Capital: Beirut
Administrative divisions: 5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Biqa, 'Al Janub, Ash Shamal, Bayrut, Jabal Lubnan

Independence: 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
National holiday: Independence Day, 22 November (1943)

Constitution: 23 May 1926, amended a number of times

Legal system: mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Ilyas HARAWI (since 24 November 1989); note - by custom, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shi'a Muslim
head of government: Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI (since 22 October 1992)
cabinet: Cabinet; chosen by the president in consultation with the members of the National Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
National Assembly: (Arabic - Majlis Alnuwab, French - Assemblee Nationale) Lebanon's first legislative election in 20 years was held in the summer of 1992; the National Assembly is composed of 128 deputies, one-half Christian and one-half Muslim; its mandate expires in 1996

Judicial branch: four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases)

Political parties and leaders: political party activity is organized along largely sectarian lines; numerous political groupings exist, consisting of individual political figures and followers motivated by religious, clan, and economic considerations
Member of: ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Riad TABBARAH
chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: (202) 939-6300
FAX: (202) 939-6324
consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mark HAMBLEY
mailing embassy: Antelias, Beirut
address: P. O. Box 70-840, PSC 815, Box 2, Beirut; FPO AE 09836-0002
telephone: [961] 417774 or 415802 through 415803, 402200, 403300
FAX: [961] (1) 407-112

Flag: three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red with a green and brown cedar tree centered in the white band

NOTE: The information regarding Lebanon on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Lebanon Government 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Lebanon Government 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.