The Lebanese Red Cross is Lebanon’s national humanitarian society and an auxiliary medical service to the Lebanese Armed Forces, headquartered in Beirut.
Founded in 1945, the organisation operates with approximately 7,000 volunteers and members alongside 200 staff personnel. Lebanon is the only Arab League member state to use the Red Cross emblem rather than the Red Crescent, reflecting the country’s historical Christian majority and absence of a state religion. The LRC works in partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and maintains bilateral relationships with the Norwegian and French Red Cross societies. It coordinates with Lebanese government authorities, United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations to deliver humanitarian assistance across the country. As of 2021, the society was led by Secretary General Georges Kettaneh.
