Lebanese University

The creation of the Lebanese University was an idea first mentioned in the speech of the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hamid Frangieh during the closing ceremony of the Third UNESCO Conference in Beirut held on 11 December 1948, during which he said: "Lebanon hopes to see the creation of a Lebanese university having the spirit of UNESCO"

The establishment of the Lebanese University came as a result of a popular and student mobilization initiated on 23 January 1951 with a general strike that lasted for a long period during which, secondary and university students, mostly from Saint Joseph’s University participated. The movement included demonstrations and clashes with security forces that lead the Council of Ministers to meet on 5 February of the same year.

Since there is no real independence for a country without an official national university that preserves its cultural and scientific heritage, the year 1951 witnessed the creation of the first unit of the Lebanese University with the establishment of the Higher Normal School and the Institute of Statistics under the direction of Dr. Khalil Al-Jurr.

Soon after, Decree No. 25 was issued on 26 February 1953, stipulating the establishment of a Center for Financial and Administrative Studies that was affiliated to the University and later renamed the “Institute of Management and Finance”. The Decree also stipulated the renaming of the “Higher Normal School” with the “Higher Teachers Institution”.