When Lebanese billionaire Najib Mikati was appointed prime minister in 2011, he was forced to resign after a falling out with Hezbollah.
But on Thursday, he secured his fourth term at the helm of the country, gaining the support of 54 of Parliament's 128 members — including those from Hezbollah and its Shiite ally Amal.
Mr Mikati, who returned to the leadership in July 2021 amid hopes that he would help lead Lebanon out of its worst crisis in decades, will continue in a caretaker role until a government is formed, a process that typically goes on for months as political factions divvy up roles in the Cabinet and beyond.
Analysts and politicians expect this Cabinet formation process to be further complicated by a looming struggle over who will replace President Michel Aoun, the Hezbollah-aligned Maronite Christian head of state, when his term ends on October 31.
“The Mikati of 2021 is different from the Mikati of 2011,” Fadi Ahmar, a lecturer in Middle East studies, told The National last year.
He pointed to Mr Mikati’s distance from his former allies the Syrian regime of Bashar Al Assad and Hezbollah. The Iran-backed militia sent its forces to fight alongside Mr Al Assad after the 2011 uprising, without the Lebanese state's permission.
“He is aware that close ties with the Syrian regime and Hezbollah will impede the work of any future government,” Dr Ahmar said.
Lebanon has been in economic meltdown since late 2019 after decades of corruption and financial mismanagement, pushing more than half of the population below the poverty line.
Yet Mr Mikati, one of the richest men in the Arab world, is a member of the entrenched political elite accused by protesters of running Lebanon’s economy into the ground.
He is the latest in a line of business tycoons to assume the premiership since the end of Lebanon’s 15-year civil war in 1990.
Political career
Mr Mikati is a self-made billionaire, twice former prime minister and member of Parliament representing the northern city of Tripoli — one of the poorest on the Mediterranean.
His political career began in the 1990s, when Lebanon was largely under Syrian control. From 1998 until 2004, he was minister of public works and transport.
“His Syria ties helped him get a ministerial portfolio when Lebanon was under Syrian rule,” Dr Ahmar said.
“It was even rumoured he had a personal relationship with Bashar Al Assad.”
He changed his stance because his Sunni community could not accept it any more after Rafik Hariri’s killing
Fadi Ahmar,
lecturer in Middle East studies
Damascus had troops in Lebanon for nearly 30 years until 2005 and still holds influence in Beirut despite a weakening hold since the onset of its civil war in 2011.
Mr Mikati’s Syria ties even secured him a slice of the Syrian mobile phone sector through his company MTN, the smaller of two mobile network operators in Syria, which he later sold.
But his relations with Damascus and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah began to shift after the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri in 2005. An international court found that Hariri was murdered by a Hezbollah operative.
“He changed his stance because his Sunni community could not accept it any more after Rafik Hariri’s killing, and especially after the Syrian revolution against the regime,” Dr Ahmar said.
The Assad regime is unpopular in Lebanon’s Sunni-majority north. Animosity towards Damascus grew further after its security apparatus murdered mostly Sunni peaceful protesters, initiating Syria’s descent into war.
Mr Mikati has also distanced himself from the Syrian regime and Hezbollah to regain the trust of Lebanon’s estranged allies in the West and the Gulf, Dr Ahmar said.
“He never publicly condemned the regime but he is no longer on good terms with the Syrian government.”
In 2000, Mr Mikati was elected to Parliament for the first time as a representative of Tripoli, a seat he has held continuously except from 2005 to 2009.
He first became prime minister in 2005 after the assassination of Hariri, the father of Saad Hariri. His term lasted only a few months and was focused on organising parliamentary elections.
He became prime minister again in 2011 and led a Hezbollah-dominated government for two years before resigning.
Business empire
Together with his brother Taha, Mr Mikati made his fortune in telecoms.
A former employee described his management style as hands-on.
“Mikati is a one-man show. He likes to be in charge of everything,” the former employee said.
The brothers founded Investcom in 1982 and built mobile phone masts in Ghana, Liberia and Benin, Forbes reported.
In 2007, they co-founded the investment company M1 group, which specialises in telecoms, property, aircraft financing, fashion and energy, Mr Mikati’s official website says.
The company recently bought the Myanmar business of Norwegian telecoms company Telenor after the military coup there pushed them to leave.
Forbes Middle East listed Najib and Taha Mikati as two of the richest Arabs in 2020, ranking ninth and seventh, respectively.
Protesters routinely held sit-ins in front of Mr Mikati’s house in Tripoli in the past year, accusing him of amassing wealth while residents of his city slip further into poverty.
Dr Ahmar, who teaches at the Lebanese University, told The National that Mr Mikati “has a non-confrontational personality”.
“He tries to be on good terms with everyone. He never really cut ties with Hezbollah or the Syrians but he is also close to his Arab, Sunni base.”
The%20specs
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Brief scores:
Day 1
Toss: South Africa, field first
Pakistan (1st innings) 177: Sarfraz 56, Masood 44; Olivier 4-48
South Africa (1st innings) 123-2: Markram 78; Masood 1-4
Florida: The critical Sunshine State
Though mostly conservative, Florida is usually always “close” in presidential elections. In most elections, the candidate that wins the Sunshine State almost always wins the election, as evidenced in 2016 when Trump took Florida, a state which has not had a democratic governor since 1991.
Joe Biden’s campaign has spent $100 million there to turn things around, understandable given the state’s crucial 29 electoral votes.
In 2016, Mr Trump’s democratic rival Hillary Clinton paid frequent visits to Florida though analysts concluded that she failed to appeal towards middle-class voters, whom Barack Obama won over in the previous election.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The five pillars of Islam
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
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Types of policy
Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.
Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.
Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.
Income protection: this pays a replacement income if you fall ill and are unable to continue working. On the best policies, this will continue either until you recover, or reach retirement age. Unlike critical illness cover, policies will typically pay out for stress and musculoskeletal problems such as back trouble.
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The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
MATCH INFO
Burnley 0
Man City 3
Raheem Sterling 35', 49'
Ferran Torres 65'
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
MATCH INFO
New Zealand 176-8 (20 ovs)
England 155 (19.5 ovs)
New Zealand win by 21 runs
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
RESULTS
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
