First Cabinet of Rafic Hariri
Hariri I | |
|---|---|
 61st Cabinet of Lebanon | |
_(cropped).png) Prime Minister Rafic Hariri | |
| Date formed | 31 October 1992 |
| Date dissolved | 25 May 1995 |
| People and organisations | |
| Head of state | Elias Hrawi |
| Head of government | Rafic Hariri |
| Deputy head of government | Michel Murr |
| No. of ministers | 31 |
| History | |
| Predecessor | Rachid Solh II |
| Successor | Second 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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]The cabinet was made up of the following members:[2]
| Portfolio | Minister | Took office | Left office | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Minister | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | |||
| Deputy Prime Minister | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | |||
| Minister of Finance | Rafic Hariri | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | ||
| Minister of the Interior | 31 October 1992 | 2 September 1994 | Independent | ||
Michel Murr | 2 September 1994 | 25 May 1995 | |||
| Minister of Justice | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | Independent | ||
| Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | Independent | ||
| Minister of Defense | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | Progressive Socialist Party | ||
| Minister of Housing and Cooperatives | Mahmoud Abu Hamdan | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | Amal | |
| Minister of National Education and Fine Arts | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | |||
| Minister of Health and Social Affairs | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | Progressive Socialist Party | ||
| Minister of Labour | Abdullah Al Amin | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Lebanon Region | |
| Minister of Industry and Petroleum | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | |||
| Minister of Agriculture | Adil Qortas | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | ||
| Minister of Economy and Trade | Hagop Demirdjian | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | ||
| Minister of Information | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | Kataeb | ||
| Minister of Public Works and Transportation | Muhammad Bassam Murtada | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | ||
| Minister of Post and Telecommunications | Muhammad Ghaziri | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | ||
| Minister of Electricity and Water Resources | Georges Frem | 31 October 1992 | 11 June 1993 | ||
| 11 June 1993 | 25 May 1995 | Kataeb | |||
| Minister of Tourism | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | Independent | ||
| Minister of State | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | Amal | ||
| Minister of State | Shahé Barsoumian | 31 October 1992 | 2 September 1994 | Tashnag Party | |
Bishara Merhej | 2 September 1994 | 25 May 1995 | Independent | ||
| Minister of State | Anwar Al Khalil | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | ||
| Minister of State for Social Affairs and the Handicapped | Elie Hobeika | 31 October 1992 | 2 September 1994 | Kataeb | |
Shahé Barsoumian | 2 September 1994 | 25 May 1995 | Tashnag Party | ||
| Minister of State for Financial Affairs | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | |||
| Minister of State for Vocational and Technical Training | Hassan Izzedin | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | ||
| Minister of State for Cultural Affairs and Higher Education | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | |||
| Minister of State for Transportation | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | |||
| Minister of State for Emigrant Affairs | Rida Wahid | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | ||
| Minister of State for Environmental Affairs | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | Independent | ||
| Minister of State for Municipalities and Villages | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | Marada Movement | ||
| Minister of State for Affairs of the Displaced | 31 October 1992 | 25 May 1995 | Progressive Socialist Party | ||
Resignations and removals
[edit]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
[edit]- ^ a b c "Ministerial Portfolios. Rotation or Manipulation?" (PDF). The Monthly. No. 140. March 2014. pp. 4–6. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ a b c d e 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.
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ Dalal Saoud (7 November 1996). "Lebanon PM forms a new Cabinet". United Press International. Beirut. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Dalal Saoud (31 October 1992). "Hariri forms a new 30-member cabinet to save Lebanon". United Press International. Beirut. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ a b A. Nizar Hamzeh (1993). "Lebanon's Hizbullah: From Islamic Revolution to Parliamentary Accommodation". Third World Quarterly. 14 (2): 334. doi:10.1080/01436599308420327.
- ^ a b "Hariri breaks new ground in cabinet appointments". MEED. Vol. 36, no. 45. 13 November 1992. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ Hannes Baumann (2012). Citizen Hariri and neoliberal politics in postwar Lebanon (PhD thesis). SOAS University of London. p. 141. doi:10.25501/SOAS.00014240.
- ^ a b 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.