Events in the year 2020 in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Incumbents

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

: Michel Aoun *

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Saad Hariri Saad El-Din Rafik Al-Hariri ( ; born 18 April 1970) is a Lebanese people, Lebanese businessman and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon, prime minister of Lebanon from 2009 to 2011 and 2016 to 2020. The son of Rafic Hariri, he ...

(until 21 January),

Hassan Diab Hassan Diab (; born 1 June 1959) is a Lebanese academic, engineer and politician who served as the prime minister of Lebanon from 21 January 2020 to 10 September 2021. He was appointed by President Michel Aoun in 2019 to succeed Saad Hariri as ...

(from 21 January)

Events

January

*January 14 – 2019-20 Lebanese Protests resume after weeks of calm. *January 21 – A new cabinet is formed after months without one.

February

*February 21 – The 1st case of COVID-19 in Lebanon is confirmed in Beirut. *February 28 – Lebanon bans all travel by non-residents by air, sea or land from countries worst hit by the

COVID-19 outbreak The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Soon after, ...

. The Public Works Ministry named

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

as affected countries.

March

* March 10 – The first COVID-19 death is recorded.

April

* April 21 – Baakline attack - nine people were killed with a knife and gun in

Baakline Baakleen, also spelled Baaqlîne or Baakline (), is a prominent Druze town located in the Chouf District of Mount Lebanon, about 45 kilometers southeast of Beirut, Lebanon. Situated at an elevation of 850 to 920 meters, it has a population of ar ...

July

* July 27 – There was an exchange of fire between

Israeli soldiers The Israeli Ground Forces () are the ground forces of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The commander is the General Officer Commanding with the rank of major general, the ''Mazi'', subordinate to the Chief of General Staff. An order from Defe ...

and four

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

members.

August

* August 4 – 2020 Beirut explosions - An explosion in the

Port of Beirut The Port of Beirut () is the main port in Lebanon on the eastern part of the Saint George Bay on Beirut's northern Mediterranean coast, west of the Beirut River. It is one of the largest and busiest ports on the Eastern Mediterranean. On 4 Augu ...

kills 203 people. * August 5 – The government declares a two-week

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

following the explosions. * August 9 – Protesters in Lebanon called on the government to end the neglect that caused the 4 August explosion. * August 10 – Prime Minister

announced that he and his entire cabinet had resigned following anger over the Beirut explosions. * August 27 – Two people were killed and at least ten wounded in clashes between

and tribal members in

Khalde Khaldah () is a coastal town located south of Beirut, Lebanon. It is famous as a tourist destination in the summer, especially for its various beach resorts. The southern portion of Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport is located in Khald ...

September

* September 10 – Huge fire in the Port of Beirut sends a black plume of smoke into the air covering Beirut's sky.

October

* October 9 – a fuel tanker exploded, leaving at least four people dead and thirty injured. The blast occurred after the tank caught fire in Tariq-al-Jdide district. * October 14 – A delegation led by Brigadier General Bassam Yassine launched talks facilitated by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with Israel over the disputed maritime border.

November

* November 21 – 2020 Baabda prison escape - 69 inmates escaped from a prison in

Baabda Baabda () is the capital city of Baabda District and Mount Lebanon Governorate, western Lebanon. Baabda was also the capital city of the autonomous Ottoman Mount Lebanon that existed from 1861 to 1918. Baabda is home to the Italian, Japanese, ...

December

* December 2 – At the International Conference in Support of the Lebanese People, the United Nations,

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

, and

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

launch their Reform, Recovery and Reconstruction Framework. The 3RF focuses around rebuilding Beirut and delivering essential reforms that address the root causes of the crisis. *December 11 – The UN-backed

Special Tribunal for Lebanon The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), also referred to as the Lebanon Tribunal or the Hariri Tribunal, was a tribunal of international character that was active between 2009 and 2023. It applied Lebanese criminal law under the authority of ...

(STL) sentenced Hezbollah militant Salim Jamil Ayyash to five concurrent life sentences. However, Ayyash still remains at large.

Deaths

*2 January –

Najwa Qassem Personal Najwa Qassem was born in a Lebanese Druze family on 7 July 1967 in Joun, Lebanon, a few years before the Lebanese Civil War. Qassem initially aspired to study architecture but soon fell in love with media and televised broadcasting. ...

, journalist and television presenter (born 1967). *4 April –

Mohammad Ali Younes Mohammad Ali Younes (died 4 April 2020) was the head of Hezbollah's counter espionage unit, and a member of the Hezbollah#Foundation, Islamic Resistance, the military wing of Hezbollah. Younes was reportedly a close associate of Qasem Soleimani. ...

, spy, head of Hezbollah's counter espionage unit. *19 May – Salah Stétié, writer and poet (born 1929). *3 June –

Mohsen Ibrahim Mohsin Ibrahim ( ''Muḥsin ‘Ibrāhīm''), Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Khaled (; 1935 – June 3, 2020), was a Lebanon, Lebanese politician. He was a prominent personality of the Lebanese and Arab left. Initially a Nasserism, Nasserist nationali ...

, politician (born 1935). *9 June – Joseph Mohsen Béchara,

Maronite Catholic The Maronite Church (; ) is an Eastern Catholic ''sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. The head of the Maronite ...

hierarch, Archbishop of

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

and

Antelias Antelias () is a city in Lebanon in the Matn District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate. It is located around 5 km to the north of Beirut. Etymology The name is originally Greek, ἀντήλιος – from ἀντί(anti) "contra" and ἥλ� ...

(born 1935). *5 July – Ahmad Karami, politician (born 1944). *27 July – Khalil Taha, wrestler (born 1932). *31 July – Jocelyne Khoueiry, militant and activist (born 1955). *4 August – Nazar Najarian, politician, secretary-general of the

Kataeb Party The Kataeb Party (), officially the Kataeb Party – Lebanese Social Democratic Party ( '), also known as the Phalangist Party, is a right-wing Christian political party in Lebanon founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936. The party and its parami ...

(born. 1959). *6 September –

Levon Altounian Levon Aram Altounian (; 15 February 1936 – 6 September 2020) was a Lebanese Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, right winger or an midfielder, attacking midfielder. Altounian played his whole club career at Hom ...

, footballer (born 1936). *11 December – Assad Rizk, physician and politician (born 1931).

References

{{Year in Asia , 2020 2020s in Lebanon Years of the 21st century in Lebanon