Rafic Hariri

File:Hariri2002.jpg

Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri

Rafik Bahaa Edine Hariri — Arabic: رفيق بهاء الدين الحريري — (November 1 1944 – February 14 2005), a self-made billionaire and business tycoon, was the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 until his resignation on 20 October 2004. He headed five cabinets during his tenure. Hariri played a leading role in the reconstruction of Beirut.

Hariri was assassinated on 14 February 2005 when explosives equivalent to around 1000 kg of TNT were detonated as his motorcade drove past the St George Hotel in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. At the time, the Syrian government bore the brunt of US-led outrage at the murder. Syria had extensive military and intelligence influence in Lebanon at the time of Hariri's murder, and Damascus claimed repeatedly it had no 'knowledge' of the bombing. A United Nations report sponsored by the US and UK implicated Syrian officials and members of the Lebanese security services. The UN Security Council voted unanimously to demand full Syrian cooperation with UN investigators in the matter.[1].

Biography

Background

Born to a Sunni Muslim family of modest means in the Lebanese port city of Sidon, Hariri attended elementary and secondary school in his city and pursued his business administration studies at the Beirut Arab University. He had a brother, Shafic, and a sister, Bahia. After training as a teacher he left Lebanon in 1965 to work in Saudi Arabia for a construction company. There he married Nazik Audeh in 1965. In 1969, Hariri established his own construction company CICONEST, which benefited greatly from the oil price boom of the 1970s. Hariri accumulated vast amounts of wealth in a short period of time and emerged as a powerful construction tycoon. In 1978 Hariri was made a citizen of Saudi Arabia by the Saudi royal family as a reward for the high quality of his entrepreneurial services, and became the kingdom's emissary to Lebanon. Hariri then went on to become Saudi Arabia's leading entrepreneur, acquiring Oger in 1979, and founding Oger International, which is based in Paris. His interests extended across banking, real estate, oil, industry and telecommunications. Rafik and Nazik Hariri had seven children and seven grandchildren.

In 1993 he founded the television station Future TV in Beirut and purchased stakes in several Lebanese newspapers. He founded his own newspaper Al-mustaqbal (The Future). He was also the biggest shareholder in Solidere, the joint-stock company that almost single handedly transformed and revived central Beirut following the Lebanese civil war.

In 1982, he donated $12 million to Lebanese victims of Israel's invasion and helped clean up Beirut's streets with his own money. After the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, he acted as an envoy of the Saudi royal family to the country. He laid the ground work, along with Philip Habib, the US envoy to Lebanon at that time, that led to the 1989 Taif Accord, which he organized and hosted at his own expense. Taif put an end to the civil war and paved the way for himself to become prime minister.

Political career

Hariri returned to Lebanon in 1992 as prime minister. He put the country back on the financial map through the issuing of Eurobonds and won plaudits from the World Bank for his plan to borrow reconstruction money.

Hariri served as Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998, then again from 2000 until late 2004. However, amid the political crisis brought on by the extension of President Emile Lahoud's term, which was brought about by pressure from Syria, Hariri resigned as Prime Minister (he resigned in 1998 for about the same reason), saying: "I have... submitted the resignation of the government, and I have declared that I will not be a candidate to head the (next) government."

Hariri's contributions were numerous. Among the most notable is the fact that he educated 30,000 Lebanese students inside and outside of Lebanon, and spent millions of dollars of his own personal money to redefine the face of social hierarchies in Lebanon. He donated a great deal of money to charity, and invested in Lebanon when few others were willing to risk doing so. Like all prime ministers since the end of the French mandate in 1943, he was a Sunni Muslim. He worked towards unity of the different religious and ethnic groups and rebuilding.

But his economic record was mixed: his ambitious borrow-and-build schemes resulted in massive public debt and budget deficits, which pushed up interest rates and hampered economic growth. He was accused of ignoring the poor as a matter of public policy, despite his long personal record of funding charitable causes. However, in the atmosphere of the post civil war era, Hariri's extensive entrepreneurial activities in Lebanon played a pivotal role in spurring international investment and economic revival.

During a BBC interview in 2001, Hariri was asked by Tim Sebastian why he refused to hand over members of Hezbollah that were accused by America of being terrorists. He responded that Hezbollah were the ones protecting Lebanon against the Israeli occupation and called for implementation of passed United Nations resolutions against Israel. He was further accused of making the American coalition in the War on Terrorism worthless and asked if he was ready for the consequences of his refusal, reminding him that George W Bush had said : "you are either with us or against us". He replied that he had hoped that there would be no consequences, but would deal with them if they arrive. Hariri further said that he opposed the killing of all humans Israeli, Palistinian, Syrian or Lebanese and believed in dialogue as a solution. He further went on to say that Syria will have to stay in Lebanon for protection of Lebanon until they are no longer needed and Lebanon asks them to leave.

On June 22, 2005, Beirut International Airport was renamed Rafic Hariri International Airport in honor of Rafik Hariri. Israel bombed the airport in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon crisis.

Fortune

By the 1980s, Hariri entered the Forbes top 100. In 2002 Hariri became the fourth-richest politician in the world. Forbes estimated his personal and family's fortune at $4.3 billion on its 2005 World's richest people. After his assassination, his family inherited a total of $16.7 billion in 2006, which drew some questions which haven't been explained by the Hariri family on how $4.3 billion became $16.7 billion in the course of the year after the assassination. All his family members appeared on the Forbes' list of billionaires in 2006.

Rafik Hariri had interests stretching from Riyadh to Paris to Houston. Until returning to Lebanon, his son Saad Hariri ran Saudi Oger, a USD $3.15 billion (sales) construction conglomerate. Oger paid $375 million to increase its ownership in Arab Bank in order to keep out interested Arab-American investors.

In 1990, on the occasion of the graduation of his son, Bahaa, from Boston University, Mr. Hariri made the naming gift for what became The Rafik B. Hariri Building, home of Boston University's School of Management.

Assassination

On 14 February 2005 Hariri was killed, along with 21 others, when explosives equivalent of around 1,000 kg of TNT were detonated as his motorcade drove near the St. George Hotel in Beirut. Among the dead were several of Hariri's bodyguards and his friend and former Minister of the Economy Bassel Fleihan. Rafik Hariri was buried along with his body guards who died in the bombing at a mosque in West Beirut.

UN Investigation

Rue Minet al Hosn where Rafik Hariri was assassinated

The other end of Rue Minet al Hosn

Hariri and others in the anti-Syrian opposition had questioned the plan to extend the term of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, emboldened by popular anger and civic action now being called Lebanon's "Cedar Revolution". Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, a recent recruit of the anti-Syrian opposition, alleged in the wake of the assassination that in August 2004 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad threatened Hariri, saying "Lahoud is me. ... If you and Chirac want me out of Lebanon, I will break Lebanon." ^[2] He was quoted as saying "When I heard him telling us those words, I knew that it was his condemnation of death." The United States, the EU and the UN have stopped short of any accusations, choosing instead to demand a Syrian pullout from Lebanon and an open and international investigation of the Assassination. Jumblatt's comments are not without controversy; the BBC describes him as "being seen by many as the country's political weathervane" - consistently changing allegiances to emerge on the winning side of the issues du jour through the turmoil of the 1975-90 civil war and its troubled aftermath. ^[3] He was a supporter of Syria after the war but switched sides after the death of former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad in 2000. His account is quoted, but not confirmed, in the UN's Fitzgerald Report. The report stops short of directly accusing Damascus or any other party, saying that only a further thorough international inquest can identify the culprit. Lara Marlow, an Irish journalist also alleged that Hariri told her that he received threats. ^[4] The Lebanese government has agreed to this inquiry, though calling for the full participation, not supremacy, of its own agencies and the respect of Lebanese sovereignty. ^[5]

According to these testimonies, Mr. Hariri reminded Mr. Assad of his pledge not to seek an extension for Mr. Lahoud’s term, and Mr. Assad replied that there was a policy shift and that the decision was already taken. He added that Mr. Lahoud should be viewed as his personal representative in Lebanon and that “opposing him is tantamount to opposing Assad himself”. He then added that he (Mr. Assad) “would rather break Lebanon over the heads of [Mr.] Hariri and [Druze leader] Walid Jumblatt than see his word in Lebanon broken”. Irish journalist Lara Marlowe with whom Hariri talked reported similar allegations. According to the testimonies, Mr. Assad then threatened both Mr. Hariri and Mr. Jumblatt with physical harm if they opposed the extension for Mr. Lahoud. The meeting reportedly lasted for ten minutes, and was the last time Mr. Hariri met with Mr. Assad. After that meeting, Mr. Hariri told his supporters that they had no other option but to support the extension for Mr. Lahoud. The Mission has also received accounts of further threats made to Mr. Hariri by security officials in case he abstained from voting in favor of the extension or “even thought of leaving the country”.

— "Report of the Fact-Finding Mission to Lebanon inquiring into the causes, circumstances and consequences of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, 25 February – 24 March 2005" (the Fitzgerald Report)

The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1595 to send an investigative team to look into Hariri's assassination. This team was headed by Detlev Mehlis and presented its initial report to the Security Council on 20 October, 2005, implicating Syrian and Lebanese officials ^{[6] [7]}, with special focus on Syria's military intelligence chief, Assef Shawkat, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law. United States President George W. Bush has called for a special meeting of the UN to be convened to discuss international response "as quickly as possible to deal with this very serious matter." ^[8]. Detlev Mehlis has asked for more time to investigate all leads. Lebanese politicians have asked to extend the investigative team's duration and charter, to include assassinations of other prominent anti-Syrian Lebanese, such as Gebran Tueni.

On 30 December, 2005, former Syrian vice-president Abdul Halim Khaddam in a televised interview implicated Assad in the assassination and said that Assad personally threatened Hariri in the months before his death ^[9]. This interview has caused Syrian MPs to demand treason charges against Khaddam ^[10].

Aftermath

Shrine and resting place for Hariri in September, 2005

Increasingly, Hariri's younger son Saad Hariri is taking his father's place on the Lebanese political scene.

Hariri was well regarded among international leaders, counting French President Jacques Chirac as a close friend, and enjoying the record of being the political figure most often received by the French President. Chirac was one of the first foreign dignitaries to offer condolences to Hariri's widow in person at her home in Beirut.

See also

• History of Lebanon
• Lebanon Civil War
• Cedar Revolution
• Samir Kassir
• George Hawi
• Gebran Tueni

Notes

1. ^ "Who's who in Lebanon, Walid Jumblatt", BBC news, March 14, 2005
2. ^ Neil Macfarquahar, "Behind Lebanon Upheaval, 2 Men's Fateful Clash", New York Times, March 20, 2005.
3. ^ Warren Hoge, "U.N. Cites Syria as Factor in Lebanese Assassination", New York Times, March 25, 2005
4. ^ "Lebanon agrees to Hariri inquiry", BBC News, March 25, 2005.
5. ^ "UN Hariri probe implicates Syria", BBC News, October 21, 2005
6. ^ John Kifner & Warren Hoge, "Top Syrian Seen as Prime Suspect in Assassination", New York Times, October 21, 2005
7. ^ "Bush Wants U.N. to Deal With Syria Report", Breitbart, October 21, 2005
8. ^ "Hariri 'threatened by Syria head' ", BBC News, December 30, 2005.
9. ^ "Syria MPs demand treason charges", BBC News, December 31, 2005.

References

• The Fitzgerald report (link to the UN website) - 24 March 2005
• The Mehlis report (link to the UN website) - 20 October 2005
• Mr. Hariri Goes to Washington: The prime minister's prime real estate, Richard W. Carlson, The Weekly Standard, 12 May 2003.
• Lebanese prime minister quits, By Brent Sadler, Caroline Faraj and Nada el-Husseini, CNN 15 April 2003
• Huge blast kills Lebanese ex-PM — Previously unknown group claims responsibility, CNN 14 February 2005
• Hariri's comeback in Lebanon, BBC News 4 September 2000
• Al-Hariri, Rafik & family, 58, self-made, Forbes October 2002
• US Warns of UN Penalties After Lebanon Killing, Reuters Mon 14 February 2005
• Blasts, then silence: Cease-fire begins, CNN 26 April 1996
• INDEPTH: LEBANON Lebanon CBC News Online, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 15 February 2005
• Syria accused of killing Lebanon's ex-leader By Ramsay Short in Beirut and Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Editor-The Daily Telegraph 15 February 2005
• Dossier: Rafiq Hariri-Middle East Intelligence Bulletin, July 2001

External links

• Rafic Hariri official site with news, video, press releases, speeches, statements, government policy, Cabinet decisions and UN resolutions
• Future Movement Forum Future Movement Discussion Forum
• Open Directory Project - Rafik Hariri directory category
• The Mehlis Report in pdf format from the UN
• The Mehlis Report in html format from Al-Bab.com
• UN Security Council media release on briefing of Security Council
• The Syrian Gambit Unravels
• Lying about Bombing
• The Disgrace of the Mehlis Commission a criticism of the Mehlis report

Obituaries

• Obituary-Rafik Hariri - BBC News 14 February 2005
• Obituary-Rafik Hariri - The Daily Telegraph London 15 February 2005
• Obituary-Rafik Hariri - The Guardian 15 February 2005
• Obituary-Rafik Hariri - The Times of London 16 February 2005
• Obituary-Rafik Hariri - Islamica Magazine [Summer] 2005

News coverage

• 'Beirut bombshell' - Fortune, Mitchell Protero, 4 May 2006
• RafiqHariri.tk ongoing news reports
• Hariri.org memorial page with news reports
• [11] 'March for the martyr: Hariri Remembered' Arabian Business, Massoud A. Derhally 14 February 2006
• Report presented to UN Security Council implicating Syrian and Lebanese officials - UN.org 20 October 2005
• U.N. investigators in Lebanon identify Four Suspects in Hariri Assassination - NewsBlaze August 30 2005
• 'Who killed Rafik Hariri?' - Guardian Unlimited, Patrick Seale 23 February 2005
• 'A savage blow to the country' - Guardian Unlimited 16 February 2005 with world press coverage, obituary and related stories
• Arab world reacts to killing of al-Hariri - Aljazeera.net 15 February 2005 with profile and related stories
• Massive Beirut Car Bomb Kills Ex-Premier Hariri - Reuters 15 February 2005
• "Beirut Bomb: Your reaction" - BBC News 15 February 2005
• Timeline: Lebanon A chronology of key events - BBC News 14 February 2005
• Hariri's Absence Hard to Fill - New York Newsday 14 February 2005
• Lebanese prime minister Hariri resigns - Aljazeera.net 20 October 2004
• The Los Angeles World Affairs Council Speech LAWAC 18 December 1996
• "Mr. Miracle" - TIME EUROPE 8 February 1993

Print articles not available online

• Family of Slain Lebanese Leader Demands Probe Into Killing -The Associated Press/New York Times 17 February 2005
• Rice Says Syria Is at Least Indirectly Responsible for the Blast By Brinkley Joel The New York Times-17 February 2005
• Death of Businessman By Ajami, Fouad The Wall Street Journal-17 February 2005 Page A12
• Wails at Loss of Lebanese Leader, Cries for His Vision By Fattah, Hassan M. The New York Times-17 February 2005
• Huge Crowds Mourn Lebanon's Ex-Premier By Saidi, Leena The New York Times-16 February 2005
• Hama Rules By Friedman,Thomas L.-The New York Times 17 February 2005