Rafic Hariri (1 November 1944 – 14 February 2005) was the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998, succeeding Rashid el-Solh and preceding Selim Hoss, and from 2000 to 2004, succeeding Hoss and preceding Omar Karami. Hariri was a multi-billionaire business tycoon at the time of his being Prime Minister, and corruption was an open secret. He was killed by a car bombing near the St. George Hotel in Beirut in 2005, with Syria, Israel, and Hezbollah blamed for the assassination.
Biography[]
Rafic Hariri was born on 1 November 1944 to a modest Lebanese family from the city of Sidon in the French Mandate of Lebanon. He graduated in business administration at the Arab University of Beirut and in 1978 he gained Saudi Arabian citizenship. Hariri became the leader of the Oger French construction firm and formed Saudi Oger, building palaces in Saudi Arabia. Within years, he became a multi-billionaire.
Hariri's work for the Saudi government included bringing an end to the Lebanese Civil War in the Taif Accord of 1989, and he donated $12 million to victims of the conflict in South Lebanon. In 1992 he was elected as the Prime Minister of Lebanon under President Elias Hrawi, and from 1992 to 1998 Lebanon's economy increased. However, in 1998 the economy dropped by 1% and national debt rose from $2,000,000,000 to $18,000,000,000. He resigned in 1998 and decided not to take a part in the next cabinet. However, he was re-elected in 2000 after Selim Hoss' tenure as Prime Minister was ineffective.
Hariri gained international controversy for refusing to hand over Hezbollah terrorists to the United States because he stated that Hezbollah defended Lebanon from Israeli aggression. Hariri was known to be a corrupt man due to having a large personal wealth that was kept an open secret. On 26 August 2014, President Bashar al-Assad of Syria threatened Hariri when he said that he was the President of Lebanon - if French president Jacques Chirac and Hariri wanted Assad out of Lebanon, he would "break" Lebanon.
Death[]
Ground zero of the bombing
President Assad kept true to his promises, with Syrian agents hiding 4,000 pounds of TNT in a parked Mitsubishi van near the St. George Hotel in Beirut. As Hariri's motorcade drove by, the bombs were detonated and Hariri and many other politicians were killed. Israel, Syria, and Hezbollah were held responsible, with Hezbollah blaming Israel. On 18 August 2020, Hezbollah cell leader Salim Ayyash - who had ties to the Syrian government - was found guilty of carrying out Hariri's murder.