The National Pact

by morethantheheadlines

The National Pact is the unwritten agreement between Maronite  President Bechara El-Khoury and the Sunni Prime Minister Riad Al-Solh. Agreed to in   1943, it laid the foundation for the modern confessional Lebanese state.

Essentially the pact stated that:

–       Lebanon is an independent state.

–       Arab in character but not to seek alliance with the West or the Arabs.

–       The President must be a Maronite Catholic.

–       The Prime minister a Sunni Muslim

This established a delicate balance in the highly pluralistic Lebanese society.

This pact retains much of its form in modern-day Lebanon.

However the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) altered some of the Pact.

Beirut's_Martyrs'_Square_during_celebrations_marking_the_release_by_the_French_of_Lebanon's_government_from_Rashayya_prison_on_November_22,_1943,_the_day_of_Lebanon's_independence._Adib_Ibrahim

Lebanese celebrating the release of the Government, November 22nd, 1943. Leading to the National Pact.