79 JFK AND BEYOND

Friend of the School

A massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, in Febru-ary, killed Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri —a friend and supporter of Harvard and the Kennedy School. Appointed prime minister five times, most recently in 2000, Hariri was a leader in Lebanon’s reconstruction after the country’s civil war, which lasted from 1975 to 1990.

A philanthropist and prominent business leader who built one of the largest construction companies in the Middle East, Hariri established the Rafiq Hariri Professorship of International Political Economy at the Kennedy School and supported summer internships for students to study about Arab Middle East culture and people. In his native country, Hariri launched several philanthropic ventures, including the Hariri Foundation for Culture and Higher Education, which provides healthcare and education support.

“We have lost a distinguished member of the Kennedy School’s extended family today under the most tragic of circumstances,” said Kennedy School Dean David Ellwood. “I am sure all members of the Kennedy School community join me in extending our condolences to Mr. Hariri’s family and loved ones, and to his country.”