
Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced Monday he was suspending his work in politics and will not run in parliamentary elections scheduled in May. The decision marks the first time in three decades that the powerful Sunni family is out of politics and comes as Lebanon is in the throes of a financial meltdown.
Hariri’s decision came after Saudi Arabia, once his main backer and the country where the Hariri family made much of its fortune, has distanced itself from the 51-year-old politician.