February 14, 2005: Rafik Hariri is killed along with 22 others by a truck bomb in Beirut triggering international pressure on neighbouring Syria to end a 29-year military presence in Lebanon.
April 26: Last Syrian soldiers leave Lebanon.
June 16: An international investigation into Hariri's killing begins.
June 19: Lebanese parliamentary elections end in victory for anti-Syrian alliance led by Hariri's son Sa'ad Hariri.
October 20: In a report to the UN Security Council, the preliminary findings of the international investigation implicate high-ranking Syrian and Lebanese officials in the Hariri killing. Syria denies any role.
2006
February 6 Christian leader Michel Aoun, head of the Free Patriotic Movement, strikes a political alliance with the Syrian- and Iranian-backed group Hezbollah.
July 12 Hezbollah captures two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid, setting off a 34-day war which is eventually halted by a UN Security Council resolution.
November 11 After the collapse of talks on giving Hezbollah and its allies more say in government, five pro-Syrian ministers loyal to Hezbollah and the Amal movement resign, stripping the cabinet of all Shi'ite representation.
November 21 Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, a member of the anti-Syrian coalition, is killed by gunmen.
2007
June-September Two anti-Syrian parliamentarians are killed by car bombs in Beirut.
November 23 Pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud's term ends.
December 5 Army chief General Michel Sulaiman emerges as a consensus candidate for president, but his election is held up.
December 12 A car bomb east of Beirut kills Brigadier General Francois Al Hajj, the army's head of operations.
2008
May 6 Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's cabinet accuses Hezbollah of operating a private telecommunications network and installing spy cameras at Beirut airport. The cabinet removes the airport security chief.
May 7 In response, Hezbollah and its allies paralyse Beirut with roadblocks. Two days later, Hezbollah takes control of mainly Muslim west Beirut.
May 21 After mediation, rival leaders sign a deal in Qatar to end 18 months of political conflict. It paves the way for parliament to elect Sulaiman as president.
July 11 Leaders agree on a unity government that gives effective veto power to Hezbollah and its allies.
August 13 On his first visit to Syria as president, Sulaiman agrees with President Bashar Al Assad that their countries will establish diplomatic ties for the first time since independence.
2009
March 1 The Special Tribunal for Lebanon, established to try suspects in Hariri's killing, begins operations in The Hague.
April 29 Tribunal orders release of four pro-Syrian security generals held since 2005 in connection with the killing, citing lack of sufficient evidence.
June 7 An anti-Syrian coalition, led by Hariri, defeats Hezbollah and its main Christian ally Michel Aoun in parliamentary elections. Hariri is later appointed prime minister-designate.
November 9 Hariri forms a new unity government that includes two ministers from Hezbollah.
December 19 Hariri holds "constructive" talks with President Al Assad in Damascus, ending five years of animosity between Syria and the alliance led by Hariri.
2010
August 25 A UN prosecutor investigating the Hariri assassination urges Hezbollah to hand over more of the information that Hezbollah says implicates Israel.
October 28 Hezbollah urges all Lebanese to boycott the UN-backed inquiry and accuses investigators of sending information to Israel.
2011
January 12 Ministers from Hezbollah and its political allies resign, bringing down Hariri's government.
January 17 Tribunal prosecutor issues draft indictments over Hariri killing.
June 13 Telecoms tycoon Najeeb Mikati forms a new government dominated by Hezbollah's allies.
June 30 Tribunal hands over indictments and four arrest warrants to Lebanon, the state prosecutor says. Sa'ad Hariri urges Mikati's government to cooperate with the court.
