Hariri, Rafiq al-

▪ 1994

      The fact that Rafiq al-Hariri, who was installed as prime minister of Lebanon on Oct. 29, 1992, was still being hailed in 1993 as his country's "Mr. Miracle" was remarkable. A rags-to-riches construction tycoon, Hariri had pledged to rebuild his war-ravaged country and to revive its moribund economy. Neither promise would be easy in a nation that had long been divided by sectarian hatreds, occupied by Syrian troops, and burdened with a gross domestic product that fell a bit short of Hariri's $4 billion net worth.

      Hariri, the son of a poor Lebanese farmer, was born in 1944 in the city of Sidon. He briefly attended Beirut Arab University as a business student but left Lebanon in 1966 to go to Saudi Arabia. There he taught mathematics and worked as a part-time accountant for a Saudi contracting firm. In 1970 Hariri set up his own construction business and began amassing a fortune by building hotels, convention centres, and palaces throughout the Middle East. He later expanded his empire to include banking, real estate, and other international commercial interests. Along the way, he acquired homes all over the world, including a 26-room mansion in Washington, D.C.

      Hariri also used his wealth to improve the lives of less fortunate people. In 1983 he set up the Hariri Foundation, which financed the education of thousands of Lebanese students in Europe and the United States. In addition, Hariri paid the expenses for dozens of Lebanon's rival leaders, who attended the 1989 Ta`if peace conference in Saudi Arabia.

      Hariri's fortune helped him in his initial foray into politics because most Lebanese saw the multibillionaire as too rich to be corrupted, and they also trusted that his business acumen would be brought to bear on a government renowned for its lack of efficient management. His membership as a Sunni Muslim was also vitally important because by law Lebanon's prime minister must be a Sunni, just as its president must be a Christian Maronite and the speaker of the National Assembly a Shi'ite Muslim. A week after taking office, Hariri signaled his sensitivity to Lebanon's rival religions by naming a Cabinet that was equally composed of Christians and Muslims.

      Hariri's agenda included the rebuilding of Lebanon into the Middle East's financial and trading capital by implementing his $10 billion plan to repair the country's infrastructure, initialing a future peace treaty with Israel, and ending terrorism, both at home and abroad. To that end Hariri disbanded the militias that once terrorized the capital and launched his plan to "go down in history as the man who rebuilt Beirut."

      (JEROLD L. KELLMAN)

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▪ prime minister of Lebanon

Arabic  Rafīq al-Ḥarīrī , Arabic in full  Rafīq Bahāʾ al-Dīn al-Ḥarīrī 

born Nov. 1, 1944, Sidon, Leb.

died Feb. 14, 2005, Beirut

      Lebanese businessman, politician, and philanthropist who, as prime minister of Lebanon (1992–98; 2000–04), was instrumental in rebuilding the country after its protracted civil war. His assassination in 2005 fomented political tensions between Lebanon and Syria.

      Hariri, the son of a poor Sunni Muslim farmer, briefly attended Beirut Arab University before immigrating to Saudi Arabia in 1966. There he taught mathematics and worked as a part-time accountant for a Saudi contracting firm. In 1970 he set up his own construction business and began amassing a fortune by building hotels, convention centres, and palaces throughout the Middle East. Hariri later expanded his empire to include banking, real estate, insurance, and telecommunications. Along the way, he acquired homes all over the world and used his wealth to improve the lives of the less fortunate. In 1983 he set up the Hariri Foundation, which financed the education of thousands of Lebanese students in Europe and the United States. In addition, Hariri paid the expenses for dozens of Lebanon's rival leaders, who attended the 1989 Ṭāʾif peace conference in Saudi Arabia, which was instrumental in bringing about the end of the Lebanese civil war.

      In 1992 Hariri was elected to the Lebanese parliament and then appointed the country's prime minister under a constitution that required a Sunni head of government. A week after taking office, he signaled his sensitivity to Lebanon's rival religions by naming a cabinet that was equally composed of Christians and Muslims. Hariri's agenda included the rebuilding of Lebanon into the Middle East's financial and trading capital by implementing his $10 billion plan to repair the country's infrastructure, negotiating a peace agreement with Israel, and ending terrorism, both at home and abroad. Friction between Hariri and his long-time political rival Émile Lahoud, then president, led to the former's resignation in 1998.

      Hariri was reelected in 2000, and he faced the task of revitalizing Lebanon's economy and attempting to rebuild a portion of southern Lebanon that had recently been annexed after 22 years of Israeli occupation. Under Hariri, the country experienced a resurgence of tourism that helped its economy, but the issue of Syrian influence in Lebanon polarized the country's political figures and divided Hariri and President Lahoud. To protest a Syrian-backed constitutional amendment that would have extended Lahoud's term, Hariri resigned in October 2004. The following year he was assassinated in a car bombing. Many suspected that Syrian leaders orchestrated the attack, and, in response to the ensuing political unrest, as well as pressure from the United Nations, Syria withdrew its troops from Lebanon in April 2005, ending the country's 29-year occupation.

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