Chronology of Saad Hariri; From the 2009 Elections to Resignation as Prime Minister in Riyadh

Saad Hariri's name has recently been at the forefront of media news. His sudden resignation from the position of Prime Minister in Riyadh has impacted not only his own country, Lebanon, but the entire Middle East as well. He has served as Prime Minister of Lebanon for two terms. Saad Hariri has been the leader of the 'March 14' movement since the assassination of his father (Rafik Hariri) in 2005. Rafik Hariri, a former Prime Minister of Lebanon, was killed in a bombing in Beirut. Hariri's political allies held Syrian officials responsible for this assassination, but Syria denied involvement in the incident. The following is a timeline of the ups and downs of Saad Hariri's political life during his two terms as Prime Minister: June 7, 2009: Parliamentary elections were held in Lebanon. In this election, the March 14 movement (supported by the West) faced off against the March 8 movement (supported by Iran and Syria). June 8, 2009: The results of the parliamentary elections in Lebanon were announced, and the ruling coalition led by Saad Hariri won with 82 seats. The opposition coalition, led by the Islamist movement Hezbollah, sent 68 representatives to parliament. Saad Hariri needed to negotiate with the opposition to form a national unity government. June 28, 2009: Saad Hariri began consultations with factions and representatives and other political figures in Lebanon after receiving an official mandate to form a new government, aiming to present his government to parliament for a vote of confidence as soon as possible. August 26, 2009: The Prime Minister candidate of Lebanon announced the presence of Hezbollah in the upcoming government. September 10, 2009: After ten weeks of efforts to form a cabinet, Hariri resigned from his position. He cited the failure of negotiations with opposition parties, including Hezbollah, as the reason for his resignation. Hariri stated that he "hopes his decision to resign will be in Lebanon's interest and prepare the ground for resuming dialogue." September 17, 2009: He was once again tasked with forming a national unity cabinet in Lebanon. The office of Michel Sleiman, the President of Lebanon, announced that after negotiations between Sleiman and Nabih Berri, the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Saad Hariri was requested for the second time to accept the mission of forming a cabinet. November 7, 2009: After months of efforts by Saad Hariri to include the opposition in the national unity government, Hezbollah announced that the coalition of opposition groups, led by this movement, had agreed to join the national unity government. Some attributed the prolonged negotiations to tensions between Saudi Arabia, as a supporter of Saad Hariri, and Syria, as a supporter of Hezbollah. November 10, 2009: Five months after the public elections in Lebanon, Michel Sleiman, the President of the country, announced the formation of a national unity cabinet consisting of 41 ministers. Six ministers were appointed by Michel Sleiman, 26 ministers by the coalition of Saad Hariri, and ten ministers were from the opposition groups that reached an agreement with the ruling coalition. Hezbollah had two ministers in this cabinet. The formation of such a government in Lebanon meant that no party had veto power in this cabinet. December 11, 2009: The new Lebanese government under Saad Hariri received a significant majority of votes in parliament one month after its establishment. Thus, Saad Hariri replaced Fouad Siniora as Prime Minister of Lebanon. November 27, 2010: The Prime Minister of Lebanon made his first official visit to Iran, meeting with Iranian officials including Ayatollah Khamenei and then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. December 21, 2010: In response to Ayatollah Khamenei's remarks, who deemed the rulings of the international court regarding Rafik Hariri as "invalid," Saad Hariri emphasized the validity of international rulings. Ayatollah Khamenei had stated in a meeting with the Emir of Qatar that the special international tribunal for investigating the assassination of Rafik Hariri was a "puppet court whose rulings are invalid." January 12, 2011: With Hezbollah's withdrawal, Saad Hariri's coalition government collapsed. Eleven ministers from this faction resigned from the cabinet. At that time, Saad Hariri was in the United States discussing the crisis arising from the international court's investigation into Rafik Hariri's assassination. The reason for Hezbollah and its allies' withdrawal was the disagreements arising from the investigations into Rafik Hariri's murder. Hezbollah members were accused of killing Rafik Hariri. Thus, the first term of Saad Hariri's premiership came to an end. January 21, 2011: Saad Hariri, as a caretaker Prime Minister, announced his intention to remain in the position of Prime Minister of Lebanon. January 25, 2011: Michel Sleiman, the President of Lebanon, tasked Najib Mikati, a billionaire Sunni supported by Hezbollah, with forming a new government. The United States expressed concern over the formation of a government in which Hezbollah played a major role. Meanwhile, Saad Hariri's supporters protested in Sunni areas of Lebanon in support of him. April 7, 2011: Saad Hariri, the caretaker Prime Minister of Lebanon, accused Iran of interfering in Lebanon and other Arab countries. He warned that Iran was "gradually taking Arab societies hostage." April 8, 2011: Ramin Mehmanparast, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, called Hariri's remarks about Iran's "interference" in Lebanon and other Arab countries "baseless" and "divisive," stating that it was not in Lebanon's interest. June 13, 2011: A new government was formed in Lebanon under Najib Mikati. Mikati formed the March 8 coalition government, thus ending the five-month period of Saad Hariri's caretaker premiership. 2011: Hariri left Lebanon, citing security issues as the reason for his departure. He lived in Saudi Arabia and France for three years. February 2012: Billboards of Rafik Hariri appeared in Lebanon. August 8, 2014: Saad Hariri returned to Lebanon after three years. Immediately upon his arrival in Beirut, he met with then-Prime Minister Tammam Salam. October 12, 2016: Saad Hariri held Iran and Hezbollah responsible for the destruction of Syria and claimed they were seeking to "fragment Yemen." November 3, 2016: The second term of Saad Hariri's premiership began; Michel Aoun, the President of Lebanon, tasked Saad Hariri with forming a new cabinet. Hariri's premiership ended months of political confusion in Lebanon that had arisen after the resignation of Tammam Salam's government. In the Lebanese parliament vote, 112 out of 127 present representatives voted in favor of Saad Hariri's premiership. Some viewed Saad Hariri's premiership as part of an understanding between him and Michel Aoun, the new President of Lebanon. December 28, 2016: Saad Hariri's cabinet received a vote of confidence from the Lebanese parliament. The parliament voted in favor of Hariri's cabinet with 87 votes in favor, 4 against, and 1 abstention. September 2, 2017: After warnings from Israeli officials about the existence of secret missile manufacturing plants in Lebanon and the clandestine arming of Hezbollah by Iran, Saad Hariri rejected these claims. In an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde, the Prime Minister of Lebanon stated, "Israelis say Lebanon is under Hezbollah's control, but Hezbollah's presence in the Lebanese government and its popularity in the country does not mean that Hezbollah controls all of Lebanon." November 4, 2017: In a sudden move while visiting Saudi Arabia, Saad Hariri resigned from the position of Prime Minister. He read his resignation letter on Al Arabiya television in a recorded message. He criticized Hezbollah and Iran's policies in the region, stating that the political atmosphere in Lebanon resembled the days before the assassination attempt on his father (Rafik Hariri), and he felt that some were plotting to kill him. Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, rejected Hariri's stance against Iran, stating that Hariri's resignation was part of a "new scenario for creating tension" in Lebanon and the region. November 10, 2017: Michel Aoun, the President of Lebanon, called for Saad Hariri's return to Lebanon and announced that he would not sign the resignation until Hariri returned to Beirut. November 15, 2017: Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, invited Saad Hariri and his family, who were in Saudi Arabia, to come to France. November 18, 2017: Saad Hariri met with Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace in Paris. He also announced that he would return to Lebanon on Wednesday and participate in the Independence Day ceremony of Lebanon.