Who is Najib Mikati?

BEIRUT — Billionaire telecoms tycoon and two-time former premier Najib Mikati, who was tapped Monday to replace Saad Hariri as prime minister-designate, is a familiar face in Lebanese politics.

Mikati has the backing of a wide range of political establishment figures, including Hariri, who stepped aside on July 15 after a nearly nine-month deadlock with President Michel Aoun over the government formation process.

But whether he will be able to quickly reach a deal on the cabinet lineup and, more importantly, enact reforms, secure international funding and develop a plan to stabilize the country’s tailspinning economy, remains a question mark.

In the meantime, here is what you need to know about the new prime minister-designate:

Political career

Mikati is a member of the Lebanese Parliament representing Tripoli as an MP for the Azm Movement, which currently holds three seats.

His political career was launched in 1998 when he was appointed public works and transport minister in Rafik Hariri’s cabinet, a post that he held until 2004.

In 2000, while still serving as a minister, he ran for a seat in Parliament and won, outpolling Omar Karami. He was reelected in 2009 and 2018. There were no elections in the period between, as the polls were postponed multiple times.

Mikati was first appointed as prime minister in a caretaker capacity in April 2005, in the wake of Hariri’s Feb. 14 assassination. His predecessor, Karami, had resigned amid mass protests against the Syrian presence in Lebanon following Hariri’s death, was reappointed, and then resigned again after being unable to form a government.

Mikati, who was seen at the time as pro-Syrian but moderate, took over the post in a caretaker capacity and held it for only three months, during which parliamentary elections were held and Fuad Siniora was appointed as the next premier.

In January 2011 he was again appointed prime minister, with the support of Hezbollah and allied March 8 parties, following the fall of Saad Hariri’s first government amid a dispute between the different political blocs over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, a UN-backed body tasked with investigating the assassination of Hariri’s father.

Two years later, Mikati resigned amid conflict between different political blocs over creation of a supervisory body to oversee parliamentary elections and over the non-extension of the term of then-Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi, who is vocally anti-Hezbollah. Aside from the official reasons for Mikati’s resignation, some analysts saw it as the result of increasing tensions between pro- and anti-Syrian blocs in the government.

Business interests

Apart from his political career, Mikati is one of Lebanon’s wealthiest businessmen. Forbes reports his net worth at $2.7 billion.

Mikati started his business career in 1982, at the height of the Lebanese Civil War, when he and his brother, Taha, founded Investcom to sell satellite phones. They later expanded into the African market, building towers in countries including Ghana, Liberia and Benin. In 2009, South Africa’s MTN bought Investcom for $3.6 billion.

Also with his brother, Mikati co-founded the Lebanon-based investment firm, M1 Group. The company has stakes in South African telecom firm MTN, fashion retailer Pepe Jeans and real estate in New York, London and Monaco, according to Forbes.

The brothers also launched the Azm W Saade Association, a philanthropic organization that funds various health, education and other social projects. Mikati’s charitable activities fit into a longstanding system of clientelistic networks in Tripoli, a city with high levels of poverty and deprivation.

Corruption allegations and controversies

In October 2019, Mount Lebanon prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun brought corruption charges against Mikati and Bank Audi, as well as Mikati’s son and nephew, over alleged illegal gains related to subsidized housing loans. The case alleged that Mikati and his relatives had profited by taking out loans meant for people who could not afford to buy homes.

Mikati asserted his innocence and claimed the charges were politically motivated because he had not been supportive of President Michel Aoun and had called on the government to resign. The case was blocked by Lebanon’s top prosecutor, Ghassan Oueidat, who accused Judge Aoun of overstepping her authority.

While Mikati has strong support among a sector of the population in Tripoli, many residents of the northern city have criticized Mikati for not doing enough to share his wealth or create opportunities as well as for alleged corruption. His house was a target of protests during the uprising that began in October 2019. Amid chaotic protests over deteriorating social conditions in Tripoli in January 2021, Mikati threatened that if the army could not control the protests, he “may have to carry arms to protect myself and my institutions.”