Rafic Hariri - Political Career

Political Career

Hariri returned to Lebanon in the early 80s as a wealthy man and began to build a name for himself by making large donations and contributions to various groups in Lebanon. He was implanted as the Saudis' strong man following the collapse of the PLO and the paucity of any viable Sunni leadership in the country, as well as a response to the rising power of the Shiite militia Amal. As a former Saudi diplomatic representative, he played a significant role in constructing the 1990 Taif Agreement that ended Lebanon's sixteen year civil war. In 1992, becoming prime minister under Syria's watchful military occupation of Lebanon, 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 as the country's debt grew to become the largest per capita in the world.