Beirut (AFP)

The wealthiest man in Lebanon, Najib Mikati, appointed Monday to form a rescue government in a country in the throes of collapse, has been part of an irremovable political class for several decades, accused by the streets of being corrupt and of having left sink the country.

Tall and bald, the 65-year-old Sunni businessman is from Tripoli, one of the poorest cities in Lebanon, whose people often feel they are overlooked by the state.

Engaged in politics for more than two decades, this parliamentarian has held the post of Prime Minister twice.

In a multi-faith Lebanon, governed by a laborious system of power sharing between religious communities, he remains one of the leaders of the Sunni community.

Forbes magazine estimates his fortune at $ 2.7 billion.

For part of public opinion, Mr. Mikati - whose brother Taha is also a billionaire - is the incarnation of this Lebanese political system plagued by patronage, businessism, corruption and conflicts of interest.

He was first appointed head of government for three months following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri in 2005.

In 2011, he led a ministerial team dominated by Shiite Hezbollah and its allies until his resignation in March 2013, amid deep internal differences exacerbated by the conflict in neighboring Syria.

Previously, he held the Public Works portfolio between 1998 and 2004, which he managed to modernize.

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A personal friend of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, he has often been accused of proximity to Hezbollah, a label from which he has always sought to free himself.

- Telecoms and real estate -

Married and father of three children, the businessman is at the head of a small international empire, with investments in telecoms but also in real estate, particularly in London, New York and Monaco.

His M1 group, a family holding company that he co-founded, is one of the main shareholders of the South African telecommunications operator MTN, owner of the high-end ready-to-wear brand "Façonnable", and investor in the transport, gas and oil.

In July, M1 took over one of the largest telephone operators in Burma, critics denouncing its proximity to the Burmese junta.

Najib and his brother Taha had entered the business world in the 1980s by selling satellite phones during the civil war in Lebanon (1975-1990), says Forbes.

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They then extended their activities to the African continent with the construction of mobile telephony towers, notably in Ghana, Liberia and Benin.

A graduate in business administration from the American University of Beirut (AUB), Mr. Mikati studied at the Insead business administration institute in Fontainebleau, near Paris, then at Harvard University in the United States.

In October 2019, when an unprecedented protest movement demanded the departure of the entire ruling class, the anger of the demonstrators in Tripoli was also directed against Mr. Mikati.

His portraits in the city were then torn off and protesters attempted to attack his residence.

Several investigations were then in progress for acts of corruption: Mr. Mikati was one of the persons in charge targeted by suspicions of "illicit enrichment".

But since then, surveys have stalled and popular protest has run out of steam.

© 2021 AFP