Country Listing

Lebanon Table of Contents

Lebanon

INDEPENDENT LEBANON, 1943-76

President Sulayman Franjiyah
Courtesy Mohless Al-Hariri/The Georgetown Design Group, Inc.

One of Franjiyah's prime ministers, Rashid Karami
Courtesy Mohless Al-Hariri/The Georgetown Design Group, Inc.

The remains of Tall Zatar, a Palestinian refugee camp on the outskits of Beirut, after it was besieged by Christian militiamen
Courtesy UNRWA/Photo by Myrtle Winter Chaumany

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon was set up following the 1978 Israeli incursion into southern Lebanon
Courtesy United Nations

The history of Lebanon during the 1943-76 period was dominated by prominent family networks and patron-client relationships. Each sectarian community had its prominent family: the Khuris, Shamuns, Shihabs, Franjiyahs, and Jumayyils for the Maronites; the Sulhs, Karamis, and Yafis for the Sunnis; the Jumblatts, Yazbaks, and Arslans for the Druzes; and the Asads and Hamadahs for the Shias.

Data as of December 1987