Rafiq Bahaa Edine Hariri (born November, 1944) is a Lebanese billionaire businessman, and was Prime Minister of Lebanon until his resignation on October 20, 2004. He worked in Saudi Arabia in the 1970s, making huge sums of money in a very short period of time, ending up a powerful construction tycoon. He later became a citizen of Saudi Arabia in 1978, and became Arabia's emissary to Lebanon. He was prime minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998, then again from 2000 till 2004.
Hariri's contributions are numerous. Among the most notable is the fact that he educated 30,000 Lebanese students inside and outside of Lebanon, and spent millions of dollars of his own personal money to redefine the face of social hierarchies in Lebanon. His education plan made possible the creation of equal economic classes in Lebanon. He donated a great deal of money to people, and invested in Lebanon when no one was interested in doing so.
Amid the political crisis brought on by the extension of President Emile Lahoud's term under Syrian pressure, 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."
External link
Lebanese prime minister Hariri resigns (http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/DC5B2921-0ED6-4DB3-9B50-22787B6D3EEB.htm)
Rafiq Baha al-Din al-Hariri was born in November 1944 in the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon (Saida), the eldest of three children of a Lebanese farming family of modest means.
Hariri is usually described as a man of enormous ambitions; in person he certainly comes across as a man who enjoys his wealth but is also determined to use it for maximum influence, in philanthropy but also in politics.
Hariris premiership was not always as popular as the size of his victory might lead one to believe; many distrusted the role of money in consolidating his power, and questioned the awarding of reconstruction contracts.
RafiqHariri was the face of Lebanon; he was a dominant figure both financially and politically.
Hariri was opposed to Syria's role in Lebanon's internal affairs.
RafiqHariri's death was a great blow to the people of Lebanon and this tragedy had become much bigger than Lebanon for it has struck terror into those who want to bring freedom and prosperity to a region that is very much deficient in these two things.
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