Description
Son of a peasant worker, born in Saida on November 1, 1944, Rafic Hariri leaves Lebanon at the age of 18 and builds up an empire in Saudi Arabia. After being a teacher in mathematics, he works in the construction sector of the oil industry. In 1997 he is entrusted by the Royal Family to build their new Palais of Taef which he achieves in a record time of only 6 months. The trust that this will build for him will be the foundation for his future empire. In the 1990’s he returns to rebuild Beirut after the civil war. Soon he heads an immense empire composed of interest in banking, construction, real estate, industry and the media.
Twice Prime Minister of Lebanon, form October 31st, 1992 to December 2nd 1998 and then from October 23rd, 200 through to October 21, 2004, he uses his influential network for the goals of his country, although many of his critics point at unsound conflicts of interests between the politician and the business man. He develops a very close relationship with France’s President Jacques Chirac.
He resigns as Prime Minister in 2004, rejecting the overpowering influence of Syrian government on his country, exercised in particular though the very pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud. On February 14th 2005, in spite of his armoured car, a car bomb kills him and many other people. Syrian secret services are immediately suspected.
This assassination marks the beginning of the Cedar Revolution which shall lead to the departure of Syrian troupes who had been stationed in Lebanon since the days of the Civil War. It also leads to the creation of a UN investigative mission, and finally, the installation of an International Court of Justice to try the murderers of Rafic Hariri. This film recounts Rafic Hariri’s political career till his tragic death and tries to bring out the most plausible assumptions concerning the people behind this murder.
