Beirut: A few days before the tenth commemoration of an assassination that shook Lebanon and the entire Arab world, citizens of this beleaguered country reflected on a man who made history, a business tycoon who saw potential for socio-political successes where others merely sought power.
Hariri, who was born on November 1, 1944 to a modest Sunni family from Sidon (Saida), joined scores of young Lebanese who sought their fortunes in foreign countries. Barely 20 years old and a newlywed — his first wife was Iraqi Nida Bustani who gave him three sons, Baha’, Sa‘ad and Hussam (killed in a 1988 car accident in the US) — Hariri travelled to Saudi Arabia in 1965 where he took up an accounting job. Within four years, he embarked on a new career when he created Ciconest, a small subcontracting firm that catered to the booming construction industry. When that enterprise failed, Hariri teamed up with the French firm Oger, then under contract to build a hotel in Ta’if, which he managed with success.
It was not long after that the future tycoon purchased Oger, renaming it Saudi Oger. He earned the confidence of senior Al Saud ruling family members, was granted Saudi citizenship in 1978 and, more important than any of his numerous achievements, became Lebanon’s advocate in Riyadh.
As Beirut sank in its unending civil war, Hariri thought of the day after, initiated philanthropic projects to rebuild devastated educational facilities and, gradually, expressed an interest in politics. His successful appeals to the Saudi ruling family and to his many contacts in Western countries for help were simultaneously coupled with donations to the victims of the 1982 Israeli invasion of South Lebanon. During every lull in the fighting, the future statesman helped clean up Beirut’s streets with his company’s money, and frequently met with clergymen and politicians from all sides to lay the groundwork for negotiations that would stop the killings. Towards that end, he persuaded Riyadh to invite warring factions to Ta’if in 1989 where a new constitution was drafted and adopted.
Ta’if paved the way for Hariri to become prime minister, a post he first filled in 1992, when President Elias Hrawi approved his prime minister’s blueprint to salvage the country from chaos. Although seldom recalled, Hariri ensured that Lebanon became the first Arab country to issue Eurobonds, which increased foreign direct investments, something that several other countries emulated thereafter. These resources were necessary as a full-fledged reconstruction programme was put in place and while he certainly accumulated more wealth, Hariri helped channel billions of dollars to his war-torn nation after he mobilised donors from the international community to help Lebanon manage its public debt.
Power struggle
In February 2001, Hariri and his close friend, French President Jacques Chirac, convened the Paris I conference at the Elysee Palace. This first “Friends of Lebanon” gathering grouped EU Commissioner Romano Prodi, World Bank President James Wolfensohn, European Investment Bank Vice-President Francis Meyer, French Finance Minister Laurent Fabius, and other prominent European, French and Lebanese officials.
If Paris I disbursed 500 million euros to finance development projects, Paris II, which was held in November 2002, secured far larger pledges: $10.1 billion of grants and loans. [In January 2007, Paris III donors pledged a further $7.6 billion although only $3.3 billion was disbursed by early 2015.]
Hariri’s economic successes were unsurpassed and it may be safe to post that they contributed to his demise. Although the prime minister was replaced in 1998, and while Hariri knew that Syria was a vital component of the body politic — which he nurtured both at the individual as well as state levels — the power struggle that pitted him against the newly elected pro-Damascus President, Emile Lahoud, probably sealed his fate.
Lahoud asked Hariri to return to the premiership in October 2000, though his nationalist views — “Lebanon First” — earned him scorn, which gathered concrete features in September 2004 and seriously disturbed Syrian leaders after Hariri defended UN Security Council Resolution 1559 that called for “all remaining foreign forces to withdraw from Lebanon.”
Under pressure, the premier resigned on October 20, 2004, as the gap that separated him from President Bashar Al Assad grew larger.
Hariri was assassinated on February 14, 2005, a killing that led to massive political changes, including the “Cedar Revolution” that forced Damascus to withdraw its 30,000 plus troops from Lebanon. The country mourned a leader since then but, equally important, it pained to recover without the steady hand that mobilised the Lebanese to think of themselves as a nation.
