Prime Minister Of Lebanon
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The Prime Minister of Lebanon, officially the President of the Council of Ministers, is the
head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...
and the head of the Council of Ministers of
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
. The Prime Minister is appointed by the
president of Lebanon The President of the Lebanese Republic ( ar, رئيس الجمهورية اللبنانية, rayiys aljumhuriat allubnania; french: Président de la République Libanaise) is the head of state of Lebanon. The president is elected by the parliame ...
, with the consent of the plurality of the members of the
Parliament of Lebanon The Lebanese Parliament ( ar, مجلس النواب, translit=Majlis an-Nuwwab; french: Chambre des députés) is the national parliament of the Republic of Lebanon. There are 128 members elected to a four-year term in multi-member consti ...
(after the
Taif Agreement The Taif Agreement ( ar, اتفاق الطائف), officially known as the ( ar, وثيقة الوفاق الوطني, label=none'')'', was reached to provide "the basis for the ending of the civil war and the return to political normalcy in Le ...
, 1990). By convention, the office holder is always a
Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...
. The current prime minister is
Najib Mikati Najib Azmi Mikati ( ar, نجيب عزمي ميقاتي; born 24 November 1955) is a Lebanese politician and businessman, and three-time Prime Minister of Lebanon whose current term began in September 2021. He also serves as the acting President ...
, having taken office on 10 September 2021. Mikati became prime minister 13 months after
Hassan Diab Hassan Diab ( ar, حسان دياب, Ḥassān Dyāb; born 1 June 1959) is a Lebanese academic, engineer and politician who served as the 37th prime minister of Lebanon from 21 January 2020 to 10 September 2021. He was appointed by President Mic ...
resigned on 10 August 2020 serving as caretaker prime minister until Mikati took over. On July 26, 2021,
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
among other newspapers, reported that "...billionaire telecoms tycoon,
Najib Mikati Najib Azmi Mikati ( ar, نجيب عزمي ميقاتي; born 24 November 1955) is a Lebanese politician and businessman, and three-time Prime Minister of Lebanon whose current term began in September 2021. He also serves as the acting President ...
, was appointed Monday to form Lebanon’s next government ... Mr. Mikati, 65, is the third politician delegated by the Parliament to form a government since the huge explosion nearly a year ago in the port of Beirut that killed more than 200 people and led to the cabinet in charge at the time resigning." The Prime Minister is assisted by the
Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon The office of Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon was formed in 1943. The National Pact The National Pact ( ar, الميثاق الوطني, translit-std=DIN, translit=al Mithaq al Watani) is an unwritten agreement that laid the foundation of Le ...
.


History

The office was created on 23 May 1926, when the constitution of the state of
Greater Lebanon The State of Greater Lebanon ( ar, دولة لبنان الكبير, Dawlat Lubnān al-Kabīr; french: État du Grand Liban), informally known as French Lebanon, was a state declared on 1 September 1920, which became the Lebanese Republic ( ar, ...
was promulgated. In the summer of 1943, when the
National Pact The National Pact ( ar, الميثاق الوطني, translit-std=DIN, translit=al Mithaq al Watani) is an unwritten agreement that laid the foundation of Lebanon as a multiconfessional state following negotiations between the Shia, Sunni, and ...
was agreed, it was decided that the office of the prime minister would always be reserved for a Sunni Muslim. From the creation of the office in 1926 to the end of the
Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...
, the constitution made little mention of the roles and duties of the office, and most of the office's powers were exercised through informal means rather than through constitutional procedures. Following the end of the Civil War and the ratification of the Ta'if Accord, the responsibilities of the prime minister were codified and clearly listed in the Constitution.


Differences with French constitution

While the 1926 Constitution of Greater Lebanon was roughly modeled after the French constitution (Greater Lebanon being under French mandate), the office of the prime minister in Lebanon was notably significantly weaker in Lebanon than in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, for the president was the sole person who can dismiss him (at will), while in France the prime minister is appointed by the president, and can only be removed by the Parliament through a
vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
. This means that the prime minister of Lebanon was much more deferential to the president than his French counterpart. This situation changed following the
Taif Agreement The Taif Agreement ( ar, اتفاق الطائف), officially known as the ( ar, وثيقة الوفاق الوطني, label=none'')'', was reached to provide "the basis for the ending of the civil war and the return to political normalcy in Le ...
which transformed Lebanon into a parliamentary republic. Currently, the prime minister is appointed by the president who chooses the candidate which garners the support of the plurality of parliament members. The prime minister must form a government which can receive the confidence of parliament and the agreement of the president. After obtaining confidence, the prime minister can only be dismissed if they lose the confidence of parliament.


Past irregularities in the office of the prime minister

Twice in the past, when the president resigned or shortly before his term expired, the president broke the National Pact and appointed a
Maronite Christian Lebanese Maronite Christians ( ar, المسيحية المارونية في لبنان; syc, ܡܫܝܚܝ̈ܐ ܡܪ̈ܘܢܝܐ ܕܠܒܢܢ) are adherents of the Maronite Church in Lebanon, which is the largest Christian denomination in the country ...
with the justification that he would assume the powers of the presidency. During the Lebanese Civil War, outgoing president
Amine Gemayel Amine Pierre Gemayel ( ar, أمين بيار الجميٌل ; (born 22 January 1942) is a Lebanese Maronite politician who served as President of Lebanon from 1982 to 1988. Born in Bikfaya, his father was Pierre Gemayel, the founder of the K ...
dismissed incumbent prime minister
Selim Hoss Selim Ahmed Hoss ( ar, سليم أحمد الحص; also transliterated ''Salim Al-Hoss;'' born 20 December 1929) is a veteran Lebanese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon and a longtime Member of Parliament representing his h ...
and appointed Army general-in-chief Michel Aoun as Prime Minister 15 minutes before the expiry of his term. Hoss refused his dismissal, and this led to the creation of a dual government; one, mainly civilian and Muslim in West Beirut, and the other, mainly military and Christian in East Beirut.


Responsibilities and powers

The prime minister is the president of the Council of Ministers and the head of government. In addition, he is the deputy chair of the Supreme Defense Council. His responsibilities are the following:https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Lebanon_2004.pdf?lang=en * Assume the negotiations for the formation of the government with parliament. * Counter-sign all decrees signed by the president, except for the one appointing him or considering the government resigned. * Present the Council of Minister's program to the Chamber of Deputies. * He presides over the meetings of the Council of Ministers, except when the president attends, in which case he presides over them. * In case of a vacancy in the presidency for whatever reason, he assumes the powers and responsibilities of the president ''in the narrow sense of "conducting the business"''


Symbolic duties

Following the ratification of the Ta'if Accord, the Constitution laid out a preamble for the three "key" executive posts: the president, the prime minister, and the Council of Ministers. The preamble states the following: In addition, the prime minister also holds these posts ''ex officio'': * Vice President of the Supreme Defense Council * President of the Council of Ministers * Head of the government


List of prime ministers


Living former prime ministers

File:Salim el-Hoss Axis for Peace 2005-11-17 (cropped).jpg, File:Michel Aoun - 1988 (cropped).jpg, File:Fouad Sinora ms.jpg, File:Secretary Kerry Delivers Remarks With Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri (Cropped on Hariri).jpg, File:David Cameron meets with Prime Minister Salam, of Lebanon, at the Syria Conference (cropped).jpg, File:Hassan Diab, February 2020 (cropped).jpg,


See also

*
President of Lebanon The President of the Lebanese Republic ( ar, رئيس الجمهورية اللبنانية, rayiys aljumhuriat allubnania; french: Président de la République Libanaise) is the head of state of Lebanon. The president is elected by the parliame ...
*
Legislative Speaker of Lebanon The legislative speaker of Lebanon is the highest office in the legislative body of Lebanon. The current legislative body is the Parliament of Lebanon, headed by the Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon, officially called the President of the Cham ...


Notes


References

{{Prime Minister Politics of Lebanon 1943 establishments in Lebanon