Lebanon
Political Profile
Lebanon was under French control until securing
independence in 1943. According to the National Pact, an unwritten agreement concluded at
independence, power was divided between the country's various religious groupings, with a
Sunni Muslim as prime minister, a Maronite Christian as president and a Shi'ite Muslim as
National Assembly Speaker.
Civil war broke out in 1958, with Muslim factions rising
against the government headed by President Camille Chamoun. At Chamoun's request President
Eisenhower sent US troops to re-establish the government's authority.
After the Arab defeat by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967,
exiled Palestinians began to set up bases in Lebanon. Israel responded by attacking both
the Palestinians and Lebanese targets. Mounting tension between Muslim and leftist groups
on the one hand and Christians on the other erupted into civil war in 1975. The conflict,
in which Israeli, Syrian and Palestinian forces played significant roles, ended in October
1990. Israeli forces finally withdrew from south Lebanon in May 2000 after 22 years of
occupation.
Under the Taif Accord of 1989, formal executive power moved
from the president to the Council of Ministers, headed by the prime minister. The deal
effectively transferred executive authority from the head of the main Christian Community
to the head of a Muslim community, thus settling one of the main issues behind the civil
war.
Up to late 2004 power was in the hands of President Émile
Lahoud, Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri and National Assembly Speaker Nabih Birri.
Relations between the three were frequently strained as each competed to promote his own
political agenda. Al-Hariri, who had been locked in a power struggle with Lahoud for
several years, resigned in October 2004 and insisted that he would not lead the new
government. His withdrawal followed parliament's decision in the previous month to defy a
UN resolution and approve a Syrian-backed proposal to extend Lahoud's six-year term by a
further three years. Al-Hariri was succeeded by the pro-Syrian Omar Karami.
In February 2005 Al-Hariri was killed in a huge bomb blast
in Beirut. Although Lebanon's opposition blamed Syria for the former prime minister's
death, Syria denied responsibility and condemned the attack. However, mass anti-Syrian
demonstrations, backed by US and UN pressure, led Damascus to withdraw all its troops from
Lebanon by the end of April, thereby ending 29 years of military and political dominance.
Karami's ultimate failure to form a government of national
unity led to a political stalemate lasting several weeks. The impasse was ended in April
with the appointment of Najib Mikati, a moderate pro-Syrian legislator, as prime minister
and the subsequent creation of a new, slimmed-down government.
Four-stage legislative elections which ended on 19 June saw
the creation of the first Lebanese parliament since the civil war not controlled by
pro-Syrian factions. An anti-Syrian alliance led by Saad Hariri, the son of late Prime
Minister Rafic, secured 72 seats in the 128-member assembly.
On July 19, 2005, former Finance Minister and a close
friend, aide and ally of late Lebano0n Prome Minister Rafic Hariri formed a 24-member
cabinet that scored an all time 120-deputy conference vote by the Lebanese Parliament
As well as dealing with fresh sectarian tensions, the new
order will have to face the challenge of Lebanon's burdensome debt and decide how to deal
with a UN call for the disarmament of militias - notably the Hizbollah group, which is
widely supported for its campaign against Israel.
The 1975-1990 war seriously damaged Lebanon's
infrastructure; it also cut the country's national output by 50% and virtually ended its
role as a Middle Eastern banking hub. Although Lebanon has rebuilt much of its physical
and financial infrastructure, its government still faces serious challenges in the
economic arena. |
