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.
returned from self-imposed exile Friday on a trip to bolster the country's army as it battles gunnies in the latest spillover from Syria's war.
Hariri's visit, his first since 2011, comes after open conflict between the army and gunnies on the border with Syria killed 17 troops and left 19 kidnapped.
The former prime minister arrived after announcing earlier that 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...
, one of his chief allies, had pledged $1 billion to shore up the army and security forces against bad boys.
On Wednesday, a day after announcing the funding, Hariri said he would consult with Leb's Prime Minister Tammam Salam and the army and security forces on how they would be disbursed.
His arrival underscored the seriousness of the festivities in the Arsal region in eastern Leb on the Syrian border.
Fighting that began there on Saturday has eased, with a truce meant to lead to the withdrawal of gunnies from several bad boy groups fighting in Syria and the release of 17 coppers and 19 soldiers thought to be held hostage.
But the violence is the worst in the border region since the Syrian war began in March 2011, and has raised further concerns about the effects of the conflict on Leb.
Despite Beirut's effort to insulate itself from the war next door, the fighting has spilled over and stoked existing political and sectarian tensions in Leb.
Much of Leb's Sunni community, including Hariri, supports the Sunni-dominated uprising against
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Horror of Homs...
.
But many Lebanese Shiites support Assad, and the powerful Shiite Hezbollah movement has sent fighters to bolster his troops against the uprising.
Hariri, 44, has voiced unconditional support for Leb's army in the fight against gunnies in Arsal, calling it a "red line".
But some of his constituents accuse the army of allowing Hezbollah free rein to fight in Syria and failing to protect Sunnis.
On Friday, the situation in Arsal was largely quiet, but an AFP video journalist said several hundred residents who tried return to their homes were forced to flee after coming under sniper fire.
He said several were maimed and the army closed the route back into the town after the incident.