*Lebanon, Government
Names:
conventional long form:
Republic of Lebanon
conventional short form:
Lebanon
local long form:
Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah
local short form:
none
Digraph:
LE
Type:
republic
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)
Constitution:
26 May 1926 (amended)
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
National holiday:
Independence Day, 22 November (1943)
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
Suffrage: 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21
with elementary education
Elections:
National Assembly:
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
Executive branch:
president, prime minister, Cabinet; 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
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly (Arabic - Majlis Alnuwab, French - Assemblee
Nationale)
Judicial branch:
four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and
one court for criminal cases)
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President Ilyas HARAWI (since 24 November 1989)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI (since 22 October 1992)
*Lebanon, Government
Member of:
ABEDA, 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 Simon KARAM
chancery:
2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
(202) 939-6300
consulates general:
Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Ryan C. CROCKER
mailing embassy:
Antelias, Beirut
address:
P. O. Box 70-840, Beirut, or Box B, FPO AE 09836
telephone:
[961] 417774 or 415802, 415803, 402200, 403300
Flag:
three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red with a
green and brown cedar tree centered in the white band
*Lebanon, Economy
Overview:
Since 1975 civil war has seriously damaged Lebanon's economic
infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's
position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. Following October
1990, however, a tentative peace has enabled the central government to begin
restoring control in Beirut, collect taxes, and regain access to key port
and government facilities. The battered economy has also been propped up by
a financially sound banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale
manufacturers. Family remittances, banking transactions, manufactured and
farm exports, the narcotics trade, and international emergency aid are main
sources of foreign exchange. In the relatively settled year of 1991,
industrial production, agricultural output, and exports showed substantial
gains. The further rebuilding of the war-ravaged country was delayed in 1992
because of an upturn in political wrangling. Hope for restoring economic
momentum in 1993 rests with the new, business-oriented Prime Minister
HARIRI.
National product:
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $4.8 billion (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate:
NA%
National product per capita:
$1,400 (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
100% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
35% (1991 est.)
Budget:
revenues $533 million; expenditures $1.3 billion, including capital
expenditures of $NA (1991 est.)
Exports:
$490 million (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
agricultural products, chemicals, textiles, precious and semiprecious metals
and jewelry, metals and metal products
partners:
Saudi Arabia 21%, Switzerland 9.5%, Jordan 6%, Kuwait 12%, US 5%
Imports:
$3.7 billion (c.i.f., 1991)
commodities:
Consumer goods, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products
partners:
Italy 14%, France 12%, US 6%, Turkey 5%, Saudi Arabia 3%
External debt:
$400 million (1992 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate NA%
Electricity:
1,300,000 kW capacity; 3,413 million kWh produced, 990 kWh per capita (1992)
Industries:
banking, food processing, textiles, cement, oil refining, chemicals,
jewelry, some metal fabricating
Agriculture:
accounts for about one-third of GDP; principal products - citrus fruits,
vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco, hemp (hashish), sheep, goats; not
self-sufficient in grain
*Lebanon, Economy
Illicit drugs:
illicit producer of opium, hashish, and heroin for the international drug
trade; opium poppy production in Al Biqa almost completely eradicated this
year; hashish production is shipped to Western Europe, Israel, US, the
Middle East, and South America
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $356 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $664 million; OPEC
bilateral aid (1979-89), $962 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $9
million
Currency:
1 Lebanese pound (#L) = 100 piasters
Exchange rates:
Lebanese pounds (#L) per US$1 - 1,742.00 (April 1993), 1,712.80 (1992),
928.23 (1991), 695.09 (1990), 496.69 (1989), 409.23 (1988)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
*Lebanon, Communications
Railroads:
system in disrepair, considered inoperable
Highways:
7,300 km total; 6,200 km paved, 450 km gravel and crushed stone, 650 km
improved earth
Pipelines:
crude oil 72 km (none in operation)
Ports:
Beirut, Tripoli, Ra'Sil'ata, Juniyah, Sidon, Az Zahrani, Tyre, Jubayl,
Shikka Jadidah
Merchant marine:
63 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 270,505 GRT/403,328 DWT; includes 39
cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 2 vehicle carrier, 3 roll-on/roll-off, 1
container, 9 livestock carrier, 2 chemical tanker, 1 specialized tanker, 4
bulk, 1 combination bulk
Airports:
total:
9
usable:
8
with permanent-surface runways:
6
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
3
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
2
Telecommunications:
telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding still
underway; 325,000 telephones (95 telephones per 1,000 persons); domestic
traffic carried primarily by microwave radio relay and a small amount of
cable; international traffic by satellite - 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth
station and 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station (erratic operations),
coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable beyond
Syria to Jordan, 3 submarine coaxial cables; broadcast stations - 5 AM, 3
FM, 13 TV (numerous AM and FM stations are operated sporadically by various
factions)