Rafic Hariri

Rafic Hariri
رفيق حريري

Prime Minister of Lebanon
In office
31 October 1992 – 2 December 1998
Preceded by Rashid el-Solh
Succeeded by Selim al-Hoss
In office
23 October 2000 – 21 October 2004
Preceded by Selim al-Hoss
Succeeded by Omar Karami
Born November 1, 1944(1944-11-01)
Sidon, Lebanon
Died February 14, 2005(2005-02-14) (aged 60)
Beirut, Lebanon
Political party Future Movement
Religion Sunni Islam
Lebanon

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Rafic Baha El Deen Al-Hariri — (November 1, 1944 – February 14, 2005), (Arabic: رفيق بهاء الدين الحريري‎), business tycoon, was the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 until his resignation, 20 October 2004. He headed five cabinets during his tenure. Hariri dominated the country's post-war political and business life and is widely credited with reconstructing Beirut after the 15-year civil war.

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. The investigation, by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, into his assassination is still ongoing and currently led by the independent investigator Daniel Bellemare. In its first two reports, UNIIIC indicated that the Syrian government may be linked to the assassination.[1]

Hariri's killing led to massive political change in Lebanon, including the Cedar Revolution and the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.

Contents

Background

Hariri was born in a modest Sunni Muslim family, along with two siblings (brother, Shafic and sister Bahia) 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.

Rise to Wealth

In 1969, Hariri established CICONEST a small subcontracting firm. Although mildly successful for a brief period of time, CICONEST began to be, counter-intuitively, damaged by rising oil prices. As the oil boom took off, CICONEST's profits diminished further and further due to the rising costs of raw materials that quickly outstripped the rising contract construction costs themselves. CICONEST could no longer operate and was forced out of business. During the oil-boom Saudi Arabia's wealth increased exponentially. In the midst of its boom, Saudi Arabia became an important center in the region for business and political interests. Hariri's partner at the time was solicited by King Khaled to construct a new hotel in Taef within a brief time span. Hariri accepted the contract and immediately went to Europe to source capital for the project. He found his support in Paris, "an active Lebanese banker who had appropriated Banque Méditerranée in Lebanon and started operations in Paris…was impressed by Hariri." The banker guaranteed Hariri thus enabling him to finance the project. Hariri then partnered with the failing French construction firm Oger to source the construction side of the development. Hariri knew that the rest of his career rested upon the success of this single contract, and came to devote all of his resources to its timely completion. Hariri finished the project a week before it was due and came into the good graces of King Khaled. The profit from that single project formed the launching pad of Hariri's career. "Hariri achieved considerable profits and made a successful takeover bid for Oger, a company that was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy." Hariri formed Oger International out of the merger and went on to be the main construction firm used by the Saudi Royal family for all of their important developments. As a result, only a few years after his first contract with King Khaled, Hariri had become a multi-billionaire.

Beginnings in philanthropy

Having accumulated enormous wealth, Hariri began to focus his attention on contributing back to his community. Going back to his roots, Hariri's first major endeavors involved developing educational facilities in Lebanon. Three main projects consumed a large portion of his time. First was the redevelopment of a new school in his hometown, Sidon; the school had been razed in previous warfare with Israel. Second was the establishment of a large educational institute. The Kfar Falous project was one of enormous scope, encompassing roughly eighteen-million square feet of land at an estimated project cost of one-hundred and fifty million dollars. This initiative was of particular sentimental importance to Hariri because it acted as a center for education where all of Lebanon's different sects could join together and pursue greater goals than the advancement of their own sects. Unfortunately, only a year after it's completion, the Kfar Falous project was completely and utterly destroyed. The third push with regards to education was the creation of the Hariri Foundation. The Hariri Foundation, originally called the Islamic Institute for Culture and Higher Education, was an organization that helped finance students’ higher education tuitions. The institute also frequently paid college tuition fees for the children of prominent figures in the Assad government.[2].

As he became more involved in aiding those affected by war, Hariri became progressively more embroiled in politics. His appeals to the U.N. and services as an emissary to the Saudi Royal family won him international recognition on the political stage for his humanitarian efforts but also slowly caught him in the web of Lebanese politics. Fundamentally, however, Hariri was a businessman-philanthropist. In 1982, he donated $12 million to Lebanese victims of Israel's invasion and helped clean up Beirut's streets with his company's 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 that led to the 1989 Taif Accord, which Saudi Arabia organised to bring the warring factions together. Taif put an end to the civil war and paved the way for Hariri to become prime minister.

Political career

Hariri returned to Lebanon in the early 80's as wealthy man and began to build a name for himself by making large donations and contributions to various groups in Lebanon. He was implanted as the Saudi's strong man following the collapse of the PLO and the inexistence of any viable Sunni leadership in the country and as a response to the rising power of the Shiite militia Amal. In 1992, he became a prime minister, under Syria's watchful and military occupation of Lebanon, 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 as the country's debt grew to become the largest per capita in the world.

1992-1996 Economic Political Policies

With a significant amount of the public behind him, Hariri implemented aggressive and reformative new economic policy. Perhaps Hariri's most important creation in the beginning of his career was "Horizon 2000" the government's name for its new rejuvenation plan. A large component of "Horizon 2000" was Solidere, the privately-owned [3] construction company that was established to reconstruct post-war Lebanon. Solidere was owned by the government and other private investors. Harriri took over by offering the poor and miserable investors to purchase their land and shares at 15% of their value. To avoid starvation the investors complied with Harriri's offer. Harriri took over the government's share because most of the ministers and MPs were on his side and voted for the personal benefit of Harriri rather than the benefit of the Lebanese people. Among the people participating in this scam is Walid Eido who was assassinated in 2007. This risies questions around the integrity and ethical behavior of Harriri and Eido. Solidere was largely focused on redeveloping Beirut's downtown and turning it into a new urban center as quickly as possible in one aspect of the various infrastructure redevelopment plans that would be implemented by "Horizon 2000". Another aspect of the decade long plan was the privatization of major industries. Numerous contracts were awarded to important industries such as energy, telecommunications, electricity, airports and roads. The last and perhaps most significant aspect of "Horizon 2000" was economic stimulus via direct foreign investment. Specifically, Hariri supported foreign firms and individuals to take an interest in Lebanon's developmental potential. Hariri simplified tax codes, and provided tax breaks to foreign investors. Due to his previous successes in the private sector and numerous international connections that were a result of said successes, Hariri was able to garner a significant amount of low interest loans from foreign investors. Hariri also pursued aggressive macroeconomic policy such as maintaining strict regulations on bank reserves and inter-bank interest rates to curb inflation and raise the value of the Lebanese pound relative to the dollar. Hariri's economic policies were a remarkable success during his first year in office. From 1992-1993 there was a 6 percent real increase in national income, the capital base of commercial banks effectively doubled, the budgetary earnings hovered at around a billion dollars, and commercial banks’ consolidated balance sheet increased about 25%. By 1998, however, real GDP growth was around 1%, a year later it would be -1%, national debt had skyrocketed 540% from two to eighteen billion dollars, and Lebanon's economy was in a miserable state. One should note that the current national debt is over 40 billions dollars due to Harriri's policies. Also Harriri's fortune was estimated to be 4 billions dollars in 1992, and 16 billion dollars in 2005. This rises question to whether Harriri's fortune was directly linked to the rising national debt.

Hariri and Lebanon's Political Environment

George W. Bush and Hariri meeting in the White House

Amid the political crisis brought on by the extension of President Émile Lahoud's term, Hariri resigned as Prime Minister, 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."

During a BBC interview in 2001,[4][5] Harīrī 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: "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists".[1] 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, Palestinian, 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.

Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, a recent recruit of the anti-Syrian opposition, emboldened by popular anger and civic action now being called Lebanon's "Cedar Revolution," alleged in the wake of the assassination that in August 2004 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad threatened Hariri, saying "[President of Lebanon] 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."

On June 22, 2005, Beirut International Airport was renamed Rafic Hariri International Airport.[6] Additionally, Beirut General University hospital was renamed Rafiq Hariri Hospital.[6]

Distinctions, medals and awards

Assassination

Ministry of the Interior soldier guarding the site of the attack that killed Hariri

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. Hariri was buried along with his bodyguards, who died in the bombing, in a location near Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque.

The latest progress report by Brammertz has indicated that DNA evidence collected from the crime scene suggests that the assassination might be the act of a young male suicide bomber.[7]

UN Investigation

Rue Minet al Hosn where Hariri was assassinated
Looking southeast across the explosion site

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 newer recruit of the anti-Syrian opposition, said 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."[8] He was quoted as saying "I heard him telling us those words." 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.[9] 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 said that Hariri told her that he received threats.[10] 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.[11]

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 long time allies 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". Many analysts also believe that Mr. Assad was unhappy with Mr. Hariri for his support of Resolution 1559 and of the Syria Accountability Act". The resolution was sponsored and spearheaded by Jacques Chirac, France's former president and personal friend of Mr. Hariri. Given the strong relationship that Hariri enjoyed with Chirac, many believe that if the former was not directly involved he could have at least swayed his friend from sponsoring a Resolution that meant to harm the Syrian government and people. Things in the Middle east are not always as they seem.

— "Report of the Fact-Finding Mission to Lebanon inquiring into the causes, circumstances and consequences of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq 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 German judge Detlev Mehlis and presented its initial report to the Security Council on 20 October 2005. The Mehlis Report implicated Syrian and Lebanese officials,[12][13] with special focus on Syria's military intelligence chief, Assef Shawkat and 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."[14] 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. A second report, submitted on 10 December 2005, upholds the conclusions from the first report. On 11 January 2006, Mehlis was replaced by the Belgian Serge Brammertz.

Syria had extensive military and intelligence influence in Lebanon at the time of Hariri's murder, but Damascus has claimed repeatedly it had no knowledge of the bombing. A United Nations report sponsored by the US and UK found converging evidence of Syrian and Lebanese involvement in this attack. The UN Security Council voted unanimously to demand full Syrian cooperation with UN investigators in the matter[15], and Serge Brammertz's last two reports praised Syria's full co-operation.

On 30 December 2005, former Syrian vice-president Abdul Halim Khaddam in a televised interview implicated President Assad in the assassination and said that Assad personally threatened Hariri in the months before his death.[16] This interview has caused Syrian MPs to demand treason charges against Khaddam.[17]

On March 28, 2008, the 10th report of the UN's International Independent Investigation Commission found that, "a network of individuals acted in concert to carry out the assassination of Rafiq Hariri and that this criminal network — the "Hariri Network" — or parts thereof are linked to some of the other cases within the Commission's mandate."[18][19]

The Security Council extended the mandate for the investigation, which was to end in December 2008, until 28 February 2009.[20]

UN Special Tribunal

As of 6 February 2006, both the United Nations and the government of Lebanon had agreed to a proposal establishing a Special Tribunal for Lebanon. If the Lebanese government follows the final proposal, it will mark the first time that an international court tried individuals for a "terrorist" crime committed against a specific person.[21] The United Nations acted in early 2007 to force the process ahead, a move strongly opposed by Syria and its allies in Lebanon, and for reasons of security, efficiency and fairness, the location is to be outside Lebanon.

In December 2007 the Netherlands agreed to host the tribunal in the former Dutch intelligence headquarters in the town of Leidschendam, a suburb of The Hague. The court opened on 1 March 2009.[22]

On April 29, 2009, following a request of prosecutor Daniel Bellemare, the tribunal ordered the "immediate and unconditional release" of the only four suspects arrested during the investigation, "for complete absence of reliable proof against them". These were General Jamil Mohammad Amin el-Sayyed (head of General Security), General Ali Salah el-Dine el-Hajj (chief of internal security forces, the Lebanese police force), Brigadier-General Raymond Fouad Azar (head of Army Intelligence) and Brigadier-General Mostafa Fehmi Hamdane (head of the presidential guard). Considered as Syria's main rule-enforcing agents at the time, they have spent nearly 3 years and 8 months in detention after Lebanese authorities arrested them on September 1, 2005, and during that period no charges were ever pressed against them. Their release came amidst a tense political atmosphere in Lebanon, due to the officially admitted heavy politization of the affair. Several anti-Syrian political figures have stated that "[we] still consider them as guilty."

Jürgen Cain Külbel

Jürgen Cain Külbel, a former German criminal investigator of the GDR (the former communist East Germany), maintains in his book "The murder of Hairiri", that the CIA and the Mossad are responsible for Hariri's murder[23]. In an interview with Global Research, Külbel maintains that one hour before Hariri's murder Hariri's jamming device for remote control bombs, which was installed in his car, was turned off. And that Israel as the inventor and sole manufacturer of this device was the only one in position to turn it off, thereby making Hairiri's motorcade susceptible to remote control bombs. Külbel furthermore alleges that both the USA and Israel wanted to bring down the Syrian government, and that they needed an event such as the assassination of Hariri in order to weaken Syria and have it vulnerable and ready for a possible invasion, like the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. In the interview Külbel maintains that Detlev Mehlis, the first UN prosecutor, casually worked with the CIA and neo-con think tanks[23]. Külbel's book stirred controversy in Lebanon, because it turned the whole scenario of Syrian responsibility on its head. When Lebanese journalist Maria Maalouf invited and taped a program with Jürgen Cain Külbel, the next day she received a text messaged death threat in English from a Lebanese stating "you are a dead girl". Maria Maalouf quickly alerted the authorities.

Nasrallah

In August 2010, in response to notification that the UN tribunal would indict some Hezbollah members, Hassan Nasrallah said that Ahmed Nasrallah had confessed to working for Israel in the assassination of Rafik Hariri in order to drum up anti-Syrian feelings.[24] Saad Hariri responded that the UN should investigate these claims.[25]

Aftermath

Hariri memorial shrine

Hariri was well regarded among international leaders, for example, he was a close friend of French President Jacques Chirac. Chirac was one of the first foreign dignitaries to offer condolences to Hariri's widow in person at her home in Beirut. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon was also created at his instigation.

Following Hariri's death, there were several other bombings and assassinations against anti-Syrian figures. These included Samir Kassir, George Hawi, Gebran Tueni, Pierre Amine Gemayel, and Walid Eido. Assassination attempts were made on Elias Murr, May Chidiac, and Samir Shehade (who was investigating Hariri's death).

References

  1. ↑ Washington Times - Lebanon on a tinderbox
  2. ↑ Dossier:Rafiq Hariri
  3. ↑ About Solidere
  4. ↑ BBC Interview With Rafiq Hariri
  5. ↑ Rafiq Hariri
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Rafiq Al-Hariri's biography". Rafiq Hariri Foundation. http://rhf.org.lb/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9&Itemid=12. Retrieved 2008-03-01. 
  7. ↑ UN probe into murder of former Lebanese leader nears sensitive stage – inquiry chief
  8. ↑ Neil Macfarquahar, "Behind Lebanon Upheaval, 2 Men's Fateful Clash", New York Times, March 20, 2005.
  9. ↑ "Who's who in Lebanon, Walid Jumblatt", BBC news, March 14, 2005
  10. ↑ Warren Hoge, "U.N. Cites Syria as Factor in Lebanese Assassination", New York Times, March 25, 2005.
  11. ↑ "Lebanon agrees to Harīrī inquiry", BBC News, March 25, 2005.
  12. ↑ "UN Harīrī probe implicates Syria", BBC News, October 21, 2005
  13. ↑ John Kifner & Warren Hoge, "Top Syrian Seen as Prime Suspect in Assassination", New York Times, October 21, 2005.
  14. ↑ "Bush Wants U.N. to Deal With Syria Report", Breitbart, October 21, 2005
  15. ↑ Lynch, Colum; Wright, Robin. "U.N. Pressures Syria On Assassination Probe". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/31/AR2005103100297_pf.html. Retrieved 22 May 2010. 
  16. ↑ "Harīrī 'threatened by Syria head' ", BBC News, December 30, 2005.
  17. ↑ "Syria MPs demand treason charges", BBC News, December 31, 2005.
  18. ↑ "UN says 'network' killed Hariri". BBC News. 2008-03-28. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7319173.stm. Retrieved 2008-03-28. 
  19. ↑ Zagorin, Adam (2008) "Syria, US at Odds Over Hariri Probe" Time Magazine Online, Apr. 16, 2008, Retrieved on 2008-10-28.
  20. ↑ Security Council extends probe into Lebanon killings for another two months, UN News Centre, December 17, 2008.
  21. ↑ UN News Centre - Hariri murder tribunal awaits approval after UN and Lebanon sign deal
  22. ↑ Hariri court to be based in former Dutch intelligence HQ: official
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CAT20060915&articleId=3237
  24. ↑ Nasrallah: Israel used secret agent to turn Lebanon gov't against Hezbollah
  25. ↑ Lebanon PM: UN must probe claims of Israeli complicity in Hariri murder

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Political offices
Preceded by
Rashid el-Solh		 Prime Minister of Lebanon
1992–1998		 Succeeded by
Selim al-Hoss
Preceded by
Selim al-Hoss		 Prime Minister of Lebanon
2000–2004		 Succeeded by
Omar Karami
Prime Ministers of Lebanon
Pre-Independence
Auguste Adib Pacha • Bechara El Khoury • Habib Pacha Es-Saad • Bechara El Khoury • Émile Eddé • Auguste Adib Pacha • Charles Debbas • Abdullah Bayhum • Ayoub Tabet • Khayreddin al-Ahdab • Khaled Chehab • Abdallah El-Yafi • Abdullah Bayhum* • Alfred Naqqache • Ahmed Daouk • Sami as-Solh • Ayoub Tabet • Petro Trad
Post-Independence

Riad as-Solh • Abdul Hamid Karami • Sami as-Solh • Saadi al-Munla • Riad as-Solh • Hussein al-Oweini • Abdallah El-Yafi • Sami as-Solh • Nazim al-Akkari • Saeb Salam • Abdallah El-Yafi • Khaled Chehab • Saeb Salam • Abdallah El-Yafi • Sami as-Solh • Rashid Karami • Abdallah El-Yafi • Sami as-Solh • Khalil al-Hibri • Rashid Karami • Ahmed Daouk • Saeb Salam • Rashid Karami • Hussein al-Oweini • Rashid Karami • Abdallah El-Yafi • Rashid Karami • Abdallah El-Yafi • Rashid Karami • Saeb Salam • Amin al-Hafez • Takieddin el-Solh • Rashid el-Solh • Nureddin Rifai • Rashid Karami • Selim al-Hoss • Takieddin el-Solh • Shafik Wazzan • Rashid Karami • Selim al-Hoss • Michel Aoun • Selim al-Hoss • Omar Karami • Rashid el-Solh • Rafic Hariri • Selim al-Hoss • Rafic Hariri • Omar Karami • Najib Mikati • Fouad Siniora • Saad Hariri

*denotes interim