in consultation with the
members of the National Assembly; the current Cabinet was formed in
1996
elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year
term; election last held 24 November 1989 (next to be held NA 1998);
note - in 1995, the National Assembly amended the Constituition to
extend the president's term by three years; prime minister and deputy
prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the
National Assembly; 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
election results: Ilyas HARAWI elected president; percent of National
Assembly vote - NA

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab
(Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected
by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation
to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held in the summer of 1996 (next to be held NA 2000)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA
(one-half Christian and one-half Muslim)

Judicial branch: four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and
commercial cases and one court for criminal cases)

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

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AL, AMF,
CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol,
IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission : Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Victor
EL-ZMETER
chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-6300
FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324
consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission : Ambassador Richard Henry JONES
embassy: Antelias, Beirut
mailing address: P. O. Box 70-840, Beirut; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE
09836-0002
telephone: [961] (1) 402200, 403300, 406650, 406651, 426183, 417774,
889926
FAX : [961] (1) 407112

Flag description: three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double
wid