The President of the Lebanese Republic (Arabic: رئيس الجمهورية اللبنانية, romanized: Ra’īs al-Jumhūriyyah al-Lubnāniyyah) is the head of state of Lebanon.

Modeled after that of the French Third Republic, it provided for a bicameral parliament with Chamber of Deputies and a Senate (although the latter was eventually dropped), a president, and a Council of Ministers, or cabinet.

A custom of selecting major political officers, as well as top ranks within the public administration, according to the proportion of the principal sects in the population was strengthened during this period.

This practice increased sectarian tension by providing excessive power to the Maronite president (such as the ability to choose the prime minister), and hindered the formation of a Lebanese national identity.

[3] Under the Constitution, the French high commissioner still exercised supreme power, an arrangement that initially brought objections from the Lebanese nationalists.

At the end of Debbas's first term in 1932, Bishara al-Khuri and Émile Eddé competed for the office of president, thus dividing the Chamber of Deputies.

To break the deadlock, some deputies suggested Shaykh Muhammad al Jisr, who was chairman of the Council of Ministers and the Muslim leader of Tripoli, as a compromise candidate.

However, French high commissioner Henri Ponsot suspended the constitution on 9 May 1932, and extended the term of Debbas for one year; in this way he prevented the election of a Muslim as president.

Dissatisfied with Ponsot's conduct, the French authorities replaced him with Count Damien de Martel, who, on 30 January 1934, appointed Habib Pacha Es-Saad as president for a one-year term (later extended for an additional year).

During World War II when the Vichy government assumed power over French territory in 1940, General Henri Fernand Dentz was appointed as high commissioner of Lebanon.

Ten days later, however, under pressure from France's Allies in World War II, the French removed Eddé from office and restored the government of Bechara El Khoury on 21 November.

In 1951 an alliance was formed between Camille Chamoun, Pierre Gemayel, Raymond Eddé, Kamal Jumblatt, Phalange and Syrian National Party.

[6] In 1952, Fouad Chehab refused to allow the army to interfere in the uprising that forced Lebanese president Bechara El Khoury to resign.

Pan-Arabists and other groups backed by Gamal Abdel Nasser, with considerable support in Lebanon's Sunni and Druze community attempted to overthrow Chamoun's government in June 1958.

[9] In the lead up to the election, parliament was divided into factions, namely those who supported western nations and Chamoun and those favoring Nasser and the United Arab Republic.

Helou's lack of political affiliation gave him the appearance of a leader able to unite Lebanon and he was chosen to succeed Fuad Chehab as president by the National Assembly.

Helou managed to keep Lebanon from entanglement, apart from a brief air strike, but found it impossible to put the lid on the tensions that had been raised.

In addition, government authority was challenged by the presence of armed Palestinian guerrillas in the south of the country, and clashes between the Lebanese army and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) became increasingly frequent.

For a long time, Helou resisted their demands, but in 1969, after failing to end the rebellion militarily, he finally gave in, hoping that the Palestinian guerrillas would confine their operations to cross-border attacks against Israel and would stop challenging the Lebanese government.

In 1970, Helou endorsed Elias Sarkis as his chosen successor,[12] but the latter lost the election in the National Assembly by one vote to Suleiman Frangieh.

He notably has close relations with Israel, which lead to his assassination in an explosion that killed more than thirty people by SSNP member Habib Shartouni.

[16] The two ended up heading rival administrations; with Aoun occupying the presidential palace at Baabda, al-Huss established his own office in Muslim-dominated West Beirut.

[19] Since Baabda Palace, the president's residence, was destroyed and bombed by Syrian troops in October 1990 to drive out General Michel Aoun, Hrawi lived in future prime minister Rafik Hariri's Beirut apartment.

[27] Though not specifically stated in the constitution, an understanding known as the National Pact, agreed in 1943, customarily limits the office to members of the Maronite Christian community.

[28] Article 50 of the constitution of Lebanon requires the president to take an oath upon assuming office, which is prescribed thus:[29] I swear by Almighty God to observe the Constitution and the laws of the Lebanese Nation and to maintain the independence of Lebanon and its territorial integrity.Lebanon being a parliamentary republic, the President is essentially the repository of reserve powers and the office is largely symbolic.