Rafic Hariri
Rafic Bahaa El Deen al-Hariri (Arabic: رفيق بهاء الدين الحريري, romanized: Rafīq Bahāʾ ad-Dīn al-Ḥarīrī; Lebanese Arabic pronunciation: [rafiːʔ lˈħariːriː] 1 November 1944 – 14 February 2005), or Rafiq al-Hariri, was a Lebanese business tycoon and politician, who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 until his resignation on 20 October 2004.
Rafic Hariri | |
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رفيق الحريري | |
Hariri in 2001 | |
| Prime Minister of Lebanon | |
| In office 23 October 2000 – 21 October 2004 | |
| President | Émile Lahoud |
| Deputy | Issam Fares |
| Preceded by | Selim Hoss |
| Succeeded by | Omar Karami |
| In office 31 January 1992 – 2 December 1998 | |
| President | Elias Hrawi Émile Lahoud |
| Deputy | Michel Murr |
| Preceded by | Rashid el-Solh |
| Succeeded by | Selim Hoss |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 31 October 1992 – 4 December 1998 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Asaad Diab |
| Succeeded by | Georges Corm |
| Member of Lebanese Parliament | |
| In office 20 October 1992 – 14 February 2005 | |
| Succeeded by | Saad Hariri |
| Constituency | Beirut |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rafic Bahaa El Deen Al Hariri 1 November 1944 Sidon, Lebanon |
| Died | 14 February 2005 (aged 60) Beirut, Lebanon |
| Nationality | Lebanese and Saudi Arabian |
| Political party | Future Movement |
| Spouse(s) | Nidal Bustani Nazik Hariri |
| Children | Bahaa, Saad, Houssam, Ayman, Fahd, Hind |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Hariri family |
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Hariri headed five cabinets during his tenure. He was widely credited for his role in constructing the Taif Agreement that ended the 15-year Lebanese Civil War. He also played a huge role in reconstructing the Lebanese capital, Beirut. He was the first post-civil war prime minister and the most influential and wealthiest Lebanese politician until his assassination.
Hariri was assassinated on 14 February 2005 by a suicide truck bomb in Beirut. Four Hezbollah members were indicted for the assassination and are being tried in absentia by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, but others have linked the assassination to the Syrian government. The outcome of a 15-year investigation led to the guilty verdict of multiple people in Hezbollah's party taking part; however, the only one left alive would be Salim Ayyash, a well-connected, mid-level operative in Hezbollah.
The assassination was a catalyst for dramatic political change in Lebanon. The massive protests of the Cedar Revolution helped achieve the withdrawal of Syrian troops and security forces from Lebanon and a change in governments.
At one point, Hariri was one of the world's 100 wealthiest men and the fourth-richest politician.