Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, before a portrait of his father Rafic, murdered in 2005. Photo taken on Jan. 24, 2022. (Credit: AFP/archives)
BEIRUT — Despite reports to the contrary, Rafic Hariri's Koraytem Palace has not been sold to the Lebanese American University (LAU). The former Lebanese Prime Minister, assassinated in 2005, acquired the palace in the early 1990s. LAU and sources close to Hariri's widow and heir of the property, Nazek Hariri, confirmed with L'Orient-Le Jour on Tuesday that the rumored sale had not occurred.
Koraytem Palace is located in a neighborhood of the same name, in Ras Beirut, next to LAU's main campus. It was built by businessman Najib Salha, founder of the Phoenicia Hotel in Beirut, and when Hariri became prime minister in 1992, he had a seven-story building (al-Laban) built as an annex to the palace. Some floors were his residence, others held private rooms in which he received important guests, and other floors held conference rooms and work offices.
Property remains unchanged
According to the sources close to Nazek, ownership of the palace remains "unchanged and retains all its symbolism."
However they did not deny "ongoing cooperation" with LAU regarding the al-Laban building. The aim of the talks is to "open the doors of this building for the first time since Rafic Hariri's martyrdom," with the intention to "accommodate future university students, in line with the educational mission advocated by the late Prime Minister." Through the Hariri Foundation, he financed the education of students in need and those who demonstrated academic excellence.
The Koraytem Palace has not been sold, the sources say, but the adjacent building is the subject of negotiations.
The LAU communications office confirmed to OLJ that there have been no sales transactions but that there have been discussions, dating back some eight years, "which have not yet led to any results." As to which part of the property might be the subject of such a transaction, the office said that the LAU is open to any proposal from Nazek Hariri.
If al-Laban building is ever sold to the university, it will bear the names of Rafic and Nazek Hariri. It is in this context that sources close to Nazek assert that "by hosting the academics, the building will preserve the legacy and memory" of the former head of government, so that "it remains as it was, bearing the name of the martyred Prime Minister and Mrs. Nazek Hariri, who works tirelessly to perpetuate his mission."