No.
|
Portrait
|
Name
(Birth?Death)
|
Term of office
|
Political party
|
Notes
|
Took office
|
Left office
|
Time in office
|
?
|
|
Emile Edde
???? ???
(1886?1949)
|
11 November 1943
|
22 November 1943
|
11 days
|
|
National Bloc
|
The High Commissioner installed Edde as president. Ten days later, however, under pressure from France's other Allies in World War II, the French removed Edde from office and restored the government of
Bechara El Khoury
on 21 November. He founded the
National Bloc
.
|
1
|
|
Bechara Khoury
????? ??????
(1890?1964)
|
22 November 1943
|
18 September 1952
|
8 years, 301 days
|
|
Constitutional Bloc
|
He was released 11 days after being arrested by
Free French
troops and imprisoned in the
Rashaya Tower
replacing
Emile Edde
during World War II.
|
1943
,
1948
|
?
|
|
Fouad Chehab
???? ????
(1902?1973)
|
18 September 1952
|
22 September 1952
|
4 days
|
|
Military
|
Chehab refused to allow the army to interfere in the uprising that forced Lebanese President
Bechara El Khoury
to resign. Chehab became the
Prime Minister of Lebanon
in September 1952, and hold the additional portfolio of
defense minister
while also former a
military cabinet
. Chehab was then appointed acting president with the duty to ensure an emergency democratic presidential election.
|
2
|
|
Camille Chamoun
???? ?????
(1900?1987)
|
23 September 1952
|
22 September 1958
|
5 years, 364 days
|
|
Constitutional Bloc
|
Served as Minister of the Interior, Post and Telegraph, 1943?1944, Minister of the Interior, Health and Public Aid, 1947?1948. Near the end of his term, Pan-Arabists and other groups backed by
Gamal Abdel Nasser
, with considerable support in Lebanon's Muslim community attempted to overthrow Chamoun's government in June 1958 after Chamoun tried to seek another term as president against the constitution. Numerous clashes erupted resulting in
1958 Lebanon crisis
.
|
|
National Liberal Party
|
1952
|
3
|
|
Fouad Chehab
???? ????
(1902?1973)
|
23 September 1958
|
22 September 1964
|
5 years, 365 days
|
Independent
|
Chehab was the
Prime Minister of Lebanon
in September 1952, and held the additional portfolio of
defense minister
while also forming a
military cabinet
. Chehab was appointed acting president with the duty to ensure an emergency democratic presidential election. Following a path of moderation and co-operating closely with the various
religious groups
, and with both secular and religious forces, Chehab was able to cool tensions and bring stability back to the nation. His ideology inspired the presidencies of 2 other presidents.
|
1958
|
4
|
|
Charles Helou
???? ???
(1913?2001)
|
23 September 1964
|
22 September 1970
|
5 years, 364 days
|
|
Chehabist
|
Helou was an Ambassador to the
Vatican
in 1947 minister of justice and health (1954?1955) and as minister of education (1964). The
Six-Day War
of 1967, strained sectarian relations in Lebanon. Many
Muslims
wanted Lebanon to join the Arab war effort, while many Christians wished to eschew participation. Helou managed to keep Lebanon from entanglement, apart from a brief air strike, but found it impossible to put the lid on the tensions that had been raised. Parliamentary elections in 1968 revealed an increasing polarization in the country, with two major
coalitions
, one pro-Arab Nationalism, led by Rashid Karami and the other pro-Western, led jointly by former President
Camille Chamoun
,
Pierre Gemayel
and
Raymond Edde
, both made major gains and won 30 of the 99 seats each.
|
1964
|
5
|
|
Suleiman Frangieh
?????? ??????
(1910?1992)
|
23 September 1970
|
22 September 1976
|
5 years, 365 days
|
|
Marada Movement
|
Frangieh formed and headed the
Marada Movement
. In the closest and possibly most controversial presidential election in
Lebanese history
, the
National Assembly
elected Frangieh to the Presidency of the Republic on 23 September 1970. He oversaw the beginning of the Lebanese Civil War in the fifth year of his tenure.
|
1970
|
6
|
|
Elias Sarkis
????? ?????
(1924?1985)
|
23 September 1976
|
22 September 1982
|
5 years, 364 days
|
|
Chehabist
|
It was hoped that Sarkis would be able to unite the warring factions and end the emerging civil war; by September 1976, however, the situation had grown past the government's control as
Syria
and other countries began interfering and complicating the situation. On 5 March 1980, Sarkis developed his policy as part of his attempts to create national accord: unity, independence, parliamentarian democracy, rejecting the
Camp David Accords
between Egypt and Israel.
|
1976
|
7
|
|
Bachir Gemayel
???? ??????
(1947?1982)
|
23 August 1982
|
14 September 1982
|
22 days
|
|
Kataeb Party
|
Was elected during the peak of the
Lebanese Civil War
. Soon after his election, fighters from the
Lebanese Forces
were prohibited from wearing their uniforms and also from carrying their weapons in the streets. He notably has close relations with Israel, which lead to his
assassination
in an explosion that killed more than thirty people by
SSNP
member
Habib Shartouni
. He was assassinated before officially taking office.
|
1982
|
8
|
|
Amine Gemayel
???? ??????
(born 1942)
|
23 September 1982
|
22 September 1988
|
5 years, 365 days
|
|
Kataeb Party
|
He left his post in the
Kataeb Party
after being elected president. Once elected, he refused to meet any Israeli official. With foreign armies occupying two-thirds of the country (
Syria
in the north and east, Israel in the south), and private armies independent of government control occupying most of the rest, Gemayel's government lacked any power. He re-organized the Lebanese Army, receiving support from the
Multinational Force in Lebanon
and despite fierce internal opposition, he reached the
May 17 Agreement
with Israel in 1983, which stipulated the withdrawal of the Israeli forces and ending the state of war between the two countries, but didn't ratify it.
|
1982
|
?
|
|
Selim Hoss
???? ????
(born 1929)
|
22 September 1988
|
5 November 1989
|
1 year, 44 days
|
Independent
|
Gemayel decided to appoint Maronite army commander Michel Aoun to the office, not withstanding the tradition of reserving it for a Sunni Muslim. Hoss refused to concede the prime minister's post to Aoun, so the two ended up heading rival administrations; with Aoun occupying the presidential palace at
Baabda
, Hoss established his own office in Muslim-dominated
West Beirut
.
|
?
|
|
Michel Aoun
????? ???
(born 1933)
|
22 September 1988
|
13 October 1990
|
2 years, 21 days
|
|
Military
|
The outgoing president
Amine Gemayel
appointed Aoun as Prime Minister, heading a military government formed by six members of the Martial Court, three of which are Christian and three Muslim. He also dismissed the civilian administration of acting Prime Minister
Selim Hoss
. The Muslims refused to serve, and submitted their resignations on the next day. He controlled his own military faction which was heavily based in East Beirut.
|
Second Lebanese Republic
|
9
|
|
Rene Moawad
????? ????
(1925?1989)
|
5 November 1989
|
22 November 1989
|
17 days
|
|
Independence Movement
|
Moawad served as the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications (1961?1964), Minister of Public Works (1969) and Minister of National Education and Fine Arts (1980?1982). His presidency was disputed by military general
Michel Aoun
. Seventeen days after being elected, as he was returning from Lebanon's Independence Day celebrations, a 250 kg
car bomb
was detonated next to Moawad's motorcade in West
Beirut
, killing him and 23 others.
[3]
[4]
|
1989
|
Vacant from 22 November 1989 until 24 November 1989
|
10
|
|
Elias Hrawi
????? ???????
(1926?2006)
|
24 November 1989
|
24 November 1998
|
9 years
|
Independent
|
Hrawi served as minister of public works and was a member of the independent Maronite Catholic bloc in the Parliament. Hrawi was elected at the Park Hotel in
Chtoura
by 47 out of 53 members of two days after the murder of Lebanon's President
Rene Mouawad
.
[5]
[6]
As President, Hrawi signed into law amendments to the
Constitution
that formalized the
Taif Agreement
reforms. He saw the end of the Lebanese Civil War. He signed the treaty of fraternity, co-ordination and co-operation with
Syria
, in which Lebanon promised not to allow its territory to be used against Syria's interests.
[7]
|
1989
|
11
|
|
Emile Lahoud
???? ????
(born 1936)
|
24 November 1998
|
24 November 2007
|
9 years
|
Independent
|
Lahoud ran for the presidency in 1998 after having the constitution amended to allow the army commander-in-chief to run for office. This amendment is believed to have been backed by
Syria
.
[8]
When he became Lebanon's president in 1998, he aligned himself with
Hezbollah
, and picked his own man as prime minister,
Selim al-Hoss
.
[9]
This led to heightened tensions between
Rafiq Hariri
and Lahoud.
[10]
During his term, he exerted more control over government decision-making than Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri or Parliament Speaker
Nabih Berri
.
[11]
In August 2001, he modified the limits on the executive authority of the presidency stipulated in the 1989
Ta'if Accord
and ordered security forces to launch a massive arrest sweep against nationalist dissidents without informing Hariri and other cabinet ministers.
[11]
|
1998
|
Vacant from 24 November 2007 until 25 May 2008
[12]
|
12
|
|
Michel Suleiman
????? ??????
(born 1948)
|
25 May 2008
|
25 May 2014
|
6 years
|
Independent
|
Suleiman was the commander of the
Lebanese Armed Forces
(1998?2008). Lebanese political spectrum was deeply polarized, with virtually all parties being divided either in the government loyalists or the opposition which paved way for the non-partisan Michel Suleiman to be elected by parliament. Suleiman launched the table of national dialogue at the Presidential Palace in Baabda on 16 September 2008, in pursuance of the
Doha Agreement
's articles, and in view of consolidating National Reconciliation and Entente.
|
2008
|
Vacant from 25 May 2014 until 31 October 2016
[13]
|
13
|
|
Michel Aoun
????? ???
(born 1933)
|
31 October 2016
|
31 October 2022
|
6 years
|
|
Free Patriotic Movement
|
Aoun was the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces (1984?1989), held a disputed military presidency and premiership (1988?1990) and leader of the
Free Patriotic Movement
. From the expiration of the term of President
Michel Suleiman
in May 2014 until October 31, 2016, the parliament was unable to obtain the majority required to elect a president, and the office was vacant for almost two and a half years, despite more than 30 votes being held. On October 31, 2016, the parliament finally elected
Michel Aoun
as president after an agreement was signed between the leader of the
Free Patriotic Movement
Gebran Bassil
, and the leader of the
Lebanese Forces
Samir Geagea
[14]
at the latter's headquarters in
Maarab
, which requires Geagea, who had withdrawn from the presidential race, to endorse
Michel Aoun's
candidacy for the
2016 presidential elections
, years after a long rivalry that goes back to the
Lebanese Civil War
.
|
2014?2016
|
Vacant since 31 October 2022
|