Rafik Bahaa Edine Hariri (November 1, 1944 - February 14, 2005), married to 
Nazek Audi Hariri, was a Lebanese self-made billionaire and business tycoon, 
and was five times Prime Minister of Lebanon (1992-1998 and 2000-2004), 
before his last resignation from office on October 20, 2004.

The late Rafik Hariri was assassinated on February 14, 2005 when explosives 
equivalent to around 300 kg of C4 were detonated as his motorcade drove past 
the Saint George Hotel in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Youth, Studies and Business Career

Born to a Sunni Muslim family of modest means 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.

After training as a teacher he left Lebanon, in 1965, to work in Saudi 
Arabia for a construction company.

In 1969, Hariri established his own construction company CICONEST, which 
benefited greatly from the oil price boom of the 1970s, accumulating vast 
amounts of wealth in a short period of time, Hariri emerged to become a 
powerful construction tycoon.

Somewhat later, in 1978, Hariri became a citizen of Saudi Arabia as a reward 
from the Saudi royal family for the high quality of his entrepreneurial 
services, and became the kingdom's emissary to Lebanon. Hariri then went on 
to become Saudi Arabia's leading entrepreneur, acquiring Oger in 1979, and 
founding Oger International, based in Paris.

His interests extended across banking, real estate, oil, industry and 
telecommunications.

Links with Lebanon

In 1982, he donated $12 million to Lebanese victims of Israel's invasion and 
helped clean up Beirut streets with his own money.

He also participated in organizing and financing the Taif Accord in 1989, 
which put an end to the civil war.

In 1993, he founded a television station, Future TV, in Beirut, and 
purchased stakes in several Lebanese newspapers. He founded his own 
newspaper al-Mustaqbal (The Future).

The former Prime Minister was also the biggest shareholder in Solidere, the 
joint-stock company that almost single handedly transformed and revived 
central Beirut following the Lebanese civil war.

Political Career

Hariri returned to Lebanon in 1992 as prime minister. 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.

Hariri served as Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998, then again 
from 2000 until late 2004.

Amid the extension of President Emile Lahoud's term, Hariri resigned as 
Prime Minister.

On February 14, 2005 Hariri was assassinated, along with at least 16 others, 
when explosives equivalent to around 300 kg of C4 were detonated as his 
motorcade drove near the Saint George Hotel in Beirut. The International 
Community along with the Lebanese people are exerting much pressure in all 
directions, pushing the Lebanese Government to undertake a proper 
investigation of the assassination by qualified neutral International 
parties.

Hariri's contributions were numerous. Among the most notable is the fact 
that he educated 32,000 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. He 
worked towards unity of the different religious and ethnic groups and 
rebuilding.

Hariri was well regarded among international leaders counting French 
President Jacques Chirac as a close friend, enjoying the envied record of 
being the political figure most often received by the French President.

Fortune

By the 1980s, Hariri entered the Forbes top 100. Forbes estimated at $3.8 
billion on its 2003 World's richest people.

Rafik Hariri had interests stretching from Riyadh to Paris to Houston. His 
son Saad runs Saudi Oger, a USD $3.15 billion (sales) construction 
conglomerate. Oger paid $375 million to increase its ownership in Arab Bank 
in order to keep out interested Arab-American investors.

In 1990, on the occasion of the graduation of his son, Bahaa, from Boston 
University, Mr. Hariri made the naming gift for what became The Rafik B. 
Hariri Building, home of Boston University's School of Management.