Syrian War, defeating the self-proclaimed Arab Kingdom and capitulating the Hashemites.
Greater Lebanon would later be formed into the Lebanese Republic by the French in 1926 giving it a constitution and a democratic parliamentary system of government, although France kept this Republic under their colonial watch. The country gained a degree of independence when France was occupied by Nazi Germany during World War 2, during this time the Vichy French regime would play a major role towards Lebanon’s independence, the Vichy government also allowed Nazis to use the territory of Syria and Iraq.
The British feared Nazi control over Lebanon and Syria due to what it saw as a weak Vichy regime beholden to the Nazis, and so the British invaded and occupied Lebanon and Syria. Charles de Gaulle would later visit Lebanon, but political pressure from Allies and elements within Lebanon led to the French under de Gaulle recognising Lebanon’s independence. Despite this it was announced that Lebanon would become independent under the authority of the Free French government, but elections in 1943 installed a government that rejected the mandate, which in turn led to France imprisoning the elected Lebanese government, but were forced to later release them under international pressure.
The region would be occupied by Allied forces until the end of World War 2. After this Lebanon managed to secure its independence from the French mandate by joining the newly formed United Nations, which under UN rules terminated such mandates. In turn French forces withdrew from the country in December 1946.
Upon independence Lebanon was a country balanced between Maronite Christians, Shia Muslims, Sunni Muslims, and Greek Orthodox Christians. The country would see brief prosperity and would support its Arab neighbors during the Arab-Israeli War. The war led to around 100,000 Palestinians fleeing to Lebanon, with 100s of thousands more coming into the country over the next decades, the majority of which are stateless and within refugee camps.
In 1958 religious and political tensions would lead to the Lebanon Crisis, with Lebanese Muslims wanting to have Lebanon join the United Arab Republic, a short-lived union between Syria and Egypt. The Lebanese government requested assistance to bring the situation under control, with 5,000 US Marines deploying to the country to restore order, following this a new government was formed.
Further Palestinians entered into Lebanon from 1970 after the Palestinian Liberation Organisation was defeated in Jordan, leading to more religious, factional and political tensions and a Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon against Israel. These mounting tensions would eventually lead to the breaking out of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975, with Christian groups fighting against the Palestine Liberation Organisation, left-wing Druze, and Muslim militias. President Sarkis would request assistance on the side of the Christians from the Syrian Army in 1976 with the aim of restoring peace.
The Arab League later agreed to establish a predominantly Syrian Arab Deterrent Force with a mission of restoring calm to Lebanon. During the civil war the forces of the Palestine Liberation Organisation also launched attacks against Israel, leading to Israel invading Lebanon in 1978 in Operation Litani, also known as the 1978 South Lebanon Conflict. The UN Security Council would pass a resolution asking Israeli forces to withdraw from the area and put together a UN Interim force to attempt to establish peace. Israeli forces would withdraw later in 1978, although maintained control of the Southern region via backing the South Lebanon Army.
But continued fighting between the two sides would see Israel invade again in 1982, called Operation Peace for Galilee or the 1982 Lebanon War, with an aim to support Lebanese forces in pushing out the Palestine Liberation Organisation. A multi-national force of American, French, Italian, and later British forces would deploy to supervise the evacuation of the PLO. The ongoing civil war also flared back up again after the Lebanese President Bashir Gemayel was assassinated, who was supported by Israel. A catastrophic truck bomb attack against the multinational force would also lead to its withdrawal in 1984.
Differences between religious and political elements prevented a new President from being elected and an Arab League Summit in 1989 formed the Saudi-Morrocon-Algerian committee to try and solve the crisis. This led to an accepted peace deal and ceasefire that brought an end to the civil war in 1990 and the Lebanese Parliament agreed to the Taif Agreement, outlining a timetable for Syrian withdrawal and formula of de-confessionalization of Lebanon’s political system which led to equalizing seats reserved for Christians and Muslims in Parliament which had originally favoured Christians despite the country being majority Muslim. The war had also devastated the country, of which affects still linger to this day.
Some sporadic fighting also did continue on between Israel and other Lebanese resistance such as Hezbollah, the Amal Movement, and the Lebanese Communist Party.
Following the civil war and Israel’s withdrawal, continued Syrian military pressure was criticized and resisted against by the Lebanese population. In 2005 former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was killed in a car bombing. The March 14 Alliance formed in 2005, a coalition of parties and independents with an anti-Syria stance accused Syria of the assassination, while the March 8 Alliance also formed in 2005, a coalition of parties and independents with a pro-Syria stance accused Israel of it. Other high profile political assassinations would follow that of Hariri in Lebanon.
The assassination of Hariri specifically caused the Cedar Revolution, which demanded Syrian forces to withdraw and an international commission to investigate the Hariri assassination. Due to this and international pressure Syrian troops did withdraw by 26th April 2005.
In 2006 Hezbollah launched rocket attacks and raids against Israel and killed a number of Israeli soldiers, and took others hostage demanding release of Lebanese prisoners, Israel responded with its own strikes and an invasion of Southern Lebanon starting the 2006 Lebanon War, which was ended by a UN ordered ceasefire in August of the same year.
Since that time Lebanon remained highly unstable and faced a number of other internal conflicts between militant groups and government forces as well as general civil unrest against the Government and perceived western influenced Government leaders and members. The 2008 Conflict in Lebanon between Hezbollah and Amal forces following the Government’s declaration that Hezbollah’s communications network was illegal, the war led to the Doha Agreement which saw the government cave to the opposition forces demands, it also ended 18 months of political stalemate by implementing a national unity government and granting veto power to the opposition. This government would collapse in 2011 after expectation of Hezbollah being indicted for the Hariri assassination, which they deny and accuse Israel of.
From 2012 the spillover from the Syrian Civil War threatened to throw Lebanon into further turmoil, leading to armed clashes, sectarian violence, and a mass influx of Syrian refugees, Hezbollah forces also entered Syria to fight on the side of the Bashar Al-Assad’s government forces. And finally, from 2019 there was further civil unrest over economic issues, the pressure of the coronavirus pandemic, and yet further turmoil following the 2020 Beirut port explosion, causing further economic and political crises and a possible fuel shortage crisis.
The official language is Arabic and French, with the local vernacular language being Lebanese Arabic. The largest ethnic group is Arabic and the largest religion is Islam, with their being slightly more Sunnis than Shias, there is also a significant number of Christians in the country with the largest being the Maronites and around 8% Orthodox. Druze make up just over 5% of the population. The country’s currency is the Lebanese pound and the country’s population is over 6,796,960.
Government Type
Lebanon is a democratic parliamentary republic with a President who is Head of State and a Prime Minister who is Head of Government. There is also a system of confessionalism actively in practice whereby the highest offices are proportionally reserved for representatives from certain religious communities. There is a unicameral parliament called the Parliament of Lebanon that makes up the legislative government. Multiple parties are allowed.
The Executive Government
The President
The President is the Head of State and has a number of powers at his/her disposal. The President ensures the constitution is respected, the maintenance of Lebanon’s independence, its unity, and its territorial integrity in accordance with provisions of the Constitution.
The President can call an extraordinary session of the Parliament. The President must also convene an extraordinary session of the Parliament if at least an absolute majority of its members request such.
The President chairs the Higher Defence Council and is the Commander-in-Chief of the country’s armed forces, although in practice the authority of the armed forces is subject to the Council of Ministers.
The President signs legislation into law that has been passed by the Chamber of Deputies. Before this the President has the right to send legislation back for reconsideration with first having informed the Council of Ministers which cannot be refused, if the bill is passed again via an absolute majority then the law must be signed by the President.
The President assumes negotiations to sign international treaties and ratifies them with the consent of the Prime Minister, after approval of the Council of Ministers. Treaties and agreements are brought to the attention of the Chamber of Deputies, as soon as safety and interest of the State permits. Treaties that involve provisions relating to State finances, trade treaties, and other treaties that cannot be annulled on a yearly basis, must be approved by the Chamber of Deputies before being ratified.
The President can preside over meetings of the Council of Ministers whenever he/she wishes, but cannot vote on its topics.
The President appoints the Head of Government following parliamentary elections who is in charge of consulting with the President of the Chamber of Deputies with respect to representative mandatory consultations, these results are officially reported to him/her.
The President promulgates a decree appointing the Prime Minister separately.
With consent of the Prime Minister the President promulgates the decree to form the Government, and decrees to accept the resignations or dismissals of Ministers.
The President independently promulgates decrees to accept resignation of the Government or to consider it resigning.
The President receives ambassadors and accepts their accreditation.
The President can grant special pardons by decree, but general pardons can only be granted by law.
The President presents any urgent matters to the Council of Ministers, outside of their agenda.
In agreement with the Head of Government, the President calls the Council of Ministers to extraordinary sessions, as he/she deems necessary.
Decisions made by the President must be countersigned by the Head of Government and the Minister or Ministers concerned to have effect. This excludes nomination of Head of Government and decree accepting the Government’s resignation or considering it resigned.
The President can ask the Council of Ministers to reconsider any of the decisions it has made within 15 days of the date of depositing it with the President. If Council of Ministers insists on its decision, or if the time limit expires without promulgating the decree or returning it, then the decision on the decree is considered in force, and must be published.
The President can adjourn sittings of the Chamber of Deputies for no longer than a month, and of which cannot be done more than twice in the same session.
Presidential Removal
The President can be charged for public law breaking, breaking the Constitution, and for high treason only when at least two-thirds majority of the members of the Chamber of Deputies decides to pursue as such. If this vote reaches the required majority the President is impeached and will be suspended from the presidency, which stays vacant, until the case is decided on by the Supreme Court.
While the presidency is vacant its functions are taken up by the Council of Ministers.
The Supreme Council has 15 judges, seven of whom are elected by members of the Parliament, and eight who are of the highest-rank Lebanese judges according to the judicial hierarchy, or according to seniority if there are equal ranks. Impeachment is decided by a majority of 10 votes.
Prime Minister and Government
The Prime Minister is the Head of Government and is appointed by the President dependent on the outcome of parliamentary elections and any possible coalition outcomes. The Council of Ministers also makes up the Government and is its highest decision-making body, the Ministers of this body can be chosen either from among members of Parliament or outside of it, members of Parliament chosen to be Ministers do not have to resign their seat.
The Prime Minister represents and speaks in the name of the Government. The Prime Minister is responsible for executing public policy made by the Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister conducts the representative consultations for the formation of the Government, and countersigns with the President of the Republic, the decree of its formation. The Government’s ministerial program must be presented to the Chamber of Deputies for a vote of confidence within thirty days from the date of the promulgation of the decree of formation.
Government cannot assume its functions before a vote of confidence, nor after its resignation, nor after considering it resigned, apart from in the narrow sense to manage business.
To remain in power the Prime Minister and Government must maintain the confidence of the Chamber of Deputies, they are all collectively responsible for their actions. The Government is also considered resigned if the Head of Government resigns, if the Government loses a third of the number of its members, if the Head of Government dies, when the President of the Republic takes office, or at the beginning of the term of the Chamber of Deputies.
The Prime Minister and other Ministers can also be charged with high treason or violation of duties assigned to them by the Chamber of Deputies in a two-thirds vote, this impeaches the Prime Minister or Minister in question, the charges will then go before the Supreme Council.
The Prime Minister presides over the Council of Ministers and is the Vice-President of the Supreme Council of Defense.
The Prime Minister presents the public policy of the Government to the Chamber of Deputies.
The Prime Minister countersigns decisions of the President of the Republic for them to have effect. The Prime Minister also signs decrees to open extraordinary sessions and the decrees promulgating the laws and the request to reconsider them.
The Prime Minister convenes the Council of Ministers and elaborates its agenda, notifies the President of the Republic of the topics being discussed in advance.
Executive power is vested in the Council of Ministers and it also has authority over the country’s armed forces. The Council of Ministers have numerous jobs and duties. They elaborate public policy for the State in all fields, as well as the bills and organisational decrees, and take the necessary steps for their implementation.
The Council of Ministers takes care of the enforcement of laws and orders, oversees functions of the State apparatus, such as administrations and civil, military, and security organisations, without exception.
The Council of Ministers appoints State employees, dismisses them, and accepts their resignations, according to law.
The Council of Ministers dissolves the Chamber of Deputies at the request of the President of the Republic due to the following reasons, if the Chamber has abstained, for other than compelling reasons, from convening during an ordinary session, or during two extraordinary successive sessions, not less than one month each, or in the case of rejecting the State budget as a whole for the purpose of paralyzing the hand of the Government to act. This right/power cannot be exercised another time for the same reasons which lead to the dissolution of the Chamber in the first time.
The quorum for the Council of Ministers is for two-thirds of its members to be present. Decisions of the Council of Ministers are taken by consent, but if this is not possible, then instead by voting, decisions are taken by a majority vote, excluding things coming under Basic Issues which require a two-thirds majority to consent/vote.
Basic Issues include amendment of the Constitution, declaring and canceling a State of emergency, war and peace, public mobilization, international accords and treaties, state budget, overall development plans, and long term, appointing employees of the first cadre and its equivalent, reconsidering the redistricting, dissolving the Chamber of Deputies, elections law, nationality law, personal affairs law, and dismissing the Ministers.
Ministers direct and oversee their departments, managing State interests, responsible for implementing laws and orders within their competence and jurisdiction. They have responsbility for their personal actions and all Ministers are collectively responsible before the Chamber of Deputies for the State public policy.
Ministers cannot simply just be removed and replaced, dismissing a Minister from their position requires the Council of Ministers to a Confidence vote on the Minister in question, a two-thirds majority is required for them to resign, in this case the President of the Republic signs a decree dismissing the Minister which is countersigned by the Prime Minister. This shows that the Prime Minister, although Head of Government, does not have outright authority and the opinion of the Council of Ministers plays a strong role.
The Legislative Government
The Parliament of Lebanon is a unicameral parliament known as the Chamber of Deputies which currently has 128 members. Its main purpose is to have legislation introduced to it, for such to be debate, possibly amended and either passed or rejected, the Parliament also votes on the annual Srtate Budget. Legislation can be introduced by members of the Chamber of Deputies and by the Council of Ministers. The Chamber of Deputies also has the job of electing the country’s President every 6-years, explained in greater detail under the Electoral System section below.
Closed sessions of the Parliament may be held at the request of the Government or at least five members of the Parliament. Seats that become vacant should hold an election within two months, the person elected serves out the remainder of the term. If the seat becomes vacant six months before the next general election then the election for the seat will take place at that election.
Members may only be removed on a resolution supported by at least a two-thirds majority for reasons supported by the constitution. If the Parliament is dissolved fresh elections must be held within three months.
There is a President and Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies, they are elected separately and by absolute majority to serve the same term as the Parliamentary term. If voting reaches a 3rd round then the winner is based upon proportional majority. If votes are equal, the oldest candidate is considered elected. The President of the Chamber of Deputies keeps order and ensures rules are abided, and represents the Chamber of Deputies in an impartial manner.
The President and Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies can be removed only after two years having served, can remove one or the other, only once, by a majority of two-thirds based upon a petition signed by at least 10-members. The position will then be elected again.
After each renewal and at the October session each year two secretaries are also elected via the same rules.
The Electoral System
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Presidential elections happen every 6-years, candidates are nominated by the Chamber of Deputies and then elected by a two-thirds majority in the first round, if no one reaches that then the winner is determined by absolute majority in a second round. The same person who served as President cannot be nominated again for consecutive terms, but can be nominated again after having waited a term.
Parliamentary elections are meant to take place every 4-years to elect the 128 members of Parliament, members are elected using a proportional representation system from multi-seat constituencies. The system also goes by confessional distribution whereby a number of seats are reserved for recognised religious communities, specifically an equal Christian and Muslim balance, with the largest number of seats held by Maronite Christians, Sunni Muslims, and Shia Muslims, the three largest religious groups in the country.
There exists a Constitutional Council which has a job of reviewing the constitutionality of legislation, and decide on protests and disputes that result from presidential and representative elections. Those who can resort to this council are the President of the Republic, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, the Prime Minister, members of the Chamber of Deputies, and the Heads of legally recognised sects. Organization, functioning and composition of this Council is decided by law and not set by the constitution.
To vote in elections one must be a Lebanese citizen who is at least 21-years-old. Voting is not mandatory.
Sources
The source for this post comes from Lebanon’s 1926 constitution with amendments through to 2004 (constituteproject.org) and so should be as up to date as possible but as always there is a chance I missed some things or misinterpreted other things and the constitution can be amended again and that may lead to this post eventually becoming outdated, and so cross research is recommended if using this seriously.
Amendments to the constitution can be proposed by the President of the Republic and then introduced as a Government bill to the country’s parliament, adoption requires a two-thirds majority in Parliament.
An amendment can also be proposed by at least 10-members of the Parliament supported by a two-thirds majority of all members legally constituting the chamber to introduce it. The proposal is then reviewed and approval by at least two-thirds majority of the Government Cabinet is required, if this is approved it is then submitted to the Cabinet for drafting as an amendment and introduced to the Chamber which requires a two-thirds majority to adopt it and promulgation by the President of the Republic.
The Cabinet can reject a proposal from the Chamber for an amendment and send it back for review of the Chamber, if a three-fourths majority of members insist on the amendment then the President of the Republic can either respond to the wish, or ask the Council of Ministers to dissolve the Chamber for fresh elections. If after elections the new Chamber still insists on the amendment, the Government must then introduce the amendment within four months, adoption by Chamber requires two-thirds majority.
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