Though the agreement set a time frame for withdrawal of Syrian military forces from Lebanon, stipulating that the Syrian occupation end within two years, Syria did not withdraw its forces from the country until It was signed on 22 October and ratified by the Lebanese parliament on 5 November, The treaty was fathered by the Speaker of the Parliament Hussein El-Husseini and negotiated in Ta'if , Saudi Arabia , by the surviving members of Lebanon's parliament.
The agreement covered political reform, the ending of the Lebanese Civil War , the establishment of special relations between Lebanon and Syria , and a framework for the beginning of complete Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon.
Since Rafik Hariri was a former Saudi diplomatic representative, he played a significant role in constructing the Taif Agreement. After the Taif agreement the Prime Minister was responsible to the legislature, as in a traditional parliamentary system.
Therefore, the agreement changed the power-sharing formula that had favoured the Christians to a ratio and enhanced the powers of the Sunni Prime Minister over those of the Christian president. This had caused a serious political crisis of a split premiership, as the post was reserved for a Sunni Muslim due to the National Pact of , and Omar Karami held this office.
The Taif agreement helped to overcome this crisis by preparing the election of a new president. The agreement also provided for the disarmament of all national and non national militias. Hezbollah was allowed to stay armed in its capacity as a "resistance force" rather than a militia, fighting Israel in the south, a privilege obtained β according to the Swedish academic Magnus Ranstorp β in part by using its leverage as holder of a number of Western hostages.
