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| 1982–92 |
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| Western hostages in Lebanon. Radical groups staged about 25 kidnappings of westerners residing in Lebanon in an effort to apply pressure to Western governments. Most of the kidnappers had ties to the Iranian government. | 1 |
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| 1985, Dec |
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| Signing of the Damascus Accord by Christian, Druze, and Shi’ite representatives. It laid down the framework for a new political system in which Christians and Muslims had equal representation in Parliament, and the power of the Muslim prime minister was raised at the expense of the Christian president. Few Lebanese politicians rallied behind the treaty, which remained a dead letter. | 2 |
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| 1988, Sept |
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| Appointment of Michel Awn (Aoun), a Christian militia commander, as prime minister. The acting Muslim prime minister, Salim al-Huss, refused to step down. Meanwhile, Parliament was unable to decide on a successor to outgoing president Amin Jumayyil. In the ensuing crisis, Lebanon was left with no president and two competing prime ministers. | 3 |
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| 1989, Sept. 30 |
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| THE TA'IF CONFERENCE. The surviving 62 members of the last official Parliament, elected in 1972, agreed to amend the National Pact. The number of seats in Parliament was divided evenly between Christians and Muslims, and the power of the president (a Christian) was reduced and that of the prime minister (a Muslim) was correspondingly raised. Command of the armed forces was to be shared by the president and the cabinet. | 4 |
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| Nov. 5 |
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| Parliament elected Rene Mu`awwad as president. He was assassinated on Nov. 22, and Ilyas Hrawi was chosen to replace him. | 5 |
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