ABSTRACT
The good news was that the cabinet did not request an extension of its power to rule by decree after its authority to do so expired in June 1959. The government also was able to appoint new governors for Lebanon’s five provinces, expand the cabinet from four to eight, and gradually lift all curfew and publishing restrictions. President Shihāb met with President Nasser of the UAR, and the country’s foreign relations demonstrated a renewed emphasis of the Arab point of view, especally regarding Israel. The Chamber voted to increase its size from seventy-seven to ninety-nine members, and elections were scheduled for June-July 1960. The Republic had survived.
