List of presidents of Lebanon facts for kids

The President of Lebanon is the head of state for Lebanon. This important job was created in 1926.

In Lebanon, the president has many important duties and a lot of influence. However, sometimes their role becomes more about representing the country than making big decisions. This can happen because of outside influences or when different political groups agree to work together. Even so, the president helps choose government ministers and makes sure the country's Constitution is followed.

The National Pact: A Special Agreement

Even though it's not written in the official law, there's an old agreement from 1943 called the National Pact. This agreement says that the president of Lebanon should always be a Maronite Christian. This tradition has been followed in every election since then.

Leaders of Lebanon

State of Greater Lebanon (1926–1943)

No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party		Notes
			Started	Ended	Length of Term
1		Charles Debbas شارل دباس (1884–1935)	1 September 1926	2 January 1934	7 years, 123 days	Independent		He was the first President of the Republic of Lebanon. He was elected in 1926 and again in 1929. The French authorities kept him in his role until 1934. During his time, it was decided that Greater Lebanon would not have its own army. He also made the baccalaureate exam (a high school diploma) required for many jobs.
			1926, 1929
—		Privat-Antoine Aubouard أنطوان أوبوار (1874–1934)	2 January 1934	30 January 1934	28 days	Independent		He was part of the French High Commission, a group that helped govern the area.
2		Habib Pacha Saad حبيب باشا السعد (1867–1942)	30 January 1934	20 January 1936	1 year, 355 days	Independent		Before becoming president, he was the speaker of the Representative Council of Greater Lebanon.
3		Émile Eddé إميل أده (1886–1949)	20 January 1936	4 April 1941	5 years, 74 days		National Bloc	Eddé also served as the speaker of the Parliament and as prime minister of Lebanon before becoming president.
			1936
—		Pierre-Georges Arlabosse بيار جورج أرلابوس (1891–1950)	4 April 1941	9 April 1941	5 days	Independent		He was a French politician who served as acting President for a few days.
4		Alfred Georges Naccache ألفرد جورج النقاش (1887–1978)	9 April 1941	18 March 1943	1 year, 343 days		Kataeb Party	He was also the prime minister of Lebanon in 1941 and later the foreign minister.
—		Ayoub Tabet أيوب تابت (1884–1951)	19 March 1943	21 July 1943	124 days	Independent		He was acting president and also served as Prime Minister during the same time.
5		Petro Trad بيترو طراد (1876–1947)	22 July 1943	21 September 1943	61 days	Independent		Trad was a member of the Lebanese Parliament for many years. He also served as the Speaker of the Parliament.
6		Bechara Khoury بشارة الخوري (1890–1964)	21 September 1943	11 November 1943	51 days		Constitutional Bloc	He was a strong nationalist who did not like the French rule in Lebanon. He was arrested by French troops in 1943 and held for eleven days.

Lebanese Republic (1943–present)

No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party		Notes
			Started	Ended	Length of Term
—		Émile Eddé إميل أده (1886–1949)	11 November 1943	22 November 1943	11 days		National Bloc	The French authorities put Eddé back in office for a short time. However, other countries involved in World War II pressured France to remove him. Bechara El Khoury was then restored as president.
1		Bechara Khoury بشارة الخوري (1890–1964)	22 November 1943	18 September 1952	8 years, 301 days		Constitutional Bloc	He was released from prison and became president again. He replaced Émile Eddé during World War II.
			1943, 1948
—		Fouad Chehab فؤاد شهاب (1902–1973)	18 September 1952	22 September 1952	4 days		Military	Chehab was a military leader. He refused to let the army get involved in the protests that made President Bechara El Khoury resign. Chehab then became acting president to make sure a new election could happen.
2		Camille Chamoun كميل شمعون (1900–1987)	23 September 1952	22 September 1958	5 years, 364 days		Constitutional Bloc	Towards the end of his term, some groups tried to overthrow his government. This led to clashes in 1958, known as the 1958 Lebanon crisis.
							National Liberal Party
			1952
3		Fouad Chehab فؤاد شهاب (1902–1973)	23 September 1958	22 September 1964	5 years, 365 days	Independent		He helped calm tensions and bring stability back to Lebanon by working with different religious groups and political forces. His ideas influenced later presidents.
			1958
4		Charles Helou شارل حلو (1913–2001)	23 September 1964	22 September 1970	5 years, 364 days		Chehabist	The Six-Day War in 1967 caused problems between different groups in Lebanon. Helou tried to keep Lebanon out of the conflict. However, tensions grew, and the country became more divided.
			1964
5		Suleiman Frangieh سليمان فرنجية (1910–1992)	23 September 1970	22 September 1976	5 years, 365 days		Marada Movement	He was elected president in a very close and debated election. The Lebanese Civil War began during his fifth year in office.
			1970
6		Élias Sarkis إلياس سركيس (1924–1985)	23 September 1976	22 September 1982	5 years, 364 days		Chehabist	People hoped Sarkis could unite the fighting groups and end the civil war. However, the situation became very difficult as Syria and other countries started to get involved.
			1976
7		Bachir Gemayel بشير الجميل (1947–1982)	23 August 1982	14 September 1982	22 days		Kataeb Party	He was elected during the height of the Lebanese Civil War. Sadly, he was assassinated in an explosion before he could officially start his term as president.
			1982
8		Amine Gemayel أمين الجميل (born 1942)	23 September 1982	22 September 1988	5 years, 365 days		Kataeb Party	When he became president, foreign armies occupied much of Lebanon. His government had little power. He worked to rebuild the Lebanese Army. He also tried to make a peace agreement with Israel.
			1982
—		Selim Hoss سليم الحص (born 1929)	22 September 1988	5 November 1989	1 year, 44 days	Independent		When the previous president's term ended, two different people claimed to be in charge of the government. Hoss led one of these governments.
—		Michel Aoun ميشال عون (born 1933)	22 September 1988	13 October 1990	2 years, 21 days		Military	The outgoing president appointed Aoun as Prime Minister, leading a military government. This led to two different governments trying to rule Lebanon at the same time.
Second Lebanese Republic
9		René Moawad رينيه معوض (1925–1989)	5 November 1989	22 November 1989	17 days		Independence Movement	He had served as a minister in various roles before becoming president. His presidency was very short. Just seventeen days after being elected, he was killed by a car bomb.
			1989
Vacant from 22 November 1989 until 24 November 1989
10		Elias Hrawi إلياس الهراوي (1926–2006)	24 November 1989	24 November 1998	9 years	Independent		Hrawi was elected president two days after René Moawad was killed. He oversaw the end of the Lebanese Civil War. He signed a treaty with Syria, promising that Lebanon would not be used against Syria's interests.
			1989
11		Émile Lahoud إميل لحود (born 1936)	24 November 1998	24 November 2007	9 years	Independent		Lahoud became president after the constitution was changed to allow the army commander to run for office. He worked closely with Hezbollah. He tried to have more control over government decisions.
			1998
Vacant from 24 November 2007 until 25 May 2008
12		Michel Suleiman ميشال سليمان (born 1948)	25 May 2008	25 May 2014	6 years	Independent		Suleiman was the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces before becoming president. He was chosen because political parties in Lebanon were very divided. He started national talks to help bring the country together.
			2008
Vacant from 25 May 2014 until 31 October 2016
13		Michel Aoun ميشال عون (born 1933)	31 October 2016	31 October 2022	6 years		Free Patriotic Movement	Aoun was also a commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces. The presidency was empty for almost two and a half years before he was finally elected. This happened after an agreement between two major political groups.
			2014–2016
Vacant since 31 October 2022

Timeline of Presidents

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Presidentes del Líbano para niños

• List of prime ministers of Lebanon
• List of speakers of the Parliament of Lebanon
• President of Lebanon
• Prime Minister of Lebanon
• High Commissioner of the Levant