Saad Hariri

Saad Hariri
سعد الحريري
Leader of Movement of the Future
Assumed office
20 April 2005
Preceded by Rafic Hariri
Prime Minister of Lebanon
In office
9 November 2009 – 13 June 2011
President Michel Suleiman
Deputy Elias Murr
Preceded by Fouad Siniora
Succeeded by Najib Mikati
Personal details
Born (1970-04-18) 18 April 1970
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Nationality Lebanese and Saudi Arabian[1]
Political party Movement of the Future
March 14 Alliance
Spouse(s) Lara Bashir Al Adem (1998–present)
Alma mater Georgetown University
Religion Islam
Website Saad Hariri's Official Website
PM Saad Hariri Official Website - SaadHariri.com (Facebook)
@SaadHariri (Twitter)

Saad-eddine Rafic Al-Hariri (Arabic: سعد الدين رفيق الحريري‎; born 17 April 1970) is a Lebanese politician and billionaire who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 2009 until 2011. He is the second son of Rafic Hariri, the former Lebanese Prime Minister who was assassinated in 2005. Hariri was prime minister from 9 November 2009 until the collapse of his cabinet on 12 January 2011 and has also been the leader of the Movement of the Future party since 2005. He is seen as a "weak figurehead" of the March 14 movement.[2] Following the collapse of his government in 2011, Hariri moved overseas, residing in France and Saudi Arabia. On 8 August 2014 he returned to Lebanon unannounced, for the first time in 3 years.[3][4][5]

Early years

Saad Hariri was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia[6][7] on 18 April 1970, and is the son of Rafic Hariri and his first wife Nida Bustani, an Iraqi.[8] In addition to his native Arabic, Hariri speaks English and French. He graduated in 1992 from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University with a major in Business Administration.[9] He then returned to Saudi Arabia where he managed part of his father's business in Riyadh until his father's assassination in 2005. When his father was killed in February 2005 he inherited some USD $4.1 billion, earning him and each of his siblings[9] a place on the 2006 Forbes list of richest people in the world.

Business activities

Prior to entering politics, Hariri served as the chairman of the executive committee of Oger Telecom, which pursues telecommunication interests in the Middle East and Africa. In addition, Hariri was the chairman of Omnia Holdings and a board member of Oger International Entreprise de Travaux Internationaux.

Political career

On 20 April 2005, Hariri family announced that Saad Hariri would lead the Movement of the Future, an essentially Sunni movement that was created and led by his late father.[8][10] He is also the leader of the March 14 Alliance, a coalition of political groups born out of the Cedar Revolution which, through mass popular demonstrations and Western support, led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon in 2005 after a 29-year presence.

In 2007, French President Jacques Chirac awarded Saad Hariri the "Legion d'Honneur" (Knight of the Legion of Honor).[11]

Premiership

Hariri was prime minister from 9 November 2009.

Government collapse

On 12 January 2011, minutes after Hariri posed for pictures with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office, the opposition parties resigned from the cabinet, as an objection for the inability of the government to take detrimental decisions, causing his unity government to collapse. In fact, Hezbollah and its allies withdrew from the government due to political tensions arose from investigations of the assassination of Rafic Hariri.[12] Hezbollah operatives had been accused of the assassination of Rafic Hariri.[12]

Hariri remained caretaker Prime Minister for another four months after the collapse of his cabinet. The new Lebanese government was finally formed on 13 June 2011 and is headed by Najib Mikati. Mikati created a Hezbollah-led government coalition.[12]

Arrest warrant

On 12 December 2012, Syria issued an arrest warrants against Hariri, Future bloc deputy Okab Sakr and Free Syrian Army official Louay Meqdad in accusing them of arming and providing financial support for Syrian opposition groups.[13] Upon this, Hariri released a statement, indicating that Bashar Assad is a "monster".[13] Lebanese judicial sources argued that the arrest warrant would likely be ignored by Lebanon and that since both Hariri and Sakr have parliamentary immunity, they cannot be prosecuted.[13]

Personal life

Hariri holds dual citizenship, Lebanese and Saudi Arabian.[1] He married Lara Bashir Al Adem in 1998 and has 3 children: Hussam (born 1999), Lulwa (born 2001), and Abdulaziz (born 2005). His wife is from a prestigious Syrian family.[8] He lived in Paris, France, since 2011 for safety reasons but returned on 8 August 2014.[2][14]

His net worth has fluctuated since the death of his father. Current figures usually vary between 1.5 and 2 billion USD. However, according to Forbes, as of 2011 he is the 595th richest person in the world with a net worth of $2 billion.[15]

Awards

In 2007, Hariri was awarded the Legion of Honour.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 Rola el Husseini (15 October 2012). Pax Syriana: Elite Politics in Postwar Lebanon. Syracuse University Press. p. 261. ISBN 978-0-8156-3304-4. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Lebanon and Syria: Peering into the abyss". The Economist. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  3. ↑ "Hariri Back in Lebanon for First Time in 3 Years". Lebanon News.Net. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  4. ↑ http://www.alarabiya.net/ar/arab-and-world/2014/08/08/%D8%B3%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%89-%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%B9%D8%AF-3-%D8%B3%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AA.html
  5. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=nThwJXDYfkg
  6. ↑ His Excellency Deputy Saadeddine Rafiq Hariri Arab Decision.
  7. ↑ The World's Billionaires, 2008 Forbes
  8. 1 2 3 Vloeberghs, Ward (July 2012). "The Hariri Political Dynasty after the Arab Spring" (PDF). Mediterranean Politics 17 (2): 241–248. doi:10.1080/13629395.2012.694046. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  9. 1 2 "Hind Hariri is world's youngest billionaire". The Daily Star. 11 March 2006.
  10. ↑ Mallat, Chibli. Lebanon's Cedar Revolution An essay on non-violence and justice (PDF). Mallat. p. 122.
  11. ↑ "Saad Hariri".
  12. 1 2 3 Simon, Kevin (2012). "Hezbollah: Terror in Context". Olin College of Engineering. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  13. 1 2 3 Dakroub, Hussein (13 December 2012). "Hariri calls Assad ‘monster,’ rejects warrants". The Daily Star. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  14. ↑ "Hassan Nasrallah answers Saad Hariri's speech: "Saad Hariri insulted his own father"". Iloubnan. 17 February 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  15. ↑ Saad Hariri profile - Forbes Retrieved April 2011.
  16. ↑ "Speakers from the Government of Lebanon". The Economist. Retrieved 18 July 2013.

External links

Party political offices
Preceded by
Rafic Hariri		 Leader of Movement of the Future
2005–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Fouad Siniora		 Prime Minister of Lebanon
2009–2011 		Succeeded by
Najib Mikati
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, February 15, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.