Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri submitted his resignation on Tuesday; a move that a senior official said was triggered partly by mounting U.S. pressure on Lebanon's neighbor and political master Syria. "Prime Minister Hariri presented his resignation Tuesday evening and Wednesday the president will begin his consultations with the deputies for a new government," Rafik Shlala, media adviser to President Emile Lahoud, told Reuters.

Government changes had been widely expected for a while due to domestic political tensions, but the resignation occurred as Washington turned up the heat on Damascus, which holds broad, political and military sway in Lebanon.

Arafat Hijazy, an adviser to Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri, said U.S. threats against Syria had helped fuel the resignation and the setting up of a new broader government.

Lebanese political commentator Joseph Qoseify said that meant Christians would be "more widely represented" in a new government. Lebanese Christians are the backbone of opposition to Syria's grip on its smaller neighbor.

Officials from Hariri's office confirmed the resignation but declined further comment.

Hijazy said internal disputes in Lebanon had also contributed to Hariri resigning.

"The government fell in the streets before it fell by the resignation of its prime minister," he said.

According to Lebanon's constitution, the resignation of the prime minister brings down the whole government, paving the way for a new one.

Asked if Hariri was likely to be prime minister of a new government, Shlala said: "I don't know. It depends on the reaction of the deputies."

He said talks would start on Wednesday to choose a new prime minister, and analysts said they expected Hariri would continue to play a role in the government.

"There is no final information about this issue, but all the indications are that Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri has more prospective in forming it," Qoseify said.

Political bickering has plagued Lebanon for months in disputes that pit supporters of Syrian-backed Lahoud against Hariri, who has spearheaded often-unpopular fiscal reforms.

Hariri has been the driving force behind reforms and privatization designed to cut Lebanon's some dlrs 30 billion of public debt that is choking economic growth and eating into government revenues.

Lahoud's rise to power in 1998 ushered in political sparring that prompted construction magnate Hariri to resign as prime minister until he regained office in 2000

PHOTO CAPTION

Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri (L) has submitted his resignation, paving the way for the formation of a new government, an adviser to Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said on April 15, 2003. Hariri is seen with French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin at Hariri's home in Beirut April 13. (Jamal Saidi/Reuters)