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 LEBANON
- Quick Facts Since World War II, Lebanon has operated under what is sometimes called a “confessional democracy,” meaning political power is divided between Christians and Muslims. As a result, the candidate for President is always a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, and the Speaker of Parliament a Shi'ite Muslim. The confessional system was originally put into place to end years of religious fighting, but critics say that inaccurate and outdated census figures misrepresent the size of the Christian population, unfairly granting it the lion's share of representation in Lebanon's government. Syrian troops have been in Lebanon since 1976, when civil war erupted, and Syria has dominated the country's political and military affairs since the war ended in 1990. In September 2004, Syrians forced a change in the Lebanese constitution that ensured that President Emile Lahoud would stay in office three years past his fast-approaching term limit. Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, who had opposed Lahoud's term extension, subsequently resigned. On February 14, 2005, Hariri was killed in a bomb explosion in Beirut. Amid massive protests, Prime Minister Omar Karami, a Syria loyalist, resigned. The United States government promptly called upon Syria to withdraw from Lebanon once and for all. Within days, parliament voted to reappoint Karami. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for May 2005, and Hezbollah -- once an outlawed militia group, and still considered a terrorist organization by the U. S. -- is now the single largest party in Lebanon's parliament. Lebanon has a population of about 3. 7 million people.
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