Lebanon is a parliamentary democratic republic within the overall framework of confessionalism, a form of consociationalism in which the highest offices are proportionately reserved for representatives from certain religious communities. The constitution of Lebanon grants the people the right to change their government. However, from the mid-1970s until the parliamentary elections in 1992, the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990) precluded the exercise of political rights.
Elias Hrawi was president of Lebanon, whose term of office ran from 1989 to 1998.
The Taif Agreement, officially known as the National Reconciliation Accord, was reached to provide "the basis for the ending of the civil war and the return to political normalcy in Lebanon". Negotiated in Taif, Saudi Arabia, it was designed to end the decades-long Lebanese Civil War, reassert Lebanese government authority in southern Lebanon, which was controlled at the time by the Christian-separatist South Lebanon Army under the occupational hegemony of Israel. Though the agreement set a time frame for withdrawal of Syrian military forces from Lebanon, stipulating that the Syrian occupation end within two years, Syria did not withdraw its forces from the country until 2005. It was signed on 22 October 1989 and ratified by the Lebanese parliament on 5 November 1989.
Samir Farid Geagea is a Lebanese politician and militia commander who has been leading the Lebanese Forces party and dissolved militia since 1986.
Michel Naim Aoun is a Lebanese politician and former military general who served as the President of Lebanon from 31 October 2016 until 30 October 2022.
Selim Ahmed Hoss is a veteran Lebanese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon and a longtime Member of Parliament representing his hometown, Beirut. He is known as a technocrat.
Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir was the patriarch of Lebanon's largest Christian body, the Maronite Church, an Eastern Catholic Church in communion with the Holy See. He was also given the honorific title of cardinal. He was elected Patriarch of Antioch for the Maronites on 27 April 1986, and his resignation was accepted on 26 February 2011. He was the 76th patriarch of the Maronite Church, with the official title of "His Beatitude the 76th Patriarch of Antioch and the Whole Levant".
The president of the Lebanese Republic is the head of state of Lebanon. The president is elected by the parliament for a term of six years, which cannot be renewed immediately because they can only be renewed non-consecutively. By convention, the president is always a Maronite Christian who fulfills the same requirements as a candidate for the house of representatives, as per article 49 of the Lebanese constitution.
The War of Liberation was a sub-conflict within the final phase of the Lebanese Civil War between 1989 and 1990, in which the Lebanese Army loyal to General and Prime Minister Michel Aoun, appointed by previous President Amine Gemayel and headquartered in eastern Beirut, fought against the western Beirut-based Syrian Armed Forces and the Lebanese Army loyal to President Elias Hrawi and Prime Minister Selim Hoss, appointed by the Taif Agreement. Aoun launched several offensives against the Lebanese Forces in an attempt to establish his authority over East Beirut. The conflict culminated on 13 October 1990, when the Syrian Army stormed Baabda Palace and other strongholds of Aoun, killing hundreds of Lebanese soldiers and civilians and ousting Aoun, marking the end of the Lebanese Civil War. Aoun survived and moved to France to live in exile.
An indirect presidential election was held in the Parliament of Lebanon on 25 May 2008, after the term of incumbent President Émile Lahoud expired on 24 November 2007 at midnight. General Michel Sleiman, the Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, was elected as the consensus candidate after months of delays in holding the election due to an ongoing political dispute.
The 8th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon) is a Lebanese Army unit that fought in the Lebanese Civil War, being active since its creation in January 1983.
A series of rounds in the Lebanese presidential election were held from 23 April 2014 until 31 October 2016. No candidate reached a two-thirds majority vote in the first round, and subsequent rounds failed to gain a quorum. Finally, in the forty-sixth round held on 31 October 2016, Michel Aoun, a Member of Parliament and formerly a disputed Prime Minister and Acting President in a rival government near the end of the Lebanese Civil War, was elected with 83 votes in Parliament. He took office the same day as the 13th President of Lebanon since independence in 1943.
The Second Republic is Lebanon's current republican system of government. It was established on 22 October 1989 by Lebanese political leaders and business people under the Taif Agreement.
An indirect presidential election was held in the Parliament of Lebanon on 13 October 1998, resulting in General Emile Lahoud being elected President of the Lebanese Republic.
The Council of Ministers of Lebanon is the executive body of the Republic of Lebanon. Its president is the Prime Minister of Lebanon, and it is appointed by the President of Lebanon and the Prime Minister of Lebanon. The appointed government also has to pass a confidence vote in the Parliament of Lebanon. As stipulated in Article 95 of the Lebanese constitution, there are two requirements for the council of ministers to be considered constitutional:
An indirect presidential election was held in the Parliament of Lebanon on 5 November 1989, resulting in Deputy René Moawad being elected President of the Lebanese Republic.
An indirect presidential election was held in the Parliament of Lebanon on 17 August 1970, resulting in Deputy Suleiman Frangieh being elected President of the Lebanese Republic.
An indirect presidential election was held in the Parliament of Lebanon on 8 May 1976, resulting in MP Élias Sarkis being elected President of the Lebanese Republic.
An indirect presidential election was held in the Parliament of Lebanon on 23 August 1982, resulting in Lebanese Forces leader Bachir Gemayel being elected President of the Lebanese Republic.
The 2022 Lebanese presidential election is an ongoing indirect election to elect the president of Lebanon following the expiration of term-limited incumbent Michel Aoun's mandate on 31 October 2022. The outgoing president has served since 31 October 2016, following the end of the 2-year presidential crisis.
