Born in Ein Ghazal near Haifa on 2 Dec. 1920; completed high school in Haifa and Acre, then attended four years at the Arab College in Jerusalem (1937-41); worked as a teacher at Safad College from 1941-46; received a BA in Arabic Literature from Cairo University in 1950; taught at private schools in Cairo, then moved to Khartoum, Sudan, where he worked between 1951 and 1960 as a teacher at the Gordon Memorial College (later known as the University of Khartoum), while still continuing his graduate studies; received an MA (1952) and PhD (1954) in Arabic Literature from Cairo University; was appointed Professor of Arabic Literature at the AUB in 1961 and remained there until his retirement in 1985; moved to Jordan in 1986 where he was assigned to conduct a research project on the history of the Levant for the University of Jordan; published numerous books, studies and articles on history and Arabic Literature with a focus on Arab Andalusian Literature, in addition to translating world literature into Arabic, for instance, Herman Melville’s Moby Dick; has published his autobiography in Amman in 1996; was awarded several honorary prizes like the King Faisal International Prize in 1980 and the Jerusalem Medal for Culture and Arts awarded by the PLO in 1990; died in Amman in July 2003.

Born in Zakariya near Hebron in 1945; Diploma from the Teachers’ College, Lebanon; BA in Arabic Language and Literature from Beirut Arab University (1977); MA (1982) and PhD (1990) in Arabic Language and Literature from the Jesuit University, Lebanon; teacher at Hebron University from 1982-1990; Professor at Al-Quds Open University, Bethlehem branch from 1990-92; Associate Professor at Al-Quds University, Jerusalem, from 1996-99; Professor in the Jerusalem branch of Leeds University from 1998-2002; Chairman of the Arabic Language and Islamic Culture Dept., UNRWA College, Ramallah; editor-in-chief of Al-Isra’ newspaper; has many publications dealing with literary criticism, books for university students, short story collections, novels and studies related to the Arab-Islamic culture; some of his works have been translated into French, English, Russian, Czech, and Hebrew; received awards like the Palestine Prize for Literature in 1989; a prize presented by late Pres. Yasser Arafat in 1997; an award by Pope Shenuda of Egypt; and received the Jerusalem Medal, Beirut, in 2004; member of the General Union for Palestinian Writers; Board of Trustees member, Al-Liqa’ Center for Religious and Heritage Studies, Bethlehem; member, Higher Islamic Council; member, Higher Islamic Sufi Council; Executive Committee member, Union of Arab Historians; Board of Trustees member, Al-Aqsa Islamic Schools; Advisory Board member, Faculty of Qur’an and Islamic Studies, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem; his books include Non-Violence in Islam (Arabic, 1995).

Born in Safad in 1935; left as refugee for Syria in 1948; worked as an elementary teacher and later gained a BA in Law from Damascus University (1958); worked as Director of Personnel in Qatar’s civil service in 1957; began, at the same time, to manage and organize Palestinian groups; founding member of Fateh; member of the Fateh Central Committee since 1964; member of the PNC since 1968 and the PLO Exec. Committee since 1980; leading Palestinian figure devoted to the search for a peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict; advocated negotiations with Israelis, since the early 1970s and initiated dialogue with Jewish and pacifist movements; earned a PhD from the Oriental College in Moscow in History (on Zionism) in 1982; led negotiations with Matityahu Peled that resulted in the announcement of “principles of peace” based on a two-state solution in Jan. 1977; became head of the PLO Arab and International Relations Dept. in 1984 (until 2000); elected by the PLO Exec. Committee to succeed Khalil Al-Wazir (assassinated in April 1988) as chairman of the portfolio on the Occupied Territories in May 1988; coordinated the negotiation process during the 1991 Madrid conference; was the first PLO official to visit Saudi Arabia after the Gulf War in Jan. 1993, and ‘apologized’ to the Gulf countries for the PLO’s stand during the crisis; headed the Palestinian negotiating team to the secret Oslo talks and signed the DoP on 13 Sept. 1993 on behalf of PLO; head of the PLO Negotiating Affairs Dept. from 1994 until his becoming a PM in 2003; signed the Interim Agreement (Oslo II) in Sept. 1995 on behalf of the PLO; returned to Palestine in Sept. 1995 after almost 48 years in exile and took residences in Gaza and Ramallah; authored an account on the Oslo negotiations entitled Through Secret Channels: The Road to Oslo (1995); drafted together with his Israeli counterpart Yossi Beilin the controversial ‘Framework for the Conclusion of a Final Status Agreement Between Israel and the PLO’ (better known as Abu-Mazen-Beilin Plan) in Oct. 1995 (although its existence was denied for five years before being published in Sept 2000); head of the Central Election Commission from 1996 until 2002; was elected in the Jan. 1996 PLC elections in the Qalqilya district; served as head of the Refugee Dept.; became Sec.-Gen. of the PLO Exec. Committee since April 1996; headed (with Uri Savir) the first session of the Israeli-PA final status talks in May 1996; criticized the direction of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in late 2002, calling for an end to all military operations; nominated PM by Pres. Yasser Arafat on 10 March 2003 and sworn in as PM and PA Interior Min. on 30 April 2003; resigned from the Fateh Central Committee in July 2003; submitted his resignation as PM on 6 Sept. 2003 (naming mainly Israel’s unwillingness to implement its road map commitments and undertake constructive measures, but also blaming the international community and the Palestinian side for its lack of support, incitement and accusations); following the death of Yasser Arafat, was elected the new head of the PLO and endorsed by the Fateh Revolutionary Council as its preferred candidate for the Presidential Elections on 25 Nov. 2004; elected as President of PA in the 9 Jan. 2005 Presidential Elections (gaining 62.52% of the votes) and sworn in on 15 Jan.; began to reform the government and security services, incl. forcing top security leaders into retirement.
Also see: http://www.abumazen.com/

Born in Jenin in 1895; Mayor of Jenin from 1935-37; dismissed from the post by British Mandate authorities in 1937; as a result, the Abboushi family left and lived in exile in Beirut until 1940; had a close relationship with Awni Abdul Hadi, co-founding the prominent Arab Independence Party (Al-Istiqlal) in the 1930s; chairman of the Arab National Bank, Jenin branch in the 1940s; also served on numerous national committees during and after the British Mandate of Palestine; well known for his oratory skills; died in 1975.

Born in Hebron in 1927; raised in Hebron and Jerusalem, where he attended Al-Ibrahimiyyeh School; studied at Al-Azhar University, Egypt, gaining a degree in Islamic Shari’a Law in 1950; specialized in Shari’a Law (1952) then in Education (1954); worked as teacher in Cairo from 1950-57, Saudi Arabia and Jordan; returned to Jerusalem in 1962 and worked as a teacher in Rashidiyeh Boys’ School, Al-Ma’muniyeh Girls’ School and the Agricultural School of Al-‘Urub; also taught at Al-Aqsa Mosque, Dar Al-Aytam Al-Islamiya (Islamic Orphanage School); then worked in the Shari’a Court in 1973; became a member of the Court of Appeals, then its Acting Chairman and Higher Shari’a Court Judge until his retirement in 1998; member of the Higher Islamic Council; appointed Mufti of Jerusalem by the Jordanian Government after the death of Mufti Sheikh Suleiman Al-Ja’abari in Oct. 1994; held a separate office from that of the PA-appointed Mufti Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, died in Jerusalem on 18 June 2003.

Born in Haifa in 1942; paints since his childhood; held his first exhibit in Tel Aviv in 1962; studied graphics and mural painting at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts in Germany, graduating in 1971; received the 2nd Prize at the University and spent another year, specializing in murals and environmental sculpture; returned to Haifa in 1972, where he worked as a graphic designer, painter, sculptor and teacher of arts; received the Young Artist’s Award at the Berlin International youth festival in 1972; was awarded the ‘Herman Struck Best Artist of the Year’ Prize in Haifa in 1972 and 1999; prepared murals and monuments, incl. a sculpture commemorating the 1976 Land Day massacre (jointly with Israeli artist Gershon Knispel) and a memorial sculpture celebrating 75 years of Shafa Amr Municipality in 1984; teaches Fine Arts at the Arab Education College of Israel since 1985; participated in joint Palestinian-Israeli exhibits in Germany in 1988-90 and 1995-96; is a founding member of the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center in Ramallah; exhibited his works for “solidarity with the Palestinian people” activities in different parts of the world; founding member of the Ibdaa’ Society for the Promotion of Visual Arts among Arabs inside the Green Line; member of the London-based Artists Without Frontiers; organizes exhibits for young artists.

Born in Sidon, Lebanon, in 1878; moved with the family to Nablus, where he received his education; served as General in the Ottoman Army; became Dir.-Gen. of the Ottoman Agricultural Bank in Nablus and later with the government in Iraq in 1908; served as Dir.-Gen. of the Ministry of Finance in Syria and in Transjordan, and, in 1919, as Minister; moved after the occupation of Syria to Jordan, where he assisted in establishing the government led by Emir Abdullah; was appointed Minister of Finance; moved to Al-Hijaz, then – following British pressure to remove politically-active Ministers from their posts – to Cairo; returned to Palestine and worked as General Inspector of the Palestinian Waqf under Hajj Amin Al-Husseini from 1925-30; co-founder of the Arab National Bank in 1930 with his son-in-law Abdul Hamid Shuman, and served as its Chairman in the early 1940s; helped founding the Agricultural Bank; was active in several financial, credit and economic institutions; early member of the Istiqlal Party; member and named as treasurer to the first Arab Higher Committee formed in 1936; among those Arab Higher Committee members who got deported to the Seychelles Islands by the British in 1937; established the Arab National Fund in Aug. 1943, which supported the Istiqlal Party; named by King Abdullah in charge of the administration in Jerusalem on 15 May 1948; formally appointed Military Governor in Jerusalem in June 1948; named first PM of the All-Palestine Government’s cabinet, established in Sept. 1948 in Gaza; then appointed District Military Governor under Hashemite rule in the West Bank; appointed representative of the All-Palestine Government to the Arab League on 30 Oct. 1948 and subsequently moved to Cairo, where he established the Al-Ummah Arab Bank; left Cairo for medical treatment in Lebanon, where he died on 29 June 1963; buried in Jerusalem.

Born in Jenin on 9 Feb. 1943; BA Geography, Damascus University, Syria (1964); teacher of Geography at Jenin Secondary School from 1964-68; Education Supervisor in Jenin from 1968-73; PhD in Geography, Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany (1980); Assistant Professor at the Middle Eastern Studies Dept., Birzeit University (1978-80); Dean, Faculty of Arts, Birzeit University (1980-82); Chairman, Middle Eastern Studies Dept. (1982-83); Dir., Research Center, Birzeit University (1983-84); Associate Professor, Geography Program, Dept. of History, Geography and Political Science, Birzeit University (1984-90 and from 1994-present); Visiting Professor, Villanova University (1990-91 and 1995-96); Associate Professor, Geography Program, Birzeit University (1991-93); Visiting Professor, Bayreuth University, Germany (1993-94); Chairman, Contemporary Arab Studies MA Program, Birzeit University (since 1996); former member of the Council of Higher Education in the West Bank and Gaza (1982-89); member of the editorial board of Afaq Filastiniyya (Birzeit University’s Research Journal); made numerous contributions to Palestinian organizations, incl. being founding member of the Palestinian Geographical Society, Board of Trustees member of the Arab Studies Society, the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA) (since 1987) and the Arab Though Forum in Jerusalem; worked together with other Arab Geographers on the Arab Homeland Atlas, published by the Union of Arab Universities and served as member of the Union’s Board of Directors (1982-1986); also member of the German Geographical Society and has participated in the Atlas Vorderer Orient, published by the University of Tübingen, Germany; holder of the Abdul Hamid Shuman Prize for Arab Scientists in Social Sciences (1983) and the Palestine Prize for Social Sciences (Geography), 1997; specialist on Palestinian Geography, incl. the Judaization of the Palestinian cultural landscape and the destruction of Palestinian villages, a topic which he researched extensively (e.g., Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century, co-authored with Wolf Dieter Hütteroth, Fränkische Geographische Gesellschaft, Erlangen, Germany, 1977; and Mountain, Farmer and Fellah in ‘Asir, Southwest Saudi Arabia. The Conditions of Agriculture in a Traditional Society, (Erlangen, Germany, 1981).

Born in 1897; Member of the Ottoman parliament; appointed by the British Mandate authorities to a provisional Advisory Council (to serve as a legislative body until a formal council dealing with self-government issues was established) in May 1923; appointed member of the Supreme Muslim Council in 1929; appointed by the Jordanian government as head of the Supreme Muslim Council in Jerusalem on 20 Dec. 1948 succeeding the Grand Mufti Haj Amin Al-Husseini; moved to Cairo in the late 1960s, where he lived until his death in 1967.

A man of literature and landlord in Arrabeh and Jenin, he studded law in Istanbul and served as “Mustantaq” district a attorney in Beirut in 1915. He joined the Decentralization party and was exiled to al-Anadhol by Jamal Pasha. He is the father of Afif, Aziz, Mohammad, Omar, Fouad, Kasim, Rasim, Durah, Nadadah, Azezeh and Awni Abdul Hadi, 'Awni Abdul Hadi, one of the founders of "al-Fata al-'Arabiyyeh" Society and al-Istiqlal party in 1932, Haj Abdul Hadi died in 1938.

Born in Nablus in 1889; landowner and lawyer; pan-Arabist; educated in Palestine, Beirut, Istanbul, and at the Sorbonne University in Paris; there he became a founding member of the Al-Fatat nationalist society in 1911, which was devoted to Arab independence and unity; member of the Decentralization Party; among the organizers of the first Arab Nationalist Congress that took place in Paris in 1913; became the private secretary of Emir Faisal I after WWI; legal advisor to the Hijazi delegation of Sharif Hussein at the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919; then advisor to Emir Abdullah in 1921 in Transjordan; chief of the Hashemite Court in Jordan; returned to Palestine in 1924, where he practiced as lawyer and became one of the chief spokespersons of the Palestinian-Arab nationalist movement; elected representative to the 5th (Aug. 1922, Nablus) and 6th (June 1923, Jaffa) Congress of the Arab Executive Committee for Jenin and to the 7th (June 1928) for Beisan; Secretary of the Exec. Committee’s Congress in 1928; presented Palestinian viewpoints before the 1929 Shaw Commission; member of the Palestinian Delegation to the UK in 1930; lawyer for the Supreme Muslim Council; founder, Sec.-Gen. and first elected President of the Palestinian Istiqlal (Independence) Party, the first Palestinian political party regularly constituted on 2 Aug. 1932; member and Sec.-Gen. of the first Arab Higher Committee formed in April 1936; partially responsible for the Revolt of 1936-39; arrested in June 1936 and placed in the Sarafand Detention Camp; banned from re-entry to the country when the British decided to deport the Arab Higher Committee members in 1937; remained in exile until 1941; member of the Palestinian delegation to the London Conference, St. James’s Palace, in Feb. 1939; upon his return to Palestine in 1941, helped revive the Arab Higher Committee; member and appointed Minister for Social Affairs of the All-Palestine government, established in 1948; served as Jordan’s Minister (later Ambassador) to Cairo, 1951-55; Minister of Justice and Foreign Affairs in Jordan from 1955-58, and later Senator in the Jordanian Upper House; from 1958 Chairman of the Arab League’s Judicial Affairs Committee in Cairo; died on 15 March 1970 in Cairo.

Born in Nablus in 1951; arrested together with her mother, Issam Abdul Hadi, who, at the time, was the President of the GUPW, in April 1969 and deported from Palestine; earned a BA in Arabic Literature from Jordan University, Amman (1973) and a BA in Theater Criticism from the Institute of Advanced Theatrical Art, Cairo (1973); then studied towards an MA and PhD in Arabic Literature, Cairo University (1982 and 1990); worked as a poet, writer, journalist, lecturer and research consultant, particularly on literature, women and oral history; member, GUPW, Cairo, from 1982-98; organized free weekly art and literary sessions for children during 1988-98; founded and organized Abbad Al-Shams in 1987 (a youth choir which won first prize at the ART competition, Cairo Opera House, 1994); lecturer at the Faculty of Arabic Literature, Cairo University, Egypt, from 1996-97; lecturer, Women’s Studies Dept., Birzeit University, from 2000-2001; Dir.-Gen. of the Women’s Affairs Technical Committee from 2001-2002; consultant, MOPIC, Directorate of Gender Planning and Development, from 1998-2003; special coordinator for the OPT to the “1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005” Association; has widely published, incl. Heroines in Modern Palestinian Novels (Cairo, 1997) and The Palestinian Woman and Memory: Papers of the Workshop on the Political Oral History of the Palestinian Woman (editor, Ramallah: MOPIC - Directorate of Gender Planning and Development, 1999).

Born in Nablus on 27 Sept. 1948; studied in the schools of Nablus until he was arrested for his Fateh affiliation and subsequently moved to Jordan in Nov. 1967; went to the UK and enrolled at Chelsea University, from where he graduated in 1976 as an Aviation Engineer; returned to Jordan and worked for a year; then moved to Dubai to work in the field of shipping and freight services (by land and sea); became a famous businessman in the Arabic Gulf in the 1980s and 1990s; after 2000, he contributed to the establishment of the Popular Committee for the Support of the Intifada in Dubai, UAE; worked as Director of the Projects Committee of the Welfare Association in Geneva in 2004; established several IT companies during 2004-06, the most important of which was the Arabic Internet Standards Association, which he formed in cooperation with Dubai Media City; died on 15 March 2006 in Dubai.

Born in Beirut in March 1900; studied at the Islamic College in Beirut then attended the Frères and St. Joseph Schools in Jaffa; joined his brother Awni Abdul Hadi in Paris, where he studied at Hughes College in Versailles; also graduated in 1930 with a law degree from the Palestinian Law School in Jerusalem; worked with Awni in their law office in Jerusalem and looked after the family property in Nablus, Jenin and Arrabeh between 1930-47; during the 1948 Nakba, became a refugee to Beirut, Lebanon; returned to Palestine in 1950 and joined the Jordanian judiciary system; was appointed as District Attorney in Nablus in 1950, then as judge in the Jerusalem District Court in 1953; in 1955, became a Judge in the Jerusalem Court of Appeals, and in 1958 Attorney General in the West Bank; served as Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Justice in Amman from 1960-62; was appointed by a royal decree as member of the Jordanian Upper House (Jordanian Parliament) and headed its Legal Committee, through which he also contributed to the drafting of the first Jordanian Civil Law in 1963; became a PNC member in 1964; was active in its Legal Committee and took part in the drafting of the Palestinian National Charter; after the 1967 June War, was one of the founding members of the Higher Islamic Council and member of the first National Guidance Committee; died in Jerusalem on 25 June 1977.

Born in Nablus in 1954; arrested for the first time at the age of 11 by the Jordanian authorities in 1965 for participating in demonstrations; following the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza in 1967 was put under house arrest in Nablus, then sentenced by Israeli authorities for one year imprisonment in 1969 under allegations of joining activities organized by Shadia Abu Ghazaleh; after her release continued her education and was active in community and political committees; arrested again in 1992 and detained for one month; founded Hawwa Center for Culture and Arts in Nablus in 1994; member in the Higher National Committee - Nablus District, the GUPW, and the Female Political Prisoners’ Committee; member of the right of return committee and the Committee for the Defense of Freedom; involved in community work.

Born in 1872; Palestinian notable from Jenin; important landowner in the areas of Nablus, Arrabeh and Jenin; worked as a tax collector during the Ottoman times; supported the Decentralization Party under Ottoman rule; brother of Salim Ahmad Abdul Hadi (a member of the Decentralization Party who was executed by the Ottomans); died in 1916.

Born in 1927; studied at the University of Tennessee, USA; worked in his chosen field - agriculture - for several years; settled in Nablus and became a successful businessman, who, with others, established 17 companies in the fields of insurance, real estate and hotels; has been involved in philanthropic activities and projects; has insisted in investing in Palestine rather than abroad and supported small businesses in order to promote the Palestinian economy; passed a policy in his insurance company, which assisted students by paying for their university fees; was a member of various charity organizations and a founding member of the Patients Friends’ Societies; died on 20 Dec. 2002.

Born in Nablus in 1928; educated at A’ishiyyeh School in Nablus and later at the Friends’ School in Ramallah; involved in Palestinian women’s activities in the West Bank since 1949; attended the first PNC at which the GUPW was formally established in June 1964; elected Sec.-Gen. of the Arab Women’s Union in Nablus in 1949; long-time leader of the GUPW and its elected President in July 1965; imprisoned by Israel and deported with her daughter Faiha Abdul Hadi, in April 1969 after arranging a sit-in and hunger strike at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem, in protest of the Israeli army’s killing of women in Gaza; worked through the Save Jerusalem Committee in Amman; appointed to the PLO Central Council in 1974; re-established GUPW in Lebanon in the mid-1970s; headed the Palestinian delegation to the first UN International Women’s Conference in Mexico City in 1975; elected Pres. of the General Union of Arab Women in 1981; Vice-Pres. of the International Democratic Union of Women from 1981-92; returned to the West Bank in 1993; was awarded the Ibn Rushd Prize by the Berlin-based Ibn Rushd Fund for Freedom of Thought in 2002; was one of eight Palestinian women nominated for the Noble Peace Prize as part of the Project “1000 Women for the Noble Peace Prize 2005”.

Born in Nablus on 15 Dec. 1957; studied at the Qadri Tuqan Boys School in Nablus; earned a BA in Political and Administrative Sciences (1982) and an MA in Political Science (1983) from the Lebanese State University; editor of Palestine Daily’s section for the Palestine Research Center in Beirut from 1981-83; worked as a researcher and marketing manager at the Center for Production Development in Ramallah (MATTIN) from 1983-87; founder and manager of the United Clothing Company from 1988-89; founder of the Bisan Center for Research and Development in Ramallah in 1989 and its Director since; conducted a number of training, assessment and evaluation programs for different local and international organizations since 1992; member of the PNGO (since 1993), the Arab NGO Network for Development in Beirut (since 1995), and the National Team for Poverty Alleviation in Palestine, led by MOPIC (since 1999); Steering Committee member of the Palestinian Council for Peace and Justice (since 1996) and the Women Court in Lebanon (since 1997); from 1993-97 enrolled at the Development Studies Dept. of the University of East Anglia, UK in 1997 to study towards a PhD but did not graduate); Board of Trustees and Directors member of the Center for Women’s Economic Project (Asalah) since 1997; Board of Trustees member of Al-Haq (1995-98 and since 2000); member of the International Council of the World Social Forum; was appointed to become the Palestinian representative to Australia in Oct. 2005; has published numerous articles and studies, incl. Volunteers and Voluntarism in Palestine (Cairo, 1999).

Born in Nablus in 1927; educated at A’ishiyah School in Nablus; Diploma in Education, Dar Al-Mu’alimat Institute, Jerusalem (1946); worked as a teacher in UNRWA schools; attended an educational supervision/inspection course organized by UNESCO in Beirut in 1973; earned a BA in Arabic Literature, Birzeit University (1981); worked as a teacher at A’ishiyah School in Nablus from 1946-57 and then in the Aden Protectorate from 1957-59, where she also became the educational supervisor for Arab Language Teaching in 1959 (until 1962); supervisor for UNRWA schools in the Hebron and Bethlehem districts from 1962-64; Director of Education for UNRWA Schools in Hebron from 1964-67 and in Nablus from 1968 until her retirement in 1987; participated in the founding of the GUPW in 1965; Vice-Pres. of the Union of Voluntary Women’s Societies, West Bank; Board member, Charitable Social Care Society; member, Arab Women’s Union Society since Dec. 1987; became the Director of the Arab Women’s Union Society in Nablus in 1992 and of GUPW in the Nablus area; received an award from the Nablus Municipality on 8 March 1997 and the Charitable Organizations Award in 1998.

Born in Nablus in 1944; son of Fu’ad Abdul Hadi; spent his early childhood in Jaffa, from where his family fled during the 1948 Nakba, becoming refugees in Lebanon, where he attended St. Joseph’s School in Junieh, Beirut; grew up – after the family returned to Palestine in 1950 – in Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron and Jerusalem, where his father served as a judge; was enrolled at several schools, incl. the Friend’s Boys School in Ramallah and the Rashidiyeh School in Jerusalem; was arrested by the Jordanian authorities for setting up an Pan-Arab student union in Jerusalem and detained for one month; was released and completed his secondary school (tawjihi) in Cairo in 1963; returned to Jerusalem and worked as a clerk in the Jerusalem District Court until 1965; went to Syria to study at the School of Law at Damascus University, graduating with a BA in 1970; did not practice law because of the Lawyers’ Strike in protest of the Israeli occupation and annexation of East Jerusalem; co-founder (with Yousef Nasser), and editor of Al-Fajr daily newspaper from 1972-74; left the paper to write two books (one on The Palestine Question and Peaceful Solutions 1934-1977, Sidon, 1977; and The Evolution of the Arab Flag, Amman, 1977); established the Nadi Al-Ghad Youth Club in Jerusalem in 1973 and was elected as its Chairman (serving until 1974); set up the Public Relations office at Birzeit University in 1977; co-founder and Sec.-Gen. of the Council for Higher Education in the West Bank from 1977-80; founder and elected Pres. of the Arab Thought Forum in Jerusalem from 1977-81; author of the first book on Israeli Settlements in Occupied Jerusalem & West Bank in 1977, continued his studies and earned a PhD from the School of Peace Studies at Bradford University, UK (1984); became a member of the Jordanian-Palestinian Joint Committee and special advisor to the Ministry of Occupied Land Affairs in Amman, Jordan, from 1985-86; fellow of the Center for International Affairs at Harvard University (1985) and of the Salzburg International Seminar (1986); returned to Jerusalem and founded the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA) in March 1987; serves as its elected Chairman since; member of the Palestinian delegation to the Middle East peace negotiations/multilateral working group on refugees in the early 1990s; member of several Palestinian organizations, incl. the Jerusalem Arab Council headed by Faisal Husseini (1992), the Palestinian Council for Justice and Peace in Ramallah (1994), the Association of Palestinian Policy Research Institutes (APPRI); (founding) member of several regional and international organizations, incl. the Black Sea University Foundation in Bucharest (1990); the Euro-Mediterranean Study Commission (EuroMeSCo), headquartered in Lisbon (1994), the Arab Social Science Research Network (ASSR) in Beirut (1996), and the Arab Group for Muslim-Christian Dialogue in Beirut (2000); in July 2006, was awarded the civilian decoration (medal) of Commander in the Order of the Crown by King Albert II of Belgium for services rendered to the Belgium-Palestinian relations and his lasting commitment to the cause of peace and justice; author of numerous articles, monographs, and essays and editor of many publications, incl. 100 Years of Palestinian History, A 20th Century Chronology (PASSIA, 2001), and Palestinian Personalities, A Biographic Dictionary (PASSIA, 2005).

Born in Jaffa in June 1945 to a family originally from Kufr Qaddoum near Nablus; took refuge with his family in Nablus during the 1948 Nakba; completed his secondary education in Nablus in 1964; his family moved to Al-Bireh in 1970; joined Alexandria University Business College, graduating with a BA in 1968; MA from Birzeit University (1981); worked at Al-Nuseir Auditing Office in Nablus (Sept. 1968); in March 1969 became an Instructor in Business at UNRWA’s Ramallah Women’s Training Center; promoted to Head of the Business Dept. in 1975; promoted to Deputy Field Relief Services Officer in Aug. 1988 then to Head of the Program for Relief and Social Services in 1994; serves on the Board of Directors of several local NGOs; represented UNRWA at several conferences, incl. the World Summit for Social Development; served as the chair of the UNRWA Teachers’ Union (1981-88); was member in the Association of Bookkeepers of London.

From Nablus District and another Othoman educated man of Law. He was inclined to economy both Islamic economies and modern ones. He used to publish his articles in the local newspapers at the time.

Born in Nablus in 1912; attended An-Najah National School in Nablus; graduated from the AUB with a BS in Civil Engineering in 1934; served for three years as an engineer in the Public Works Dept. under the British Mandate, then as District Governor (1938-48); was appointed by Jordan’s King Abdullah I as Military Governor of Lydda in May 1948, but removed following the Nakba; Provincial Governor of Hebron, then of Ajlon, until his resignation in 1951 over fraud in the parliamentary elections; was elected Mayor of Nablus in the 1951 municipal elections (until 1955); contributed much to the city’s development, especially in creating a public service infrastructure (construction of road, electricity and water networks); joined Sa’id Al-Mufti’s government and was appointed Minister of Public Works but resigned in 1955 in protest against Jordan’s joining the Baghdad Pact; was elected as member of the Jordanian Parliament for Jenin in 1956; joined the Cabinet of Suleiman Nabulsi as Minister of National Economy in 1956-57 (when the government was forced to resign); was arrested for being part of an attempted coup d’état by Nabulsi’s National Party; placed under house arrest and then in Ma’an Prison; upon release in 1958 sought political asylum in Damascus; lived in Cairo from 1961 until the 1980s, before a Royal Decree of Pardon allowed him to return to Amman, where he died in May 1996.

Born in Nablus in 1900; attended Al-Darwishiyah School in Nablus; studied in Damascus from 1918-20, then at Salahiyya School in Nablus; joined the Teacher College in Jerusalem in 1922 (from 1925 the Arab College) and graduated in 1926; taught at various schools in Palestine during 1929-34; served as school principal until 1948; after the War of 1948, ended up in Damascus from where he moved to Jordan in 1950; became principal of Al-Hussein Secondary College in Amman and later Dir.-Gen. of the Education Dept. in Hebron, Jerusalem and Ajloun; Under-Secretary at the Jordanian Ministry of Education until 1961, then Provincial Governor for the districts of Karak (1963) and Balqa’ (1964); rejoined the Ministry of Education as Under-Secretary in 1966 until retiring in Aug. 1967; author of numerous school textbooks dealing with Arabic language, history, geography, and literature, among which are: A Summary of the History of Arabs and Muslims (Arabic, 1957), Ancient Cultures (three volumes, Arabic,1966), The Geography of the Arab Homeland and the Middle East (Arabic, 1957), and The Martyr (Arabic, 1950); died in 1982.

Born in Jenin in 1885; attended the Jesuit College and the Frères College in Beirut; studied at the Lycée Imperial in Istanbul and graduated in 1905; earned a higher degree in Law from the Institute of Law in Istanbul in 1908; worked as a legal translator for the Ottoman Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as teacher of French in the Royal School; served many years in the Ottoman diplomatic and consular corps, incl. in the post of Deputy-Consul General in Greece, Russia and Romania; was arrested by France during WWI in 1914 and sent to Tolon, then Switzerland, where he was released and appointed Secretary of the Turkish Consulate in Bern; in charge of Public Administration (1915) and of Private Administration (1916) in the Ottoman FM; served in different Ottoman diplomatic posts before moving to Damascus in July 1920; left Damascus three days after the French occupation and moved to Haifa; held senior positions in the Palestinian administration under the British Mandate; was elected Secretary to the first Palestinian delegation to London in 1921 but could not participate for personal reasons; was appointed by the British authorities as Assistant District Officer of Jerusalem, then as Assistant Secretary of the Palestinian Government in 1930; became District Governor of Jerusalem and later Senior Assistant Secretary of the Palestine Government in 1944; held various ministerial posts in Jordan, incl. FM in 1949, and Justice Minister in 1949 and from 1952-53; died on 16 July 1954 in Nablus.

Born in Nablus on 15 Aug. 1945; youngest son of Fu’ad Abdul Hadi; was educated at a Jesuite boarding school in Lebanon and the Quakers-run Friends’ Boys School in Ramallah, graduating with a high school diploma; then attended the English School in Cairo, obtaining the General Certificate of Education (GEC) in 1965; enrolled the same year at the AUC, graduating with a BA in Economics and Political Science in 1969; returned to Jerusalem and taught Economics and Philosophy at Birzeit University in 1970-71; also taught Economics and Business Admin. at the UNRWA Vocational Training School in Qalandia from 1971-72; in later 1972, joined the US State Dept. as a Middle Specialist, and served there until 1979, first in Washington, Cyprus, Beirut, London, and finally in Amman; during his tenure in Amman, met HRH Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan and became his Press Secretary and Information Advisor in 1979 (until 1999), later also serving as his special advisor (from 1987); was the treasurer of the Geneva-based Independent Commission for International Humanitarian Issues (ICIHI) from 1984-88; retired following the death of the late King Hussein of Jordan in 1999; is a Board of Trustees member of the Arab Management Society in New York, co-founder of the Geneva-based Rights and Humanity; co-founder of the New York-based International Commentary Service, and member of the Washington-based Conference of World Mayors; worked as a consultant for several multi-national firms (incl. Impregilo Corp.; Salini Corp.; Sumitomo Corp., and the Dresdner Bank) until 2001; he is still active in the media and business fields and currently works on publishing a book on his personal memoirs.

Born in Jenin in 1870; educated in Jenin and Nablus; worked as a judge before resigning in order to work in agriculture; member of the Administrative Council of Jenin; founded the Decentralization Party in Cairo in 1912, demanding autonomy for the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire; founded a Palestinian section of that party in the Haifa-Jenin area in 1913; belonged to the 1st Arab nationalist group (11 martyrs), who were executed by the Ottoman military governor of Syria, Jamal Pasha, in Beirut on 21 Aug. 1915 for membership in the Decentralization Party, which demanded autonomy for the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire.

Born in Jerusalem, 7 th of May 1942. Studied at the Friends Boys School in Ramallah and graduated from High School in 1959. He joined the American University of Beirut and graduated in 1964 with the degree of Bachelor of Engineering. 1964-1968 worked as Site Engineer and then Chief Engineer in a Contracting Company in Tripoli-Libya. 1968-1972 he worked with the Ministry of Housing in Libya as Design Engineer then Head of Design Section. In 1972 he joined Consolidated Engineering Co. (Khatib & Alami) in Dubai as Area Manager for the Arabian Gulf. 1975 he became an Associate in the firm and in 1977 he was appointed as General Manager. In 2000 he became a member of the Board of Directors and in 2003 he was elected as Chairman of the Executive Committee for the Board. During his work in Dubai & the Emirates for the period 1972 till now, he contributed a lot to the construction in the Gulf Area. Consolidated Engineering Company (Khatib & Alaim) is one of the leading consulting engineering firms in the Area. He is a member of the Engineering Syndicate in Jordan and Engineering Society in UAE. He's a member of the board of Trustees for the Welfare Association ( Geneva) and the Palestine International Institute for Research (Amman).

Born in 1910; became together with Matiel Moghannam the first official representatives of a Palestinian women’s delegation to meet with High Commissioner Lord Chancellor in Oct. 1929; gave a speech at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher during the Arab Women’s March to Holy Sites on 15 April 1933, warning of the replacement of the Arab population of Palestine with Jewish immigrants; one of many activists in the 1930s campaign aiming at the removal of the veil; died in 1976.

AbdUl Hamid, HayEl (Abu al-Hawl) (-1991)

Refugee from Safad; lived in Yarmouk RC, Syria; joined Hani Al-Hassan in coordinating Palestinian activism from West Germany; joined Fateh in 1963/64 and led Fateh groups in Egypt and Syria; received military training in China in 1967; became Fateh's representative in Cairo in 1969, and head of Fateh's security apparatus in April 1973; member of the Fateh Central Committee; assassinated by the Abu Nidal group in Tunis on 15 Jan. 1991, together with Salah Khalaf (Abu Iyad) and Fakhri Al- Omari.

Born in Nazareth in 1910; received his elementary and secondary education from Rawdat Al-Ma'aref College in Jerusalem; moved to Haifa; became editor of Al-Yarmouk paper and later of An-Nafir and Al-Difa' ; was employed at the Arab Bank in Haifa; served as Director of As-Siraat Al-Mustaqim paper in Jaffa; is well remembered for his poetry; died when a train hit his car in 1937; was posthumously awarded the Jerusalem Prize for Culture and Arts by the PA Ministry of Culture in 1990.

Born in 1942 in Ramleh; became refugee in Amman, Jordan, in 1948; studied Mechanical Engineering at Cairo University (BSc in 1966); was head of a Jordanian power station; returned to Cairo University and graduated with a MSc in 1975; became the Vice-Pres. of the International Union of Students, representing the GUPS from 1978-1983; PNC member since 1979; PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 1983 (Czechoslovakia); PhD in Economics in 1985 (Germany); PhD in Political Science in 1988 (US); was elected to the Fateh Revolutionary Council in 1989; served as PLO representative to Japan from 1983-95 and as head of the General Delegation of Palestine in Canada from July 1995-2005; in Oct. 2005, was appointed to become the Palestinian representative to Moscow; has translated and authored several works on Palestine and other issues in Arabic, English, and Japanese, incl. Palestine in My Heart (Shakaihihyosha, 1991, in Japanese), The PLO and the Gulf War (Daisanshokan, 1991/992, in Japanese and English); Songs to Hiroshima (Poems) (Al-Shorok, 1996, in Arabic), and The Wisdom of Japan: Old Japanese Folktales (translation into Arabic) (Al-Shorok, 1996).

Abdul Qader, As'ad ( known as sALAH tA'MARI ) (1943-)

Born in Bethlehem in 1943; studied English Literature at Cairo University, graduating with a BA; became a Nasserist, then joined Fateh in 1965; became Sec.-Gen. of the GUPS in Cairo; after 1967, Fateh commander in Jordan, in charge of the Karameh base; married King Hussein's ex-wife Dina Abdul-Hamid; relocated in South Lebanon becoming responsible for the PLO youth; rose through the ranks of Fateh to Lt.-Col. and commanded several army units in South Lebanon during Israel's invasion in 1982; arrested by Israel in Sidon in 1982 and put in solitary confinement for three months, before being transferred to Ansar Prison Camp in South Lebanon; released at the end of 1983; became Chairman of the Internees' Committee; returned to the West Bank after the 1993 signing of the DoP; elected PLC member as an independent in the Bethlehem district in the Jan. 1996 elections; member of the PLO Central Council; appointed spokesman of the PA's ‘Emergency Committee for the Defense of Palestinian Lands' and chair of the PLC's Land and Settlement Committee since Aug. 1998; member of the Negotiations Affairs Dept., with special responsibility for the issue of Israeli settlements; led the Palestinian delegation to negotiate the fate of Palestinian activists hiding in the Church of Nativity, Bethlehem, during Israel's re-invasion of West Bank towns in spring 2002; strongly supported the no-confidence motion of 11 Sept. 2002 that led to the collective resignation of the PA cabinet; appointed Min. of Sports and Youth in the Nov. 2003 cabinet of PM Ahmed Qrei'a (until the cabinet reshuffle in Feb. 2005); appointed as Governor of Bethlehem in 2005.

AbdUL Rahim, TayyEb (full name: At-Tayyeb Abdul Rahim Mahmoud Abdul Halim ) (1944-)

Born in Anabta in 1944; enrolled at Al-Azhar University and graduated with a BA in Commerce in 1967; involved with Fateh since 1967; Dir. of Fateh Broadcasting from 1969-70; Director of Voice of Palestine / Sawt Filastin radio from 1973-78; PLO ambassador to China, Egypt, and Yugoslavia; PNC member since 1977; member of Fateh Revolutionary Council since 1980; represents Fateh in the PLO Central Council since 1989; PA ambassador to Jordan until 1995, then appointed by Yasser Arafat as Sec-.Gen. of the PA, responsible for presidential affairs; elected PLC member (Fateh) for the Tulkarem constituency in the Jan. 1996 elections; headed a Committee appointed by Arafat to oversee dialogue with PLO-affiliated opposition groups in 1996; appointed by Arafat to head a commission to investigate the PA corruption report in June 1997; made the official announcement of the death of Pres. Arafat on 11 Nov. 2004 in Ramallah; was reappointed as Sec.-Gen. of the PA under the leadership of Pres. Mahmoud Abbas (until the Jan. 2006 PLC elections).

Abdul Rahman, Ahmad (1943-)

Refugee from Safad; lived in Yarmouk RC, Syria; joined Hani Al-Hassan in coordinating Palestinian activism from West Germany; joined Fateh in 1963/64 and led Fateh groups in Egypt and Syria; received military training in China in 1967; became Fateh's representative in Cairo in 1969, and head of Fateh's security apparatus in April 1973; member of the Fateh Central Committee; assassinated by the Abu Nidal group in Tunis on 15 Jan. 1991, together with Salah Khalaf (Abu Iyad) and Fakhri Al- Omari.

Abdul Rahman, As'ad (1944-)

Born in Jerusalem in 1944; BA in Public Administration from the AUB (1965); became close to the PFLP in the late 1960s; became PNC member in 1969; left Palestine in 1970 to become an assistant researcher at the Palestinian Research Center in Beirut (1966-67); then took charge of the research section at the Center from 1968-70; continued his higher education and earned an MA in Public Administration and PhD in Political Science from the University of Calgary, Canada (1973); returned to the Palestinian Research Center in Beirut as research consultant from 1973-74; began a teaching career as Assistant Professor in Political Science at the University of Kuwait in 1974 and became full Professor in 1984; member of PLO Central Council since 1977; editor-in-chief of the Social Sciences magazine in Kuwait from 1975-84; became the second Dir.-Gen. of the Abdul Hamid Shoman Foundation in 1981, and was appointed to its Board of Directors in 1997; PLO Exec. Committee member in charge of Refugees' Affairs; head of the PA's Higher Council for Refugee Camps; resigned in July 2000, saying he is unwilling to take the responsibility for the Camp David results on the refugee issue; has authored several studies on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Abdul RazZeq, Omar (1960-)

Born in Salfit in 1960; earned a PhD in Economy from the University of Iow in 1986a; received several awards and honors for his writings and research, incl. the Abdul Hamid Shoman Award for Arab Young Scholars in Social Sciences (1991); has worked as researcher at the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS) in Ramallah worked as Professor of Economics at An-Najah University in Nablus; was arrested twice by the Israelis and held in administrative detention; upon his release in March 2006, he was appointed PA Minister of Finance in March 2006; was arrested (along with other PA ministers and PLC members) in an Israeli military sweep against Hamas on 29 June 2006, and is still imprisoned as of July 2006.

AbdUl RazZeq, HISHAM ALI HASSAN (1953-)

Born in Rafah, Gaza Strip, in 1953 to a refugee family originally from Zarnuqa; Fateh member and leading activist in Jabalia RC; spent 21 years in Israeli jails for political activism; was finally released in 1994; studied Geography for two years; holds a BA in Israeli Politics from Al-Quds University, Jerusalem; member of the Fateh Higher Committee in Gaza since 1994-95; spokesperson for Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli jails in 1995; elected to the PLC in 1996, representing the Jabalia District; appointed PA Minister of Detainees and EX-Detainees' Affairs in 1998; reappointed to that position in the cabinet of PM Mahmoud Abbas on 30 April 2003 and the successive cabinet of PM Ahmed Qrei'a on 12 Nov. 2003 (until the cabinet reshuffle in Feb. 2005); was among the negotiators of the so-called ‘Geneva Accord' in 2003; run in the Jan. PLC 2006 elections (Fateh, Jabalia) but was not re-elected.

Born in Gaza in 1919; son of Sheikh Muheiddin Abdul Shafi; received his early education in Gaza, secondary education at the Arab College in Jerusalem, graduating in 1936; studied Medicine at the AUB, graduating with a MD in 1943; while in Beirut, joined the ANM; after graduation, worked in the British Government Hospital of Jaffa; joined the Jeish Al-Badiah (Desert Army) of the British Jordanian Army in 1944 as medical officer; returned to Gaza in 1945 and opened a private practice; co-founder and member of the Arab Medical Society since 1945; participated in the first Palestine Medical Congress in 1946; provided medical aid to Palestinian guerillas in the clashes that erupted in the wake of the 1947 UN Partition Plan, then helped in humanitarian relief efforts until UNRWA was established in 1951;left for further studies in surgery at the Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio, US, returning in 1954; worked as surgeon at the Tal Zahur Hospital in Gaza; named member of a municipal council installed by Israel during its 1956 invasion/occupation of Gaza, but refused to serve; appointed by the Egyptians as Director for Medical Services in the Gaza Strip, 1957-60, then returned to private practice; first head of the Gaza Parliament’s Legislative Council from 1962-65; member of the first all-Palestinian conference in Jerusalem in 1964, which established the PLO, and elected one of three assistants to chair Ahmed Shuqeiri; member of the first PLO Exec. Committee established in Aug. 1964 and member of the opposition against Shuqeiri; volunteer at the Shifa Hospital in Gaza during the War of 1967; in 1967, temporarily detained by Israel, in 1969 expelled for three months to Nahal, Sinai, and in Sept. 1970 deported for two months to Lebanon – all for support of PLO activities; founded the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Gaza in 1972 and served as its head since; prevented from leaving Gaza after publicly opposing the 1978 Camp David talks; head of the Palestinian team of the Palestinian-Jordanian delegation to the Madrid Peace Conference in Oct. 1991; led the Palestinian negotiation team for 22 months in the subsequent Washington talks; called for a referendum in the OPT on whether or not to pursue the peace process in Sept. 1992; resigned in April 1993 (over the issue of settlements), then resumed position under pressure but eventually left the Palestinian negotiating team over the Oslo Accords, predicting its collapse from the outset; strong critic of the lack of democracy within the PLO; led a delegation to Tunis in Jan. 1994 to demand that Arafat share power and set up collective leadership; among the Palestinian figures from various political backgrounds who met in Amman in Dec. 1994 to establish the Palestinian Democratic Party; elected to the PLC in 1996 (Gaza Constituency); ran for the post of PLC speaker, but lost to Ahmed Qrei’a by 57-31 votes; became head of the PLC’s Political Committee; walked out of the April 1996 PNC meeting after being denied to express his opinion for not amending the PNC Charter until Israel gave reciprocal recognition; resigned from PLC in Oct. 1997 (effective from 30 March 1998) on the grounds that it lacked real power to change the Palestinians’ situation; initiated unity talks for all factions in Gaza in April 1998; highly respected secular nationalist leader and non-partisan figure in Gaza; founding member of the Palestinian National Initiative (Mubadara), launched in Ramallah in Jan. 2002, together with Mustafa Barghouthi and Ibrahim Dakkak; member of the Birzeit University Board of Trustees; Commissioner-General of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizen’s Rights (PICCR) until 2004, he died in Gaza on Tuesday 25 September. 2007.

Related Link: Haidar Abdel Shafi obituary / Economist.com

Born in Gaza; physician; early education in Gaza and Jerusalem; M.D. graduate from American University in Beirut, 1943; worked in British Government Hospital of Jaffa after graduation, later as medical officer in the Jordanian army; returned to Gaza in 1945 and opened a private practice; member of the Arab Medical Society since 1945; director for medical services in the Gaza Strip, 1957-60; head of the Gaza Parliament's Legislative Council from 1962-65; member of the first all-Palestinian conference convened in Jerusalem in 1964, which established the PLO, deported to Lebanon in 1970 for PLO activities; head of Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza since 1972; head of the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid Conference in 1990; led the Palestinian negotiation team for 22 months in the Washington talks.

Born in Jerusalem on 1 April 1939; received a BA in Philosophy from the University of Damascus, Syria, in 1965, and a Diploma in Psychology from the Beirut Arab University, Lebanon, in 1969; worked as Director of the Fateh Foreign Relations Office in Beirut from 1969-72; PNC member since 1979; continued his studies and earned an MA in Sociology from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, in 1982; also was a PhD candidate in International Relations but did not graduate; served as head of the Palestine Mission and Director of the PLO Office in Canada from 1972-90; then became Ambassador of Palestine to Greece from 1990-Oct. 2003; also served as Vice-Pres. of the Institute for Middle East Studies - Al-Ma'moun (IMSAM) in Athens, Greece, in 1997; Chairman of the Parliamentary Relations Dept. in the PNC since 1996; served also as the PA's Deputy FM since 28 Oct. 2003 (until after the Jan. 2006 PLC elections); was elected as PLC member (Fateh list) in the 2006 elections and subsequently appointed as head of the PLC Political Committee.

Born in Jerusalem on 1 April 1939; received a BA in Philosophy from the University of Damascus, Syria, in 1965, and a Diploma in Psychology from the Beirut Arab University, Lebanon, in 1969; worked as Director of the Fateh Foreign Relations Office in Beirut from 1969-72; PNC member since 1979; continued his studies and earned an MA in Sociology from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, in 1982; also was a PhD candidate in International Relations but did not graduate; served as head of the Palestine Mission and Director of the PLO Office in Canada from 1972-90; then became Ambassador of Palestine to Greece from 1990-Oct. 2003; also served as Vice-Pres. of the Institute for Middle East Studies - Al-Ma'moun (IMSAM) in Athens, Greece, in 1997; Chairman of the Parliamentary Relations Dept. in the PNC since 1996; served also as the PA's Deputy FM since 28 Oct. 2003 (until after the Jan. 2006 PLC elections); was elected as PLC member (Fateh list) in the 2006 elections and subsequently appointed as head of the PLC Political Committee.

Born in Jaffa in 1945; became refugee in 1948; MA in Economics and Political Science from the AUC; in 1968, co-founder (with Nayef Hawatmeh ), former leader and Deputy Sec.-Gen. of the DFLP after it split from the PFLP; DFLP representative to the PLO Exec. Committee from 1971 and head of its Information and Culture Dept. from 1973. In Aug. 1973, he first proposed establishing a state in the WBGS rather than claiming all of historic Palestine; believed to be the main force behind the 1988 adoption of the two-state solution of the PNC in Algiers; took part in dialogue with Jordan and the US during the period 1988-90; expelled from the DFLP politburo in April 1991 after quarrels over leadership; subsequently formed a new group – Fida (Palestinian Democratic Union) in Sept. 1991, which abandoned Marxism-Leninism and accepted the proposed peace conference; FIDA Sec.-Gen. ever since; head of the PLO Information Dept. in Tunis; member of the Palestinian delegation to the 1991 Madrid talks; helped in the secret Oslo talks in 1993; Minister for Information and Culture in the PA since 1994; won a seat in the Tulkarem Constituency in the Palestinian elections in Jan. 1996; considered a leading PLO moderate; member of the PLO Exec. Committee (FIDA), head of the PLO Media Dept. and close advisor to Arafat; since 1998, head of the PLC Committee for Education, Culture and Science; appointed to head the negotiating team to the final status talks in 1999, but resigned – although with no effect - in May 2000 over the revelation of ‘secret' talks in Stockholm, Sweden; member (Minister of Culture and Information) of the reduced PA cabinet of June 2002 and the new cabinet of 29 Oct. 2002; since 29 April 2003 Minister of Cabinet Affairs in the cabinet of PM Mahmoud Abbas (until the Nov. 2003 cabinet reshuffle under PM Ahmed Qrei'a ); co-initiator (with Israeli Yossi Beilin) and signatory to the unofficial Dec. 2003 Geneva Accord; head of the Palestinian Peace Coalition, a non-governmental grassroots institution that aims at promoting a strong partnership for a just and lasting Palestinian-Israeli peace.

Born in Al-Bireh in 1947; BSc in Urban Planning and Architecture, Al-Azhar University, Cairo (1970); received an award by Al-Ahram newspaper for his project ‘Re-planning the Old City of Jerusalem,' Cairo, June 1970; continued his studies and earned an MA in Urban Design from the North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA (1973); worked as a community planner at the State Dept. of Transportation in Raleigh from 1974-76; Assistant Director, Central Planning Dept., Ramallah from 1976-80; received a PhD in Regional Planning from Liverpool University, UK, in 1987; lectured in Architecture at Birzeit University from 1987-92; Director of the Engineering Center for Planning and Design, Ramallah, from 1992-93; Head of the Architecture Dept., Birzeit University, and team advisor for PECDAR, 1993-94; team leader for the Infrastructure Group (a Palestinian expert team assisting the World Bank mission in Palestine) from 1994-95; PA Deputy Minister of Planning since 1995 (until after the Jan. 2006 PLC elections) ; Board of Trustees member of the Arab Studies Society; member of the Council of Higher Education; member of the Higher Planning Committee; member of the Palestinian negotiation team to the Camp David (July 2000) and Taba (Jan. 2001) talks; supervised numerous projects and studies; author of Palestinian Diseur: The Role of the Third Party (2004).

Born in ‘Assira Ash-Shamaliyeh in 1906; graduated from Dar Al-Mu'allimin (Teachers' College) in Jerusalem in 1927; worked as teacher in Nablus, Bethlehem and Safad; after the Nakba of 1948, opened an evening school; worked in the Education Ministry and in the Archaeology Dept. in Amman and then as a cultural consultant; represented Jordan in different conferences; elected in 1976 as the head of the Jordanian Writers Union; part-time lecturer of Archaeology at the University of Jordan; wrote 38 books on topics related to history, archaeology, education, literature and the Arab-Israeli conflict; died in 1978.

Born in Bethlehem in 1941 to a Christian family; graduated with a BA in Law from Damascus University; practiced as lawyer and served as the Chairman of the Jordan Bar Association from 1994-98; then got involved in the hotel and tourist industry for over 20 years; elected PLC member (independent, Bethlehem district) in the Jan. 1996 elections; elected Deputy PLC Speaker from 1996 to 1998; appointed PA Minister of Tourism in 1998 until June 2002, when he was appointed Minister of Transport; part of the PA team to negotiate an end to the Church of Nativity standoff in April/May 2002; became Minister of Tourism in the cabinet of PM Mahmoud Abbas on 30 April 2003, and of the successive cabinet of PM Qrei'a on 12 Nov. 2003 (until the Feb. 2005 cabinet reshuffle under PM Ahmed Qrei'a ).

Cofounder (with Abdullah Rimawi and Abdullah Nawas) of the Baath Arab Party's branch in Ramallah (Renaissance Party) in 1952; active member of the PNC; member of PLO Executive Committee in the 1960s.

Born in 1913 in Amman. He obtained a law degree from The Lawyers' Union in London in 1942, in addition to a degree in philosophical law that same year. Later, he obtained a law degree from London University in 1940, and a BA degree in history and politics from The American University in Beirut in 1935. Ghazaleh practiced law in Palestine from 1944-1948, and worked as a deputy at the Appeals Court in Jerusalem during 1948-1951. He was appointed a member of the Jerusalem Appeals Court from 1951-1952. He became deputy of the High Court in 1956-1959 in Khartoum, and was also appointed as General Director of Al-Aqaba port from 1959-1961. In 1961 he became Governor of Jerusalem. In December 1962 he was appointed as the Minister of Transport until March 1962. He was re-instituted as Governor of Jerusalem and held the post until December 1965. After, he became Jordan's ambassador to Spain, and in 1967, its ambassador to Iran.

Born in 1891 in the village of Massoudeh, Jaffa. Studied in local schools and worked in agriculture and trade. He later became Secretary-General of the Central Society for Villages of Jaffa and a member of the Agricultural Society in Lydda during the British Mandate.

Born in 1912 in Ein Anoub in Lebanon. Studied at the American School in Lebanon then at the National University at Shwaifat. Graduated with a BA in political science in 1929. He came to Palestine in 1930. Appointed with the General Police in Haifa in 1933, then as Inspector of Police in 1937. He later became a captain in the criminal investigation branch in 1938. In 1943 he joined the British army until 1944. During his service he was in charge of extradition matters between the British Authorities in Palestine and Austria. In the last years of the British Mandate, he joined the Palestinian School of Law in Jerusalem, and graduated as a lawyer.

Born in 1900 into the Abu Kheshek family of Jaffa. He became the chief of Abu Kheshek when he was sixteen, upon the death of his father. In 1929, he was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment for participating in the 1929 Palestinian uprising. Upon the protestations of Arab leaders, the British High Commissioner replaced the prison sentence with a fine of two thousand five hundred Egyptian pounds. He was a member of the National Front and the head of the village society of Jaffa.

Born in Jaffa; professor of Political Science; B.A. and M.A. from the University of Illinois, USA (1953 and 1954); Ph.D. from Princetown University, 1962; lecturer at several US universities; author of many works on the question of Palestine; head of the Palestinian Independent Group for Elections in the OPT; head of Palestinian Higher Committee on Education Curricula. Died on the 23 of May, 2001.

Born in Gaza; Palestinian lawyer; L.L.B. graduate from Alexandria University, Egypt, in 1971; member of various Palestinian councils and associations; former elected Chairman of Gaza Bar Association (1989-94); member of the Palestinian negotiating team to the Madrid peace conference of 1991; PA Minister of Justice.

Born in 1871; Sheikh of a tribe from Beersheba, Negev and Gaza area; took part in the Arab Revolt of 1916, was appointed as a member in the first Advisory Council by Herbert Samuel in October 1920. The Council consisted of eleven officials and ten non-officials (four Muslim, three Christian, and three Jewish); Sheikh Fraih was a member representing the south, and the others were; Ismail Husseini (Jerusalem), Dr. Habib Salim (Nablus, Christian), Michel Beiruti (Jaffa, Christian), Suleiman Nassif (Haifa, Christian) and Suleiman Abdel Razzak Tuqan (Nablus Muslim); Sheikh Freih was re-appointed to the second Advisory Council in May 1923, which had Eight Arab – Muslim, members: Ragheb Nashashibi, Aref Dajani, Ismail Husseini, Abdel Fattah Al-Saadi, Amin Abdul Hadi, Suleiman Abdel Razzak Tuqan, Mahmud Abu Khadra (mayor of Gaza). The two Christians were Suleiman Nassif and Anton Jalad (of Jaffa); In 1922 Sheikh Freih became mayor of Beersheva; In January 1929, he was nominated to a legislative Assembly established by the high commissioner sir John Chancellor. Other member were Musa Kazem Huseini, Ragheb Nashashibi, Aref Dajani (all of Jerusalem); Azem Said (mayor of Jaffa), Mahmoud Abu Khadra (mayor of Gaza), Suleiman Tuqan and Haj Shafi Abdul Hadi (both from Nablus), Mahmoud Al- Madi (Haifa), Tawfiq Fahum (Nazareth) and Yakoub Farraj & Moghannem Moghannem (both Christians); After the Nakba in 1948, he took refugee in Gaza. Died in 1955.

Born in 1955 in Gaza’s Shati RC to refugee parents; studied at Al-Mansur University in Cairo and later graduated with a MA in Engineering from Colorado State University; instructor in Engineering at Gaza Islamic University; was imprisoned in 1989 for his role in establishing Hamas and serving as a deputy to Sheikh Ahmad Yassin; released in 1996; elected – on the Hamas slate - chairman of the Palestinian Engineers Association in 1996; served as Hamas’ observer to the PLO Central Council; one of the leaders and spokespersons – especially with regard to the foreign press due to his good English skills - of Hamas’ political wing in Gaza, considered the movement’s leading pragmatist and a moderate voice; Hamas representative to the 2002 talks in Gaza of all major factions towards a unified Palestinian position as well as to the summer 2003 talks with PM Mahmoud Abbas on a (temporary) ceasefire agreement (hudna); Hamas’ liaison with PM Abbas; assassinated by Israel on 21 August 2003 along with his two bodyguards in an air missile strike at a car carrying him in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City.

From Jerusalem. He studied at the American Schools in Jerusalem until WWI. Also studied at "as-Salahiyyeh College" which was established by Jamal Pasha in Jerusalem, to turn out Arab youth who would contribute to the advancement of the Arab and Islamic worlds after the War. Sheikh Hasan took a teaching job at "Rawdat al-Ma'arif" in Jerusalem until 1933. Afterwards, the Islamic Council employed him in the Shari'ah Judiciary. He died in Cairo in 1957.

A Jerusalemite. Studied medecine in al-Asitana in the first decade of the 20^th Century and settled in Palestine. An advocate of the National Movement. He was brought before the Military Tribunal in 'Aleih-Lebanon- but he escaped trial.

Palestinian engineer; in the late 1950s a teacher in Qatar; later studied petroleum engineering in Cairo; Fateh key figure and Central Committee member; among the top leaders of the Black September Organization; PLO leader in charge of operations in the OPT; killed by an Israeli raid in Beirut on April 10, 1973.

Born in 1906 in Ramallah. He obtained his BA degree in science from the American University in Beirut in 1927, and a degree in law from the Palestinian Law Institute in 1934. He practiced soon after and later became a member of the Jordanian Parliament representing Ramallah district