Government & politics — Lebanon

• history: drafted 15 May 1926,
• adopted 23 May 1926 amendments: proposed by the president of the republic and introduced as a government bill to the National Assembly or proposed by at least 10 members of the Assembly and agreed upon by two thirds of its members; if proposed by the National Assembly, review and approval by two-thirds majority of the Cabinet is required; if approved, the proposal is next submitted to the Cabinet for drafting as an amendment; Cabinet approval requires at least two-thirds majority, followed by submission to the National Assembly for discussion and vote; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of a required two-thirds quorum of the Assembly membership and promulgation by the president; amended several times, last in 2004

mixed legal system of civil law based on the French civil code, Ottoman legal tradition, and religious laws covering personal status, marriage, divorce, and other family relations of the Jewish, Islamic, and Christian communities

• chief of state: Pr
• Prime Minister Nawaf SALAM (since 8 February 2025) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the pre
• sident and the National Assembly election/appointment process: president indirectly elected by a qualified majority of two-thirds of Parliament members in the first round and, if needed, a two-thirds quorum of members by simple-majority popular vote for a 6-year term (eligible for non-consecutive terms); prime minister appointed by the president in cons
• ultation with the National Assembly most recent election date: 9
• January 2025 election results: 2025: Joseph AOUN elected president in second round;
• National Assembly vote - 99 of 128 2016: Michel AWN elected president in second round; National Assembly vote - Michel AWN (FPM) 83; the president elected in its 46
• th attempt on 31 October 2016 expected date of next election: 2031

Description

unicameral Lebanese Parliament or Majlis al-Nuwab in Arabic, Chambre des députés in French (128 seats; members directly elected in multi-member constituencies by open list proportional representation vote, apportioned evenly between Christian and Muslims; members serve 4-year terms)

Elections

last held on 15 May 2022 (next to be held in May 2026)

Election Results

• percent of vote by coalition/party – NA
• seats by party/coalition – FPM 16, LF 14, Amal Movement 13, Hezbollah 13, PSP 9, FM (candidates did not run in 2022
• members ran as independents) 8, Kata’ib Party 4, other 30, independent 21;

Composition

men 120, women 8, percent of women 6.3%;

Note

a dozen of the elected deputies are from groups pushing for reform with origins in the recent protest movements against the established elite and have formed a group called the "Forces of Change"

Note

Lebanon’s constitution states the Lebanese Parliament cannot conduct regular business until it elects a president when the position is vacant

• highest court(s): Court of Cassation or Supreme Court (organized into 8 chambers, each with a presiding judge and 2 associate judges); Constitutional Counci
• l (consists of 10 members) judge selection and term of office: Court of Cassation judges appointed by Supreme Judicial Council, a 10-member body headed by the chief justice, and includes other judicial officials; judge tenure NA; Constitutional Council members appointed - 5 by the Council of Ministers and 5 by parliament;
• members serve 5-year terms subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; Courts of First Instance; specialized tribunals, religious courts; military courts

• Al-Ahbash (Association of Islamic Charitable Projects) or AICP [Shaykh Hussam QARAQIRA]
• Amal Movement ("Hope Movement") [Nabih BERRI]
• Azm Movement [Najib MIQATI]
• Ba’th Arab Socialist Party of Lebanon [leader disputed]
• Free Patriotic Movement or FPM [Gibran BASSIL]
• Future Movement Bloc or FM [Sa'ad al-HARIRI] (resigned from politics in January 2022)
• Hizballah [Hassan NASRALLAH]
• Islamic Action Front or IAF [Sheikh Zuhayr al-JU’AYD]
• Kata'ib Party [Sami GEMAYEL]
• Lebanese Democratic Party [Talal ARSLAN]
• Lebanese Forces or LF [Samir JA'JA]
• Marada Movement [Sulayman FRANJIEH]
• Progressive Socialist Party or PSP [Taymour JUMBLATT] (JUMBLATT is also a member of Parliament)
• Social Democrat Hunshaqian Party [Sabuh KALPAKIAN]
• Syrian Social Nationalist Party or SSNP [Rabi BANAT]
• Tashnaq or Armenian Revolutionary Federation [Hagop PAKRADOUNIAN]

• 21 years of age
• authorized for all men and women regardless of religion
• excludes persons convicted of felonies and other crimes or those imprisoned
• excludes all military and security service personnel regardless of rank

• no citizenship by descent only: the fa
• yes residency requirement for naturalization: unknown

ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

chief of mission

Ambassador Dorothy C. SHEA (since 11 March 2020) embassy: Awkar-Facing the Municipality, Main Street, Beirut mailing address: 6070 Beirut Place, Washington DC 20521-6070

telephone

[961] (04) 543-600

FAX

[961] (4) 544-019

Email address and website

• BeirutACS@state.gov
• https://lb.usembassy.gov/

chief of mission

Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Wael HACHEM, Counselor (since 15 March 2021)

chancery

2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone

[1] (202) 939-6300

FAX

[1] (202) 939-6324

Email address and website

• info@lebanonembassyus.org
• http://www.lebanonembassyus.org/

consulate(s) general

Detroit, New York, Los Angeles