National Pact
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The National Pact is an unwritten agreement that laid the foundation of Lebanon as a multi-confessional state, and has shaped the country to this day. Following negotiations between the Shi'ite, Sunni, and Maronite leaderships, the National Pact was born in the summer of 1943 allowing Lebanon to be independent. Among the following key points of the agreement are:
- the Maronites to not seek foreign intervention and accept Lebanon as an "Arab" affiliated country, instead of a "Western" one.
- the Muslims (Shi'ites and Sunnis) to abandon their aspirations to unite with Syria
- the President of the Republic to always be a Maronite.
- the President of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) to always be a Sunni.
- the President of the National Assembly to always be a Shi'ite.
- the deputy speaker of the Parliament has to always be a Greek Orthodox
- Parliament members to be in a ratio of 6:5 in favour of Christians to Muslims.
The last point was to be a contentious issue, especially in the Lebanese Civil War, where demographic changes in the 1970s resulted in Maronites making up approximately one-third of the population (compared to 51% in the 1932 census) and the other two-thirds made up of mostly Muslims. As well, Shi'ites as part of this demographic change turned into the largest religious community. This resulted in Maronites having a disproportionate share of the government, which was the main issue in the Lebanese Civil War.
The Taif Agreement slightly changed the ratios, but some argue that they do not reflect current demographics.
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