| Council of Ministers of the Lebanese Republic | |
|---|---|
| مجلس الوزراء | |
 | |
| Overview | |
| Established | 1926 (Constitution of the Republic of Lebanon) |
| State | Lebanese Republic |
| Leader | Prime Minister of Lebanon |
| Appointed by | President of Lebanon andPrime Minister of Lebanon |
| Ministries | 24[1] |
| Responsible to | Chamber of Deputies |
| Headquarters | Grand Serail |
| Website | Official website |
TheCouncil of Ministers of Lebanon (Arabic:مجلس الوزراء اللبناني,romanized: Majlis al-wozarah al-Lubnanī) is the executive body of theRepublic of Lebanon. Its president is thePrime Minister of Lebanon. All Ministers are appointed by a Decree of the President of the Republic, which is countersigned by the Prime Minister. The appointed government also has to pass a confidence vote in theParliament of Lebanon. As stipulated in Article 95 of the Lebanese constitution,[2] there are two political requirements for the council of ministers:
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.
The body was created on 23 May 1926, when the Constitution of the state ofGreater Lebanon was promulgated. From the creation of the office in 1926 to the end of the Civil War, the Constitution made little mention of the roles and duties of the office, albeit for a mention of the President to "nominate one of the ministers as Prime Ministers". Following the end of theLebanese Civil War and the ratification of theTa'if Accord, the responsibilities of the Council of Ministers were significantly strengthened, codified and clearly listed in the Constitution. Notably, the accord shifted the executive power from the President to the council.
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]
According to Article 69 of the Constitution,[3] the government is considered resigned when:
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 ofconducting the business".
In addition, the cabinet is acaretaker government when the term of the President of the Republic expires and the Parliament has not yet elected a new president. For example,this was the case for 2 years upon the expiration of PresidentMichel Suleiman's term in 2014 up until the election ofMichel Aoun on 31 October 2016, with Prime MinisterTammam Salam acting as its Head.
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:
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 ofretaliation - 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).
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]
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 the24 member cabinet (2 short of the 1/3 needed to bring down the government) of Prime MinisterFouad Siniora.[5] This meant that there was effectively no Shiite representation in the Cabinet and a Christian majority. Nevertheless, the government continued to function for another 2 years until incumbent PresidentEmile Lahoud's term ended in 2008.[citation needed]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Library of Congress