1920 - 1943

1920, September 1 - After the League of Nations grants the mandate for Lebanon and Syria to France, the State of Greater Lebanon is proclaimed. It includes the former autonomous province of Mount Lebanon, plus the provinces of north Lebanon, south Lebanon and the Biqa’a.

1926, May 23 - The Lebanese Representative Council approves a Constitution and the Lebanese Republic is declared.

1940 - Lebanon comes under the control of the Vichy French government.

1941 - After Lebanon is occupied by Free French and British troops in June 1941, independence is declared on 26 November.

1943, March - The foundations of the state are set out in an unwritten National Covenant which states that Lebanon is an independent Arab country with ties to the West, but which cooperates with other Arab states while remaining neutral. The 1932 census, which had shown that Christians were 54% of the population, is used as the basis for the distribution of seats in the Chamber of Deputies (later to be called the National Assembly) on a ratio of 6 to 5 (later extended to other public offices). The President is to be a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies a Shiite Muslim.