Real name:
Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah (Republic of Lebanon)
Data code:
LE
Capital:
Beirut
5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah): Al Biqa, Al Janub, Ash Shamal, Beirut and Jabal Lubnan.
Independence:
22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration).
National holidays:
| New Year's Day | January 1rst |
| Islamic New Year | * May 18 |
| Ashoura | * May 27 |
| St. Maroun | February 9 |
| Birthday of the Prophet | * July 27 |
| Good Friday (West) | * April 5 |
| Easter Monday | * April 8 |
| Good Friday | * April 12 |
| Easter Monday | * April 15 |
| Labor Day | May 1rst |
| Martyr Day | May 6 |
| Virgin Mary Resurrection | August 15 |
| All Saints | November 1rst |
| Eid Al-Fitr | * February 1 |
| Independence Day | November 22 (1943) |
| Al Adha | * April 27 |
| Christmas | December 25 |
Legal system:
Mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.
Suffrage:
21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education
Executive branch:
By custom, the president is a Maronite Christian (elected by simple majority of parliament for 6-year term), the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shi'a Muslim
Chief of state: President Elias Hrawi (since 24 November 1989)
Head of government: Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri (since 22 October 1992)
Speaker of the legislature: President of the National Assembly Nabih Berri
Cabinet: The Cabinet is chosen by the president in consultation with the members of the National Assembly. The current cabinet was formed 1995.
Legislative branch:
unicameral
National Assembly:
(Arabic - Majlis Alnuwab, French - Assemblee Nationale) Lebanon's first legislative election in 20 years was held in the summer of 1992; the National Assembly is composed of 128 deputies, one-half Christian and one-half Muslim; its mandate expires in 1996.
Judicial branch:
Four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases
and one court for criminal cases).
Political parties and leaders:
Political party activity is organized along largely sectarian lines; numerous political groupings exist, consisting of individual political figures and followers motivated by religious, clan, and economic considerations.
History of the Political Parties
Member of:
ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Flag:
Three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red with a green and brown cedar tree centered in the white band.
Lebanon's Defense Forces
The Creation of the Lebanese Army
The Organization of the Lebanese Army
National Security
Branches:
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; including Army, Navy, and Air Force)
Manpower availability:
Males age 15-49: 827,267; fit for military service: 514,291 (1994 est.)
Males age 15-49: 889,517; fit for military service: 553,538 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures:
Exchange rate conversion - $271 million, 8.2% of GDP (1992 budget)
Exchange rate conversion - $278 million, 5.5% of GDP (1994 budget)
Source: CIA, World Fact Book 1994, 1996
Political Conditions:
In addition to its indigenous political
groupings, Lebanon contains branches of many
other political parties of the Arab world.
These cover the political spectrum from far
left to far right, from totally secular to
wholly religious and often are associated with
a particular religion or geographic region.
Palestinian refugees, numbering about 400,000
and predominantly Muslim, constitute an
important and sensitive minority.
Lebanese political parties are generally vehicles for powerful leaders whose followers are often of the same religious sect. The interplay for position and power among these leaders and groups produces a political tapestry of extraordinary complexity.
In the past, this system worked to produce a viable democracy. Recent events, however, have upset the delicate Muslim-Christian balance and resulted in a tendency for Christians and Muslims to group themselves for safety into distinct zones. All factions have called for a reform of the political system.
Some Christians favor political and administrative decentralization of the government, with separate Muslim and Christian sectors operating within the framework of a confederation. Muslims, for the most part, prefer a unified, central government with an enhanced share of power for themselves commensurate with their percentage of the population. The reforms of the Taif agreement moved in this latter direction.
Source: THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
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