Short and sweet

A Lebanese politician, academic, and economist, he served as Prime Minister five times and was elected to Parliament for two consecutive terms. Since the assassination of Rafik Hariri, he has sought to play a consensual role by proposing settlement initiatives, despite his opponents' accusations of favoring pro-Syrian supporters. He was considered one of Hariri's staunchest opponents and his project. When he headed the first government under President Emile Lahoud, he tried to prosecute all of Hariri's men who worked with him on corruption charges. He embraced democracy as Lebanon's motto. In 1988, when he was acting Prime Minister and following the end of President Amin Gemayel's term, he refused to hand over power to the military government formed by Gemayel and headed by Army Commander General Michel Aoun. This was because the government did not include ministers from any Islamic sect, leaving Lebanon with two governments. Both his supporters and Aoun's opponents considered him acting head of state. He played a key role in the adoption of the Taif Agreement.