Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too.over the weekend reflects a push by Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
to openly confront Iran, its longtime regional adversary, and Iran's Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, analysts say.
It will also likely plunge Leb into a fresh political quagmire, as the country's fragile coalition government suffers a severe blow and general elections set for May appear increasingly uncertain.
Joseph Bahout, a visiting fellow with the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, noted that tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran have been building for some time, and the Saudis have recently shown "a will [to confront] Iran and Hezbollah in Leb".
Hariri, a Lebanese Sunni politician and longtime ally of the Gulf kingdom, announced his resignation from Riyadh, the Saudi capital, on Saturday.
In a televised speech, Hariri said he believed he faced threats to his life.
He called out Iran for sowing "disorder and destruction" in Leb, and criticised Hezbollah, a Lebanese political and armed resistance movement allied with Tehran, for building "a state within a state".
"I say to Iran and its allies - you have lost in your efforts to meddle in the affairs of the Arab world," Hariri said, adding that the region "will rise again and the hands that you have wickedly extended into it will be cut off."