Council of Ministers of Lebanon
| Council of Ministers of the Lebanese Republic | |
|---|---|
| مجلس الوزراء | |
Grand Serail | |
| Website | Official website  |
The Council of Ministers of Lebanon (
1- It has to be composed of an equal number of Muslim and Christian ministers.
2- The different sects of Lebanon shall be represented in a just and equitable manner in the formation of the Cabinet.
The Council of Ministers is considered to be the "government" of Lebanon according to the Constitution.
History
The body was created on 23 May 1926, when the Constitution of the state of
Formation of a Government
The council is formed by a Decree of the President of the Republic, which is countersigned by the Prime Minister. Within 30 days, the Chamber of Deputies must approve the Government through a vote of confidence, which requires a simple majority. By Article 64 of the Lebanese Constitution, it is the Prime Minister who assumes the negotiations with the Parliament for the formation of a government. By custom, the government is composed equally between Muslims and Christians - however, this is not a requirement specified in the Constitution.[3]
Resignation of the Cabinet
According to Article 69 of the Constitution,[3] the government is considered resigned when:
- The Prime Minister resigns or dies.
- It loses more than a third of its members, as prescribed in its original decree of formation.
- When a new president takes office.
- At the beginning of a new term of the Chamber of Deputies.
- When the Chamber of Deputies has a vote of no confidence in the Cabinet, either by the initiative of the Cabinet or the Chamber.
- The President of the Republic fires the Prime Minister.
Caretaker government
When the government is considered resigned (as per the conditions set above), or has not yet received a vote of confidence from the Chamber of Deputies, it can only operate "in the narrow sense of conducting the business".
In addition, the cabinet is a
Responsibilities and powers
The council is generally tasked with overseeing daily affairs, and preparing bills for the House of Deputies to vote on. The individual ministers work on their own portfolios, and only need the signature of the President and the Prime Minister for decisions concerning their individual ministry. When decisions affect the entire government, a majority of the ministers are needed. For the government to consent on so-called "basic" issues (constitutional amendments, electoral laws, dissolving parliament, war and peace, intl. treaties, state of emergency, state budget, long-term development plans, appointing first-cadre state employees, redistricting, nationality laws, personal affairs law, dismissing ministers)[nb 1] a 2/3 majority of the ministers present is needed.
The following is a list of the powers of the Council of Ministers:
- Forming bills for the legislature to vote on. It elaborates the public agenda, and takes the necessary decisions for the implementation of the bills adopted by the House of Deputies.
- Acquiesce on the decision of the President to dissolve the Parliament.
- Consent on the President's ratification of international treaties.
- Approve the dismissal of a minister by the President.
- Oversee all civil, military, and security administrations.
- It is the power to which the Armed Forces are subjected (however, the President is the commander-in-chief and thus has the final say).
Powers in relation to the President
Prior to the Ta'if Accord, the role of Council was to give the President its "favourable advice" rather than a clear consensus/majority on the issues prescribed above.[4] Nevertheless, as the president is the sole person who can nominate/remove the ministers and the entire government, it is bound to be favorable to him or her. In addition, the Constitution is silent on the issue of retaliation - where if the President has the authority to fire the government and sign a decree it did not approve of - however this issue has never arisen since the Cabinet generally deferential to the President (or vice versa).
Meetings and quorum
The President of the Council of Ministers is the Prime Minister. He heads the meetings and calls ordinary meetings. Whenever the president attends, however, he chairs the meetings (but without voting on its decisions). In addition, the President can place any item he deems to be "urgent" on the agenda and order extraordinary sessions.[citation needed]
The quorum for a meeting is 2/3 of the ministers, and its decisions are taken by those present (voting by proxy is not allowed).[citation needed]
Sectarian representation controversies
There has been several controversies relating to sectarian groups and the power to topple the government. For example, in 2006, Hezbollah began mass demonstrations as all 5 Shiite and 1 Christian from resigned from the
Cabinet of February 2025
See also
Notes
- ^ The "basic issues" must be specified in the decree of formation of the government to be considered basic issues.
References
- ^ "President Aoun and Premier salam signed the government formation decree". Lebanese Presidency. 7 February 2025. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "Lebanese Constitution" (PDF). Lebanese Presidency. 1 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Lebanon's Constitution of 1926 with Amendments through 2004" (PDF). constituteproject.org. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
- ^ "LEBANON Constitution". Archived from the original on 17 October 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ^ "Hezbollah Threatens Protests to Topple Lebanese Government". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Political anatomy of the Salam government". L'Orient Today. 9 February 2025.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress