BEIRUT, Lebanon – Rafik Hariri, a self-made billionaire construction tycoon who amassed his fortune in Saudi Arabia, led the rebuilding of a shattered Lebanon as its prime minister in the years following the tiny country’s protracted civil war.

Hariri died Monday when his motorcade was bombed in Beirut. He was 60.

Hariri’s vast fortune — estimated at $4 billion — allowed him to maintain political independence without defying his country’s main power-broker, Syria, which keeps about 15,000 troops in Lebanon and influences virtually all key political decisions.

He oversaw the country’s revival after the 1975-90 civil war, serving as prime minister for 10 of 14 years before stepping down in October 2004 amid an intense power struggle. For years, he’d been engaged in a fierce rivalry with Lebanon’s pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud.

A charismatic man with international connections — including a close friendship with French President Jacques Chirac — Hariri was for years regarded by many Lebanese as the country’s hope for economic revival and political stability.

Though he had publicly tried to avoid offending Damascus, his pro-Syrian opponents accused him of being the driving force behind the U.S.-backed U.N. Security Council resolution in September that demanded Syria withdraw its army from Lebanon.
Full Article: yahoo.com/news

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