Lebanon Government

What is the capital of Lebanon?

Country Name	Lebanon
Full Country Name	Lebanese Republic
Local - Long	Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah
Local - Short	Lubnan
Former Name	Greater Lebanon
Etymology- history of name	derives from the Semitic root "lbn" meaning "white" and refers to snow-capped Mount Lebanon
Government Type	parliamentary republic
Capital Name	Beirut
Capital - geographic coordinate	33 52 N, 35 30 E
Capital Time Difference	UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight Savings Time	+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Independence	22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
National Holiday	Independence Day, 22 November (1943)
Constitution	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

Lebanon Capital City Map

Source: Google Maps

Lebanon Government and Politics

Who is the president of Lebanon?

Executive Branch:	chief of state: president (vacant) head of government: Caretaker Prime Minister Najib MIQATI (since 20 September 2021) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and Parliament elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by Parliament with two-thirds majority vote in the first round and if needed absolute majority vote in a second round for a 6-year term (eligible for non-consecutive terms); last held on 31 October 2016 (presidential election ongoing as of mid-June 2023); prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with Parliament; deputy prime minister determined during cabinet formation election results: 2023: on 14 June 2023, Parliament failed in its twelfth attempt to elect a president; Parliament vote in the first round - Sulayman FRANJIEH (Marada Movement) 59, Jihad AZOUR (independent) 51; note - the Hezbollah bloc withdrew following the first round of voting and a second round was not possible since Parliament lacked the required 86-member quorum for a second round of voting 2016: Michel AWN elected president in second round; Parliament vote - Michel AWN (FPM) 83; note - in the initial election held on 23 April 2014, no candidate received the required two-thirds vote, and subsequent attempts failed because Parliament lacked the necessary quorum of 86 members to hold a vote; the president was finally elected in its 46th attempt on 31 October 2016
Citizenship Criteria:	citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Lebanon dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: unknown
Legal System:	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
Suffrage:	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
Legislative Branch:	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
Judicial Branch:	highest court(s): Court of Cassation or Supreme Court (organized into 8 chambers, each with a presiding judge and 2 associate judges); Constitutional Council (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
Regions or States:	8 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Aakkar, Baalbek-Hermel, Beqaa (Bekaa), Beyrouth (Beirut), Liban-Nord (North Lebanon), Liban-Sud (South Lebanon), Mont-Liban (Mount Lebanon), Nabatiye
Political Parties and Leaders:	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]
International Law Organization Participation:	has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
International Organization Participation:	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)
Diplomatic Representation in the US:	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
Diplomatic Representation from US:	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/

World Regions

Africa Asia Central America Europe Middle East North America Oceania South America The Caribbean

Most Popular

United States of America China France Italy Canada Spain India Brazil Mexico

All Countries

Afghanistan Akrotiri Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Clipperton Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Cook Islands Coral Sea Islands Costa Rica Cote d’Ivoire Croatia Cuba Curacao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Dhekelia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Gambia, The Gaza Strip Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Holy See Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Jan Mayen Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, North Korea, South Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Macedonia Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Sudan, South Suriname Svalbard Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States (US) Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands Wake Island Wallis and Futuna West Bank Western Sahara World Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe