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79-596: Key points of the agreement stipulate that: A Christian majority of 51% in the 1932 census was the underpinning of a government structure that gave the Christians control of the presidency, command of the armed forces, and a parliamentary majority. However, following a wider trend, the generally poorer Muslim population has increased faster than the richer Christians. Additionally, the Christians were emigrating in large numbers, further eroding their only marginal population edge, and it soon became clear that Christians wielded

158-657: A Chamber of Deputies chosen on a non-sectarian basis. It is commonly believed that once this Bicameral Parliament is established, the Senate would have a 1:1 Christian-to-Muslim ratio similarly to the current Parliament and the President of the Senate would be required to be a Druze, in accordance with the dictates of the National Pact. In 1922, the French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon assigned France control of

237-522: A census that ultimately determined political representation within the Lebanese government after acquiring independence through the National Pact. The census served not only to discover the ratios of different religious sects within Lebanon, ultimately determining the ratios within the government, but it also determined Lebanese citizenship through a focus on the documentation of immigrants as well. Because

316-691: A daughter Lalla Zineb. Mona Al Solh was formerly married to the Saudi Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz . She is the mother of the Prince Al Waleed bin Talal , Prince Khalid bin Talal and Princess Reema bint Talal. Bahija Al Solh Assad is married to Said Al Assad who is the former Lebanese ambassador to Switzerland and a former member of parliament. They have two sons and two daughters. His youngest daughter, Leila Al Solh Hamade,

395-473: A definition created by the Ottoman Empire defining it as a presence in Lebanon during August 1924, the last time when it would have been recorded. This made it difficult to assure that the resulting ratios produced by the census were entirely accurate to the demographics of the population. Because of this, some argued that the census itself was biased, that it was created with the intention of maintaining

474-593: A disintegrative effect on the country, closely linked to the political polarization that preceded the 1958 Lebanese crisis . Christians mostly sided with the Western world while Muslims, pan-Arabists, and leftists mostly sided with Soviet -aligned Arab countries . Fighting between Lebanese Christian militias and Palestinian insurgents , mainly from the Palestine Liberation Organization , began in 1975 and generated an alliance between

553-626: A disproportionate amount of power. As years passed without a new census, dissatisfaction with the government structure and sectarian rifts increased, eventually sparking the Lebanese Civil War . The Taif Agreement of 1989 changed the ratio of Parliament to 1:1 and reduced the power of the Maronite president; it also provided that eventually, the Parliament would become bicameral, with a Senate representing religious communities and

632-529: A position in the four-man cabinet that was subsequently formed. Estimates of the Phalange's membership by Yezid Sayigh and other academic sources put them at a few thousand. Non-academic sources tend to inflate the Phalanges membership. What should be kept in mind was that this insurrection was met with widespread disapproval by many Lebanese who wanted no part in the regional politics and many young men aided

711-416: A rapid demographic change and urbanization after its independence, the state could not deal with social inequality and public discontent, because of the rigid form of power-sharing which lacked flexibility to accommodate changes in society. Once power-sharing took its form, it became the political and economic interests of those in power to maintain the system. It is also argued that the National Pact cemented

790-741: A significant role in granting the blessing of the Arab League 's political committee to the All-Palestine Government during his second term. Solh escaped unhurt from an assassination attempt in March 1950. It was perpetrated by a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party . However, several months after leaving office, he was gunned down on 17 July 1951 at Marka Airport in Amman by members of

869-406: A sniper reportedly killed a popular figure in the city, the former Mayor of Sidon , Maarouf Saad . Many non-academic sources claim a government sniper killed Saad; however, there is no evidence to support such a claim, and it appears that whoever had killed him had intended that what began as a small and quiet demonstration to evolve into something more. The sniper targeted Saad right at the end of

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948-507: A status quo representation of Lebanon as a Western Euro-American Allied Christian nation and helped maintain the power of the current elites. This becomes increasingly important as the 1932 Lebanese census became the basis for the creation of all of the ratios defined within the National Pact, perpetuating power of the Maronite Christians within the government in Lebanon. Because Maronite Christians were more closely aligned with

1027-480: A war could be fomented toward Israel. They participated in the fighting by directing armed forces against the government security in the city of Tripoli according to Yezid Sayigh 's work. In 1958, President Chamoun was unable to convince the Maronite army commander, Fuad Chehab , to use the armed forces against Muslim demonstrators, fearing that getting involved in internal politics would split his small and weak multi-confessional force. The Phalange militia came to

1106-702: A war with Chamoun, referred to as the War of the Pashas . In 1956, tensions with Egypt escalated when the non-aligned President, Camille Chamoun, did not break off diplomatic relations with the Western powers that attacked Egypt during the Suez Crisis , angering Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser . This was during the Cold War and Chamoun has often been called pro-Western, though he had signed several trade deals with

1185-554: Is why in later years the PLO guerrilla factions had found it easy to enter Lebanon and set up bases, as well as take over army barracks on the border with Israel as early as 1968. Early skirmishes saw the army lose control over its barracks to the PLO and lose many soldiers. Even prior to this, president Chamoun was aware of the country's vulnerability to outside forces. His Lebanese pan-Arabist Sunni Muslim Prime Minister Rashid Karami supported Nasser in 1956 and 1958. Lebanese Muslims pushed

1264-556: The Beqaa Valley in the east; and Druze and Christians populated the country's mountainous areas. At the time, the Lebanese government was under the influence of elites within the Maronite Christian community . The link between politics and religion was reinforced under the French Mandate from 1920 to 1943, and the country's parliamentary structure favoured a leading position for Lebanese Christians, who constituted

1343-560: The Cold War . Chamoun asked for assistance proclaiming that Communists were going to overthrow his government. Chamoun was responding not only to the revolt of former political bosses, but also to the fact that both Egypt and Syria had taken the opportunity to deploy proxies into the Lebanese conflict. Thus the Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM), led by George Habash and later to become the Popular Front for

1422-579: The Franjieh family in Zgharta , which became allied with Syria after breaking with the Lebanese Front in 1978. Riad Al Solh Riad Reda Al Solh ( Arabic : رياض الصلح ; 17 August 1894 – 17 July 1951) was the first prime minister of Lebanon after the country's independence . Solh was one of the most important figures in Lebanon's struggle for independence, who was able to unite

1501-771: The Multinational Force in Lebanon and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon , were stationed in Lebanon during this time. In 1989, the Taif Agreement marked the beginning of the end for the fighting as a committee appointed by the Arab League began to formulate solutions to the conflict. In March 1991, the Parliament of Lebanon passed an amnesty law that pardoned all political crimes that had been perpetrated prior to

1580-487: The Soviet Union (see Gendzier). Nasser had attacked Chamoun because of his suspected support for the U.S. led Baghdad Pact . Nasser felt that the pro-western Baghdad Pact posed a threat to Arab nationalism . President Chamoun looked to regional pacts to ensure protection from foreign armies: Lebanon historically had a small cosmetic army that was never effective in defending Lebanon's territorial integrity, and this

1659-744: The Vichy French forces, left Lebanon in 1946. The Maronites assumed power over Lebanon and economy. A parliament was created in which both Muslims and Christians each had a set quota of seats. Accordingly, the President was to be a Maronite, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim and the Speaker of Parliament a Shia Muslim. In 1947, the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine led to civil war in Palestine ,

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1738-577: The 1960s, the center for armed Palestinian activities had been in Jordan. They were forced to relocate after being evicted by King Hussein during the 1970 Black September in Jordan . Fatah and other Palestinian groups attempted to mount a coup in Jordan by incentivizing a split in the Jordanian army , something that the ANM had attempted to do a decade earlier by Nasser's bidding. Jordan responded, and expelled

1817-636: The Cedars , Lebanese Youth Movement , Tyous Team of Commandos ) and formed an umbrella militia known as the Lebanese Forces (LF) which acted in unity, and were politically known as the Lebanese Front coalition. Before 1975, Maronite militias were reportedly supplied by weapons from Bulgaria , and by the onset of the war were receiving support from Iraq , Jordan , Pahlavi Iran , West Germany , Israel, and Saudi Arabia , who temporarily cut off their funding after Black Saturday . This funding enabled

1896-519: The Christian sects. Many larger groups began fragmenting, some uniting with Palestinian refugees fleeing the Arab-Israeli war, some of them joining leftist groups and opposing the National Pact, certain groups' stress about involvement of the Lebanese military, and also various right wing organizations who agreed with the National Pact and its maintenance of national order. Though technically at

1975-561: The Egyptian-Syrian United Arab Republic and the pan-Arab Campaign began pushing Lebanon to join and unite with other Arab countries, threatening the portion of the National Pact identifying Lebanon as an independent nation separate from other countries in the region. On top of the nearby violence and the threats to the National Pact, there was also increased tension between the Muslim sects within Lebanon and

2054-470: The French government and French interests in Lebanon, many feared that their subsequent power and the establishment of the National Pact assuring Lebanese independence was done with purpose to adhere to French interests. The National Pact was first introduced to the public on October 7, 1943, by Riad Al Solh in his ministerial declaration in attempts to present a uniquely Lebanese identity, separate from both

2133-858: The Interior in Emir Faisal 's government in Damascus . Riad Al Solh studied law and political science at the University of Paris . He spent most of his youth in Istanbul , as his father was a deputy in the Ottoman Parliament . Solh served as prime minister of Lebanon twice. His first term was just after the Lebanon's independence (25 September 1943 – 10 January 1945). Solh was chosen by president Bishara Al Khouri to be his first Prime Minister. Solh and Khouri achieved and implemented

2212-697: The Israeli invasion of 1982 and was replaced by the Lebanese National Resistance Front , known as Jammoul in Arabic. Throughout the war most or all militias operated with little regard for human rights, and the sectarian character of some battles, made non-combatant civilians a frequent target. As the war dragged on, the militias deteriorated ever further into mafia -style organizations, with many commanders turning to crime as their main occupation rather than fighting. Finances for

2291-490: The Lebanese National Movement wished to bring about a more secular and democratic order, but as this group increasingly included Islamist groups, encouraged to join by the PLO, the more progressive demands of the initial agenda was dropped by January 1976. Islamists did not support a secular order in Lebanon and wished to bring about rule by Muslim clerics. These events, especially the role of Fatah and

2370-534: The Lebanese elite, however, this was no guarantee that the public would receive it well. The assumption that the Lebanese public would immediately support the National Pact simply because of the elite consensus was not an accurate one. Generally, there continued to be dissenting voices towards the Pact throughout its establishment, none of which taking hold to create any legitimate change to the government it put in place. Though this dissent did exist amongst various groups,

2449-578: The Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and a faction of the PLO, were deployed to Lebanon by Nasser. The ANM were a clandestine militia implicated in attempted coups against both the Jordanian monarchy and the Iraqi president throughout the 1950s at Nasser's bidding. The founding members of Fatah , including Yasser Arafat and Khalil Wazir , also flew to Lebanon to use the insurrection as a means by which

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2528-472: The National Pact ( al Mithaq al Watani ) in November 1943 that provided an official framework to accommodate the confessional differences in Lebanon. The National Pact was an unwritten gentleman's agreement. The Pact stated that president, prime minister and Speaker of the Parliament in Lebanon should be allocated to three major confessional groups based on the 1932 census, namely the Maronite Christians ,

2607-544: The National Pact in addition to the rising tensions between Muslims and Christians over political power in tandem to nearby violence of the Arab-Israeli war and accusations of a corrupt election all led to the Lebanese Civil War. Specifically, the first violation of the National Pact occurred when Lebanon accepted assistance through the Eisenhower doctrine . The second threat to the National Pact occurred when

2686-450: The National Pact is that it was formulated through constitutional amendments, though much of the processes it stipulates and requirements are never actually detailed. For this reason, there is no written time limit on how long the stipulations within the National Pact should take place, even though the demographics of the Lebanese population may not always be with a Maronite Christian majority. Additionally, no processes were detailed describing

2765-524: The National Pact" was characterized with neutrality either toward "the Christian West or the Islamic Arab world". Such attitude could be maintained as long as "faulty assumption" "that the balance-of-power in the region would remain unchanged" was valid. However, in reality, external environment around Lebanon after its independence dramatically changed. Specifically, two threats to the power of

2844-516: The Ottoman Empire (1908–1922) the French invaders took control of the area under what they called the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon under the League of Nations . The French created the state of Greater Lebanon as a safe haven for the Maronites, but included a large Muslim population within the borders. In 1926, Lebanon was declared a republic, and a constitution was adopted. However,

2923-555: The PLO / Fatah to transform the Western Part of Beirut into its stronghold. Fatah constituted 80% of the membership of the PLO and Fatah guerrillas now controlled most of its institutions. The PLO had taken over the heart of Sidon and Tyre in the early 1970s. It controlled great swathes of south Lebanon, in which the indigenous Shiite population had to suffer the humiliation of passing through PLO checkpoints and now they had worked their way by force into Beirut. The PLO did this with

3002-694: The Palestinian forces into Lebanon. When they arrived, they created "a State within the State". This action was not welcomed by the Lebanese government, and this shook Lebanon's fragile sectarian balance. Solidarity with the Palestinians was expressed by the Lebanese Sunni Muslims, with the aim to change the political system from one of consensus amongst different sects, towards one where their power share would increase. Certain groups in

3081-528: The Palestinians and Lebanese Muslims, pan-Arabists, and leftists. The conflict deepened as foreign powers, namely Syria , Israel , and Iran , became involved and supported or fought alongside different factions. Over the course of the conflict, these alliances shifted rapidly and unpredictably. While much of the fighting took place between opposing religious and ideological factions, there was significant conflict within some faith communities, especially amongst both Christians and Shias. Peacekeeping forces, such as

3160-459: The Phalange in their suppression of the insurrection, especially as many of the demonstrators were little more than proxy forces hired by groups such as the ANM and Fatah founders as well as being hired by the defeated parliamentary bosses. In the 1960s Lebanon was relatively calm, but this soon changed. Fatah and other Palestinian Liberation Organization factions had long been active among the 400,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanese camps. Throughout

3239-595: The Sunni Muslims and the Shiite Muslims , respectively. During his first term, Solh also served as the Minister of Finance from September 1943 to July 1944, and the minister of supplies and reserves from 3 July 1944 to 9 January 1945. Solh held premiership again from 14 December 1946 to 14 February 1951 again under the presidency of Bishara Al Khouri. Solh was critical of King Abdullah and played

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3318-497: The Syrian Social Nationalist Party. The attack was perpetrated by three gunmen, who killed him in revenge for the execution of Anton Saadeh , one of the party's founding leaders. He secretly converted to Shia Islam since, compared to Sunni Islam, its inheritance laws meant that his daughters, his only children, could inherit a greater share of his wealth. Al Solh was married to Fayza Al Jabiri,

3397-553: The Tripoli Islamist movement known as Tawhid, in changing the agenda being pursued by many groups, including Communists. This ragtag coalition has often been referred to as left-wing, but many participants were actually very conservative and had religious elements that did not share any broader ideological agenda. Rather, they were brought together by the short-term goal of overthrowing the established political order, each motivated by their own grievances. These forces enabled

3476-499: The assistance of so-called volunteers from Libya and Algeria shipped in through the ports it controlled, as well as a number of Sunni Lebanese groups who had been trained and armed by PLO/ Fatah and encouraged to declare themselves as separate militias. However, as Rex Brynen makes clear in his publication on the PLO, these militias were nothing more than "shop-fronts" or in Arabic "Dakakin" for Fatah, armed gangs with no ideological foundation and no organic reason for their existence, except

3555-463: The canton, in Maronite towns and villages no garbage littered the streets, gas was one-fifth the price charged in West Beirut and the price of bread was controlled to levels comparable to pre-war pricing. Maronite Christian militias acquired arms from Romania and Bulgaria as well as from West Germany, Belgium and Israel, and drew supporters from the larger Maronite population in the north of

3634-439: The census and the ultimate decision to divide the government along the ratios that it did. This was reiterated by the idea that the Maronite Christians were the most closely aligned with the French mandate in Lebanon. So, some believed that the National Pact was put into place in order to maintain the same status quo as was held under the French mandate under the guise of promoting independence. Some other controversy that surrounds

3713-546: The constitution was suspended in 1932. Various factions sought unity with Syria, or independence from the French. In 1936, the Maronite Phalange party was founded by Pierre Gemayel . World War II and the 1940s brought great change to Lebanon and the Middle East. Lebanon was promised independence, which was achieved on 22 November 1943. Free French troops, who had invaded Lebanon in 1941 to rid Beirut of

3792-477: The country, they were generally right-wing in their political outlook, and all the major Christian militias were Maronite -dominated, and other Christian sects played a secondary role. Initially, the most powerful of the Maronite militias was the National Liberal Party, locally known as "Ahrar", who were politically led by the former president Camille Chamoun . The NLP had its own militia which

3871-428: The country. The creation of the National Pact gave Lebanon a solidified structure to pursue with their new found independence, though not necessarily appeasing all religious groups within the country. For many, it provided a necessary order and an outward sense of unity and multi-confessionalism that would allow them to maintain their own political state. (). In 1932, the Lebanese government under French mandate conducted

3950-459: The demonstration as it was dissipating. Farid Khazen, sourcing the local histories of Sidon academics and eyewitnesses, gives a run-down of the puzzling events of the day that based on their research. Khazen reveals, based on the Sidon academic's work, that Saad was not in dispute with the fishing consortium made up of Yugoslav nationals. The Yugoslavian representatives in Lebanon had negotiated with

4029-445: The differences between the fishermen and the consortium, and his acceptance of a place on the board made him a target of attack by the conspirator, who sought a full conflagration around the small protest. The events in Sidon were not contained for long. The government began to lose control of the situation in 1975. In the run-up to the war and its early stages, militias tried to be politically orientated non-sectarian forces, but due to

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4108-563: The end of Mandatory Palestine , and the Israeli Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948. The ongoing civil war was transformed into a state conflict between Israel and the Arab states in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War . This led to Palestinian refugees crossing the border into Lebanon. In July 1958, Lebanon was threatened by a civil war between Maronite Christians and Muslims. President Camille Chamoun had attempted to break

4187-429: The established system was generally tolerated by most sects, until 1958 when the threats to the National Pact in tandem with other political conflict lead to disruption of the order that the Pact had established in Lebanon. It is argued that the National Pact created immobilism, which led to "administrative inefficiency both in decision-making and implementation". Although Lebanon went through huge social mobility, such as

4266-405: The excavation and archeological research of antique artifacts in both countries. It established the official languages in both nations as French and Arabic. Also, it specified that France must report back to the League of Nations on a yearly basis with a report of the progress in Lebanon and Syria. Though promising both countries financial compensation and reimbursement for these decisions, there

4345-478: The extant sectarian divisions by institutionalizing them through power-sharing. Politicians were usually regarded as representing religious communities, which resulted in non-coherent policy in the government. "The state-idea of Lebanon, fragile as it was, strengthened the sectarian differences already extant". The weakness of state and lack of national identity with fragmented sub-national segments made Lebanon susceptible to external factors. "The external dimension of

4424-598: The fact their individual members were put on the PLO/ Fatah payroll. In February 1975, the strike by fishermen at Sidon could be considered the first important episode that set off the outbreak of hostilities. That event involved a specific issue: the attempt of former President Camille Chamoun, also the head of the Maronite-oriented National Liberal Party, to monopolize fishing along the coast of Lebanon. The injustices perceived by

4503-447: The fear for many that the 1932 national census that led to the statistics ultimately resulting in a permanent Maronite Christian presidency may not have been entirely accurate due to inability to define Lebanese citizenship and the feared bias to maintain the status quo, also called the presidency into question. Many feared that the desire of the political elite to identify Lebanon as a primarily Christian nation led to inherent biases within

4582-404: The fisherman's union to make the fishermen shareholders in the company. The company offered to modernize the fishermen's equipment, buy their catch, and give their union an annual subsidy. Saad, as a union representative, and not the mayor of Sidon at the time as many erroneous sources claim, was offered a place on the company's board. There has been some speculation that Saad's attempts to narrow

4661-495: The fishermen evoked sympathy from many Lebanese, and reinforced the resentment and antipathy that were widely felt against the state and the economic monopolies. The demonstrations against the fishing company were quickly transformed into a political action supported by the political left and their allies in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The state tried to suppress the demonstrators, and

4740-418: The formal end of the hostilities in 1990. In 1860, a civil war between Druze and Maronites erupted in the Ottoman Mutasarrifate of Mount Lebanon . The war resulted in the massacre of about 10,000 Christians and at least 6,000 Druzes. World War I was hard for the Lebanese. Most of the Arabs fought in the Ottoman army against the British and French invaders. With the defeat and dissolution of

4819-472: The government of what are now Lebanon and Syria , separating them from the former Ottoman Empire . It provided for the placement of French troops within both nations in order to defend both states and their sovereignty, in addition to establishing Lebanese and Syrian militias to support the Mandate. Additionally, the French mandate allowed France complete access to infrastructure in both Lebanon and Syria, sole control over their foreign relations, and power over

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4898-411: The government to join the newly created United Arab Republic , a country formed out of the unification of Syria and Egypt, while the majority of Lebanese and especially the Maronites wanted to keep Lebanon as an independent nation with its own independent parliament. President Camille Chamoun feared the toppling of his government and asked for U.S. intervention. At the time the United States was engaged in

4977-490: The law's time of enactment. In May 1991, all of the armed factions that had been operating in Lebanon were dissolved, excluding Hezbollah , an Iran-backed Shia Islamist militia . Though the Lebanese Armed Forces slowly began to rebuild as Lebanon's only major non-sectarian armed institution after the conflict, the federal government remained unable to challenge Hezbollah's armed strength . Religious tensions, especially between Shias and Sunnis , persisted across Lebanon since

5056-408: The majority of the population. However, Lebanon's Muslims comprised a large minority and the influx of thousands of Palestinians —first in 1948 and again in 1967 —contributed to Lebanon's demographic shift towards an eventual Muslim majority. Lebanon's Christian-dominated government had been facing increasing opposition from Muslims, pan-Arabists , and left-wing groups . The Cold War also exerted

5135-402: The newly formed Lebanese Forces militia to establish itself in Maronite-dominated strongholds, and rapidly transformed from an unorganized and poorly equipped militia into a fearsome armed group that now had its own armor, artillery, commando units (SADM), a small Navy, and a highly advanced Intelligence branch. Meanwhile, in the north, the Zgharta Liberation Army served as the private militia of

5214-455: The president's aid instead to bring a final end to the road blockades which were crippling the major cities. Encouraged by its efforts during this conflict, later that year, principally through violence and the success of general strikes in Beirut, the Phalange achieved what journalists dubbed the "counterrevolution". By their actions the Phalangists brought down the government of Prime Minister Karami and secured for their leader, Pierre Gemayel ,

5293-421: The results of the census demonstrated a Maronite Christian majority of 51%, the National Pact then set in place the requirements of a Maronite Christian always holding the presidency and the parliament having a 6:5 ratio in favor of Christians as well. Some controversy arose in response to the census. The first of which being that the census did not provide accurate definition of Lebanese citizenship and worked off

5372-448: The sectarian nature of Lebanese society, they inevitably gained their support from the same community as their leaders came from. In the long run almost all militias openly identified with a given community. The two main alliances were the Lebanese Front, consisting of nationalist Maronites who were against Palestinian militancy in Lebanon, and the Lebanese National Movement, which consisted of pro-Palestinian Leftists. The LNM dissolved after

5451-432: The sister of two-time prime minister of Syria , Saadallah al-Jabiri . They had five daughters and a son, Reda, who died in infancy. His eldest daughter, Aliya (1935–2007), continued in her father's path in the struggle for a free and secure Lebanon. Lamia Al Solh (born 1937) was married to the late Prince Moulay Abdallah of Morocco , King Mohammed VI 's uncle. Her children are Moulay Hicham , Moulay Ismail and

5530-411: The stranglehold on Lebanese politics exercised by traditional political families in Lebanon. These families maintained their electoral appeal by cultivating strong client–patron relations with their local communities. Although he succeeded in sponsoring alternative political candidates to enter the elections in 1957, causing the traditional families to lose their positions, these families then embarked upon

5609-512: The time of its passing, the National Pact guaranteed the president to be Maronite Christian due to the majority Christian population in Lebanon, however, due to the lack of checks on the president within the Lebanese constitution the decision to always have a Maronite president had much larger implications than were initially intended. The Lebanese Constitution leaves the presidential position unchecked by parliament, so an elected Maronite president would have complete executive authority. Additionally,

5688-629: The various religious groups. He is considered one of the founders of Lebanon. Riad Al Solh, also written Riad el Solh or Riad Solh , was born in Sidon , south Lebanon and of Egyptian origin, on 17 August 1894. His father, Reda Al Solh , was Vice-governor in Nabatiyyah and in Sidon and a leading nationalist Arab leader. In 1915 Reda Al Solh was tried by Ottoman forces and went into exile in Smyrna , Ottoman Empire . He also served as Minister of

5767-541: The war effort were obtained in one or all of three ways: As central government authority disintegrated and rival governments claimed national authority, the various parties/militias started to create comprehensive state administrations in their territory. These were known as cantons , Swiss-like autonomous provinces. The best known was " Marounistan ", which was the Phalangist/Lebanese Forces territory. The Progressive Socialist Party's territory

5846-2134: The ways the governmental proportions should be enacted. In fact, the National Pact directly contradicts other aspects of the constitution stating that anyone can run for office solely on the basis of merit and competence, never once acknowledging religious affiliation. Lebanese Civil War [REDACTED] Lebanese National Movement [REDACTED] PLO (1975–83) [REDACTED] ASALA [REDACTED] Hezbollah (1985–1990) [REDACTED]   Iran (from 1980, mainly IRGC and Army paramilitary units) [REDACTED] Syria [REDACTED] Lebanese Armed Forces [REDACTED] UNIFIL (from 1978) Multinational Force in Lebanon (1982–1984) [REDACTED] Arab Deterrent Force (1976–1982) [REDACTED] Bachir Gemayel   † [REDACTED] Amine Gemayel [REDACTED] William Hawi   † [REDACTED] Elie Hobeika [REDACTED] Samir Geagea Etienne Saqr [REDACTED] Georges Adwan [REDACTED] Saad Haddad # [REDACTED] Antoine Lahad [REDACTED] Menachem Begin [REDACTED] Ariel Sharon [REDACTED] Rafael Eitan [REDACTED] Avigdor Ben-Gal [REDACTED] Kamal Jumblatt   † [REDACTED] Walid Jumblatt [REDACTED] Inaam Raad [REDACTED] Abdallah Saadeh [REDACTED] Assem Qanso [REDACTED] George Hawi [REDACTED] Elias Atallah [REDACTED] Muhsin Ibrahim [REDACTED] Ibrahim Kulaylat [REDACTED] Ali Eid [REDACTED] Yasser Arafat [REDACTED] George Habash [REDACTED] Hagop Hagopian [REDACTED] Monte Melkonian [REDACTED] Subhi al-Tufayli [REDACTED] Abbas al-Musawi [REDACTED] Michel Aoun Second phase: 1977–1982 Third phase: 1982–1984 Fourth phase: 1984–1990 Cantons and puppet states The Lebanese Civil War ( Arabic : الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah )

5925-443: The western and the eastern worlds. They chose to depict the National Pact as a representation of the fundamental base for shared belief between the different sects of Lebanon. Additionally, the elite reiterated that this was the only way Lebanon could attain independence and that though Sunnis may be unhappy with the lack of union with Syria, the definition of Lebanon having Arab features is the best form of compromise. Unfortunately, for

6004-538: Was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon . The religious diversity of the Lebanese population played a notable role in the lead-up to and during the conflict: Lebanese Christians and Lebanese Sunni Muslims comprised the majority in the coastal cities; Lebanese Shia Muslims were primarily based throughout southern Lebanon and in

6083-664: Was founded in 1968 and led by Camille's son Dany Chamoun , the Tigers Militia . Another party was the Kataeb Party , or Phalangists, which was founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936. Kataeb similarly had its own militia which was officially formed in 1961, the Kataeb Regulatory Forces led by William Hawi until 1976 when Bachir Gemayel succeeded him. Kataeb Regulatory Forces merged with Tigers Militia and several minor groups ( Al-Tanzim , Guardians of

6162-426: Was significant pushback from those in both Syria and Lebanon. In Lebanon specifically, prior to attaining independence, much of the government's efforts and politics in general were simply centered around gaining independence from France. When finally on the verge of attaining independence, the difficulty in finding effective ways of organizing the government became most apparent given the enormous religious diversity of

6241-647: Was the " Civil Administration of the Mountain ", commonly known as the Jebel-el-Druze , a name which had formerly been used for a Druze state in Syria. The Marada area around Zghorta was known as the "Northern Canton". Wilton Wynn, a TIME correspondent, visited the East Beirut Christian canton in 1976, the same year as its foundation. He reported that compared to the villages outside of

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