A majority of MPs (68 out of 128) have supported his candidacy supported by the Shiite movement Hezbollah, to replace Saad Hariri as prime minister. Aged 55, Najib Mikati, telecom tycoon - according to Forbes magazine, his fortune is estimated at $ 2.5 billion - will tackle the thorny issue of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), responsible for investigate the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who is the subject of a standoff between the Lebanese political forces.
Hezbollah has said he wants the next government to stop all cooperation with the STL, including funding by suspending and removing Lebanese Lebanese judges. This appointment "is not a victory of one camp against another. It is the victory of reconciliation at the expense of differences," Mikati said after his meeting with President Michel Sleiman who issued the decree .
He said "reach out to all parties." The Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, went further, calling Mr. Mikati to form a "government of national partnership." "The Lebanese have an opportunity to close ranks," Hassan Nasrallah has launched thousands of supporters. But the Hariri camp has already said it would boycott all cabinet headed by a candidate backed by Hezbollah.
The expected nomination of Mr. Mikati was preceded Tuesday of many events organized by the country's Sunnis, who see an attempt by Hezbollah to impose its will on Lebanon. Thousands of people demonstrated in several large cities, for their support to rival Najib Mikati, Saad Hariri, son of assassinated prime minister.
The security forces, seeking to avoid any slippage, were deployed in the region of Tripoli, the largest city in northern Lebanon, a stronghold Sunni, where the majority of schools and shops were closed. At Sidon, the largest city in the South, hundreds of supporters of Mr. Hariri expressed in his favor.
In Tripoli, supporters of Saad Hariri, who came on foot, by car or on board a bus in Tripoli, burned a picture of Mr. Mikati, who hails from this city. They also attacked and burned a car of the pan-Arab channel Al-Jazeera. Saad Hariri denounced these acts of violence. Hezbollah, backed by Damascus and Tehran but considered a terrorist organization by the United States, expects to be implicated in the indictment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and has unsuccessfully pushed Saad Hariri to disavow this court.
On 12 January, he brought down the Hariri government after the resignation of his ministers. According to the confessional system of power sharing in Lebanon, the prime minister is reserved for the Sunni Muslim community, including Mr. Hariri is the leader of the most popular. But Najib Mikati, former ally of Saad Hariri, has been endorsed by Hezbollah and its allies on Monday, the first day of consultations between members and President Michel Suleiman.
Mr Hariri's coalition won control of Parliament during the last legislative elections in 2009, but Hezbollah has become the de facto parliamentary majority, since the allies and those of Mr. Mikati Druze leader Walid Jumblatt have changed sides to stand behind the Shiite movement. See a picture of Najib Mikati's website BBCLe the Lebanese daily L'Orient-Le Francophone Day recounts the backstage of the appointment of Najib Mikati.
Hezbollah has said he wants the next government to stop all cooperation with the STL, including funding by suspending and removing Lebanese Lebanese judges. This appointment "is not a victory of one camp against another. It is the victory of reconciliation at the expense of differences," Mikati said after his meeting with President Michel Sleiman who issued the decree .
He said "reach out to all parties." The Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, went further, calling Mr. Mikati to form a "government of national partnership." "The Lebanese have an opportunity to close ranks," Hassan Nasrallah has launched thousands of supporters. But the Hariri camp has already said it would boycott all cabinet headed by a candidate backed by Hezbollah.
The expected nomination of Mr. Mikati was preceded Tuesday of many events organized by the country's Sunnis, who see an attempt by Hezbollah to impose its will on Lebanon. Thousands of people demonstrated in several large cities, for their support to rival Najib Mikati, Saad Hariri, son of assassinated prime minister.
The security forces, seeking to avoid any slippage, were deployed in the region of Tripoli, the largest city in northern Lebanon, a stronghold Sunni, where the majority of schools and shops were closed. At Sidon, the largest city in the South, hundreds of supporters of Mr. Hariri expressed in his favor.
In Tripoli, supporters of Saad Hariri, who came on foot, by car or on board a bus in Tripoli, burned a picture of Mr. Mikati, who hails from this city. They also attacked and burned a car of the pan-Arab channel Al-Jazeera. Saad Hariri denounced these acts of violence. Hezbollah, backed by Damascus and Tehran but considered a terrorist organization by the United States, expects to be implicated in the indictment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and has unsuccessfully pushed Saad Hariri to disavow this court.
On 12 January, he brought down the Hariri government after the resignation of his ministers. According to the confessional system of power sharing in Lebanon, the prime minister is reserved for the Sunni Muslim community, including Mr. Hariri is the leader of the most popular. But Najib Mikati, former ally of Saad Hariri, has been endorsed by Hezbollah and its allies on Monday, the first day of consultations between members and President Michel Suleiman.
Mr Hariri's coalition won control of Parliament during the last legislative elections in 2009, but Hezbollah has become the de facto parliamentary majority, since the allies and those of Mr. Mikati Druze leader Walid Jumblatt have changed sides to stand behind the Shiite movement. See a picture of Najib Mikati's website BBCLe the Lebanese daily L'Orient-Le Francophone Day recounts the backstage of the appointment of Najib Mikati.
- Hezbollah backs billionaire Najib Mikati as Lebanese prime minister (25/01/2011)
- Anger In Lebanon As Hizbollah Backs Sunni PM (25/01/2011)
- Hezbollah to Nominate Billionaire Najib Mikati as Lebanese Prime Minister - Bloomberg (24/01/2011)
- Hezbollah Man Named New Lebanese Leader - Wall Street Journal (25/01/2011)
- There Is No Lebanon: (25/01/2011)
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