Editing Lebanon (section)

=== Independence from Free France ===
Following the end of World War II in Europe the French mandate may be said to have been terminated without any formal action on the part of the [[League of Nations]] or its successor the [[United Nations]]. The mandate was ended by the declaration of the mandatory power, and of the new states themselves, of their independence, followed by a process of piecemeal unconditional recognition by other powers, culminating in formal admission to the United Nations. Article 78 of the UN Charter ended the status of tutelage for any member state: "The trusteeship system shall not apply to territories which have become Members of the United Nations, relationship among which shall be based on respect for the principle of sovereign equality."<ref>Mandates, Dependencies and Trusteeship, by H. Duncan Hall, Carnegie Endowment, 1948, pages 265–266</ref> So when the UN officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, after ratification of the [[United Nations Charter]] by the [[Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council|five permanent members]], as both Syria and Lebanon were founding member states, the French mandate for both was legally terminated on that date and full independence attained.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/aboutun/unhistory/ |title=History of the United Nations |publisher=United Nations |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127033154/http://www.un.org/aboutun/unhistory/ |archive-date=27 January 2012}}</ref> The last French troops withdrew in December 1946.

Lebanon's unwritten [[National Pact]] of 1943 required that its president be Maronite Christian, its [[Speaker (politics)|speaker of the parliament]] to be a [[Lebanese Shia Muslims|Shia Muslim]], its prime minister be [[Lebanese Sunni Muslims|Sunni Muslim]], and the Deputy Speaker of Parliament and the Deputy Prime Minister be [[Lebanese Greek Orthodox Christians|Greek Orthodox]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usip.org/publications/lebanons-confessionalism-problems-and-prospects|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080709034419/http://www.usip.org/pubs/usipeace_briefings/2006/0330_lebanon_confessionalism.html|archive-date=9 July 2008|title=Lebanon's Confessionalism: Problems and Prospects|last=Harb|first=Imad|date=March 2006|work=USIPeace Briefing|publisher=United States Institute of Peace|access-date=20 January 2009}}</ref>

Lebanon's history since independence has been marked by alternating periods of political stability and turmoil interspersed with prosperity built on [[Beirut]]'s position as a regional center for finance and trade.<ref name="dos-2009-01">{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/lebanon/116354.htm |title=Background Note: Lebanon |date=January 2009 |work=Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs |publisher=U.S. Department of State |access-date=31 January 2010 |archive-date=6 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306215351/https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/lebanon/116354.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In May 1948, Lebanon supported neighboring Arab countries in a [[1948 Arab–Israeli War|war against Israel]]. While some irregular forces crossed the border and carried out minor skirmishes against Israel, it was without the support of the Lebanese government, and Lebanese troops did not officially invade.{{sfn|Morris|2008|p=524}} Lebanon agreed to support the forces with covering artillery fire, armored cars, volunteers and logistical support.{{sfn|Morris|2008|p=259}} On 5–6 June 1948, the Lebanese army – led by the then [[Ministry of National Defense (Lebanon)|Minister of National Defense]], [[Majid Arslan|Emir Majid Arslan]] – captured [[Al-Malkiyya]]. This was Lebanon's only success in the war.{{sfn|Morris|2008|p=260}}
[[File:Camille Chamoun com Getúlio Vargas em visita ao Brasil, 1954 (cropped).tif|thumb|247x247px|Under [[Camille Chamoun]]'s presidency, Lebanon experienced economic growth.]]
100,000 [[Palestinians in Lebanon|Palestinians]] fled to Lebanon because of the war. Israel [[Palestinian right of return|did not permit their return]] after the cease-fire.<ref name="amn">{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE18/010/2007 |title=Lebanon Exiled and suffering: Palestinian refugees in Lebanon |year=2007 |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=18 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211203636/http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE18/010/2007 |archive-date=11 December 2013}}</ref> As of 2017, between 174,000 and 450,000 Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon with about half in refugee camps (although these are often decades old and resemble neighborhoods).<ref name="aljazeera">{{cite news|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/05/2009527115531294628.html|title=Lebanon's Palestinian refugees|last=al-Issawi|first=Omar|date=4 August 2009|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=21 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715083438/http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/05/2009527115531294628.html|archive-date=15 July 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> Often Palestinians are legally barred from owning property or performing certain occupations.<ref name="Butters">Andrew Lee Butters [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1881651,00.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826165651/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1881651,00.html|date=26 August 2013}} "Palestinians in Lebanon: A Forgotten People", 25 February 2009, Time Magazine.</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]], Palestinian refugees in Lebanon live in "appalling social and economic conditions."

In 1958, during the last months of President [[Camille Chamoun]]'s term, [[1958 Lebanon crisis|an insurrection]] broke out, instigated by Lebanese Muslims who wanted to make Lebanon a member of the [[United Arab Republic]]. Chamoun requested assistance, and 5,000 [[United States Marines]] were briefly dispatched to Beirut on 15 July. After the crisis, a new government was formed, led by the popular former general [[Fouad Chehab]].

Until the early 1970s, Lebanon was dubbed "the Switzerland of the Middle East" for its unique status as both a snow-capped holiday destination and secure banking hub for [[Gulf Arab]]s.<ref>[https://asiatimes.com/2020/02/switzerland-of-the-middle-east-unravels/ "Switzerland of the Middle East unravels"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421162802/https://asiatimes.com/2020/02/switzerland-of-the-middle-east-unravels/ |date=21 April 2023 }} ''AsiaTimes''. 21 February 2020, Accessed 21 April 2023.</ref> Beirut was also nicknamed "the Paris of the Middle East."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shair |first=Kamal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qj-gMqGK1YUC&pg=PA3 |title=Out of the Middle East: The Emergence of an Arab Global Business |date=28 July 2006 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-84511-271-4 |language=en |access-date=6 June 2024 |archive-date=6 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606114522/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Qj-gMqGK1YUC&pg=PA3&redir_esc=y |url-status=live }}</ref>