Rafiq Hariri, Former Prime Minister

In an incident that sparked an international diplomatic flare-up, the former prime minister of Lebanon—a benefactor of the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) and an opponent of Syrian involvement in Lebanon—died on February 14 when a massive explosion ripped through his motorcade in Beirut. He was 60.

According to the Associated Press, police reported that 14 were killed and 120 injured in the blast.

Rafiq Hariri amassed a large fortune in Saudi Arabia, where he created a construction company that became one of the largest in the Middle East. He used this money to support a variety of causes, including education and the rebuilding of Lebanon.

In 1992, Hariri established the Rafiq Hariri Professorship of International Political Economy at the KSG, which is currently held by Professor Dani Rodrik.

Hariri also established the Hariri Foundation in 1979. This foundation, dedicated to providing educational opportunities for Lebanese scholars, has provided funds to help students at the Kennedy School studying Lebanon.

Wissam Yafi, a 2002 KSG graduate, did research in the summer of 2000 on development in Lebanon since the end of its civil war. His research was funded by the Hariri Foundation, and Hariri helped him gain access to government officials and records.

“It’s just a great shame that the leader who was behind it was killed in such a fashion,” he said. “I was very impressed with the man.”

Yafi predicted that Hariri’s death would not be the end of his legacy.

“You just don’t kill Hariri’s vision; you build on it,” he said.

David J. Thompson, the public relations coordinator for the Hariri Foundation in the United States, said the foundation will continue to promote Hariri’s mission of education.

“The whole [Hariri] family is dedicated to the cause of Lebanon, and especially to building up its human resources through education,” Thompson said. “I anticipate that dedication will not change.”

In a message posted on the KSG website, Dean David T. Ellwood ’75 called Hariri “a distinguished member of the Kennedy School’s extended family” and expressed sadness over the death of “one of the most influential and most forward-looking leaders in the Middle East.”

“His philanthropic activities have benefited organizations and individuals around the world....The Kennedy School has greatly benefited from Mr. Hariri’s generosity,” Ellwood wrote.

–EVAN H. JACOBS