Hariri I

61st Cabinet of Lebanon
Prime Minister Rafic Hariri
Date formed31 October 1992 (1992-10-31)
Date dissolved25 May 1995 (1995-05-25)
People and organisations
Head of stateElias Hrawi
Head of governmentRafic Hariri
Deputy head of governmentMichel Murr
No. of ministers31
History
PredecessorRachid Solh II
SuccessorSecond Cabinet of Rafic Hariri

The first cabinet of Rafic Hariri was the 61st government and one of the post-civil war governments of Lebanon.[1] It was inaugurated on 31 October 1992 replacing the cabinet led by Rachid Solh.[2][3]

Hariri's first cabinet lasted until 25 May 1995 and was succeeded by his second cabinet which would exist only until November 1996.[2][4] The head of the state was president Elias Hrawi during the term of Hariri's first cabinet.[2][5]

Ministries and support

A number of new ministries was introduced through the establishment of the cabinet, including the state ministries for displaced, municipal affairs and ministry of public works.[1] These institutions later had legal basis when the related laws were approved by the parliament.[1]

Hariri's first cabinet was supported by nearly all Lebanese political parties which voted in favor of it at the parliament.[6] The only political group which voted against the cabinet was Hezbollah.[6]

Cabinet members

Rafic Hariri's first cabinet was different from the previous Lebanese cabinets in that it did not follow the tradition of appointing the ministers based on their religious confession.[7] Instead, the cabinet members were chosen by Hariri based on their eligibility for the posts.[7]

Although the cabinet included some significant political figures, some of its members were technocrats and experts.[5] Six cabinet members were part of the previous cabinet: Michel Murr, Marwan Hamadeh, Abdallah Al Amin, Fares Boueiz, Mohsen Dalloul and Michel Samaha.[5] Nearly ten of newcomers were close allies of Prime Minister Rafic Hariri who also held the post of finance minister.[5] Hariri's legal advisor and lawyer, Bahij Tabbara, was named as the justice minister.[8] Three cabinet members were former militia leaders: Walid Jumblat, Elie Hobeika and Suleiman Franjieh, all of who were appointed minister of state.[5]

In the cabinet there were two Armenian politicians: Shahé Barsoumian from the Tashnag Party and Hagop Demirdjian who was a member of the Armenian General Benevolent Union.[9] The latter was also among the close confidants of Rafic Hariri.[9] Georges Frem was the only cabinet member who was close to Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, patriarch of the Maronite Church in Lebanon.[3]

List of ministers

The cabinet was made up of the following members:[2]

PortfolioMinisterTook officeLeft officeParty
Prime Minister31 October 199225 May 1995 
Deputy Prime Minister31 October 199225 May 1995 
Minister of Finance
Rafic Hariri
31 October 199225 May 1995 
Minister of the Interior31 October 19922 September 1994 Independent
Michel Murr
2 September 199425 May 1995 
Minister of Justice31 October 199225 May 1995 Independent
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants31 October 199225 May 1995 Independent
Minister of Defense31 October 199225 May 1995 Progressive Socialist Party
Minister of Housing and Cooperatives
Mahmoud Abu Hamdan
31 October 199225 May 1995 Amal
Minister of National Education and Fine Arts31 October 199225 May 1995 
Minister of Health and Social Affairs31 October 199225 May 1995 Progressive Socialist Party
Minister of Labour
Abdullah Al Amin
31 October 199225 May 1995 Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Lebanon Region
Minister of Industry and Petroleum31 October 199225 May 1995 
Minister of Agriculture
Adil Qortas
31 October 199225 May 1995 
Minister of Economy and Trade
Hagop Demirdjian
31 October 199225 May 1995 
Minister of Information31 October 199225 May 1995 Kataeb
Minister of Public Works and Transportation
Muhammad Bassam Murtada
31 October 199225 May 1995 
Minister of Post and Telecommunications
Muhammad Ghaziri
31 October 199225 May 1995 
Minister of Electricity and Water Resources
Georges Frem
31 October 199211 June 1993 
11 June 199325 May 1995 Kataeb
Minister of Tourism31 October 199225 May 1995 Independent
Minister of State31 October 199225 May 1995 Amal
Minister of State
Shahé Barsoumian
31 October 19922 September 1994 Tashnag Party
Bishara Merhej
2 September 199425 May 1995 Independent
Minister of State
Anwar Al Khalil
31 October 199225 May 1995 
Minister of State for Social Affairs and the Handicapped
Elie Hobeika
31 October 19922 September 1994 Kataeb
Shahé Barsoumian
2 September 199425 May 1995 Tashnag Party
Minister of State for Financial Affairs31 October 199225 May 1995 
Minister of State for Vocational and Technical Training
Hassan Izzedin
31 October 199225 May 1995 
Minister of State for Cultural Affairs and Higher Education31 October 199225 May 1995 
Minister of State for Transportation31 October 199225 May 1995 
Minister of State for Emigrant Affairs
Rida Wahid
31 October 199225 May 1995 
Minister of State for Environmental Affairs31 October 199225 May 1995 Independent
Minister of State for Municipalities and Villages31 October 199225 May 1995 Marada Movement
Minister of State for Affairs of the Displaced31 October 199225 May 1995 Progressive Socialist Party

Resignations and removals

Georges Frem, minister of electricity and water resources, was removed from the post in June 1993 which caused the harsh criticisms by Maronite patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir against Rafic Hariri.[2][3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ministerial Portfolios. Rotation or Manipulation?" (PDF). The Monthly. No. 140. March 2014. pp. 4–6. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Ward Vloeberghs (2015). Architecture, Power and Religion in Lebanon. Rafiq Hariri and the politics of sacred space in Beirut. Vol. 114. Leiden; Boston: Brill. pp. 381–382. doi:10.1163/9789004307056_010. ISBN 9789004307056.
  3. 1 2 3 Sami E. Baroudi; Paul Tabar (2009). "Spiritual Authority versus Secular Authority: Relations between the Maronite Church and the State in Postwar Lebanon: 1990–2005". Middle East Critique. 18 (3): 203–205. doi:10.1080/19436140903237038. S2CID 144303129.
  4. ↑ Dalal Saoud (7 November 1996). "Lebanon PM forms a new Cabinet". United Press International. Beirut. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Dalal Saoud (31 October 1992). "Hariri forms a new 30-member cabinet to save Lebanon". United Press International. Beirut. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  6. 1 2 A. Nizar Hamzeh (1993). "Lebanon's Hizbullah: From Islamic Revolution to Parliamentary Accommodation". Third World Quarterly. 14 (2): 334. doi:10.1080/01436599308420327.
  7. 1 2 "Hariri breaks new ground in cabinet appointments". MEED. Vol. 36, no. 45. 13 November 1992. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  8. ↑ Hannes Baumann (2012). Citizen Hariri and neoliberal politics in postwar Lebanon (PhD thesis). SOAS University of London. p. 141. doi:10.25501/SOAS.00014240.
  9. 1 2 Ohannes Geukjian (2009). "From Positive Neutrality to Partisanship: How and Why the Armenian Political Parties Took Sides in Lebanese Politics in the Post-Taif Period (1989–Present)". Middle Eastern Studies. 45 (5): 745. doi:10.1080/00263200903135554. S2CID 145522567.
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