Lebanon's Hariri withdraws from politics, leaving sectarian vacuum behind

“I’m convinced that there is no room in Lebanon for opportunity in light of Iranian influence, international confusion, national division, sectarianism and state weariness,” the 50-year-old Hariri, who is a Lebanese-Saudi dual national, said in his speech.

Hariri was thrust into Lebanon’s volatile political scene in the immediate aftermath of the February 2005 assassination of his father, the late prime minister and business tycoon Rafik Hariri. With little political experience, he took on the mantle of Sunni leadership. What followed was a period rife with violence, including a war with Israel and a string of political assassinations — as well as economic crises.

Hariri was backed by Saudi Arabia for most of his political career. His political allegiances pitted him against the militant and political group Hezbollah, in a rivalry that shaped Lebanon’s political scene for nearly two decades. In 2017, Riyadh unofficially withdrew support for Hariri.

In November 2017, Saudi Arabia temporarily detained the prime minister and had him resign under duress, according to multiple sources,

Hariri since returned to the premiership but, without Riyadh’s patronage, saw a steady decline in his political power. In October 2019, a popular uprising against Lebanon’s political establishment toppled his third government.

At the close of his speech on Monday, a visibly emotional Hariri cited his father’s resignation speech just before his assassination.

“Finally, the best words for this moment are what Rafik Hariri said in his statement of absention 17 years ago. ‘I entrust to God the Almighty this beloved country Lebanon and its kind people,” said Hariri, choking on tears. “And I express my heartfelt thanks to all of those who cooperated with me during this last period.'”