Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat[note 1] (24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004) Is well known as the first leader of the Palestinian people. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004. In 1993, he also became president of the Palestinian National Authority (PA).
Yasser Arafat | |
|---|---|
ياسر عرفات | |
 Yasser Arafat speaking at the World Economic Forum in 2001 | |
| 1st President of the Palestinian National Authority | |
| In office 5 July 1994 – 11 November 2004 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Succeeded by | Rawhi Fattouh (interim) |
| Third Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization | |
| In office 4 February 1969 – 29 October 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Yahya Hammuda |
| Succeeded by | Mahmoud Abbas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mohammed al-Qudwa al-Husseini 24 August 1929 Cairo, Egypt |
| Died | 11 November 2004 (aged 75) Clamart, Hauts-de-Seine, France |
| Resting place | Arafat's compound, Ramallah, Palestine |
| Nationality | Palestinian |
| Political party | Fatah |
| Profession | Civil engineer |
| Signature |  |
Arafat was born in Jerusalem, Gaza or Cairo.[1] He studied civil engineering at Cairo University. He worked as an engineer in Kuwait.
In 1994, Yasser Arafat won the Nobel Peace Prize along with two others.[note 2] They got the prize for their peace efforts in the Middle East when Palestinian National Authority was formed.[2]
The views of him are somewhat divided. Some people see him as a hero, who fought for the cause of the Palestinian people. Others see him as a terrorist, who promoted the use of violence to reach his goals. Still others think he was a charismatic leader, but he made too many concessions to the Israeli government.
Yasser died in Paris from a cerebral hemorrhage. The next day he was buried at his compound, with a hasty funeral in Ramallah on November 12. He was reburied on November 13, about 3:30 am. He was buried in a special casket, with the hope of being reburied in Jerusalem one day when an independent State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital would be established.
Related pages
changeNotes
change- ↑ Also spelled Yassir Arafat (Arabic: ياسر عرفات). He was born Mohammed Abdel-Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini (محمد عبد الرؤوف القدوة الحسيني). He is also known by the kunya Abu `Ammar (أبو عمّار).
- ↑ The others were Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres.
References
change- ↑ Most sources indicate Cairo as Arafat's place of birth, but others list his birthplace as Jerusalem or Gaza. See here and here for more information.
- ↑ NobelPrize.org, "Yasser Arafat"; retrieved 2012-9-19.
Other websites
change
Media related to Yasser Arafat at Wikimedia Commons
- Life in Palestine after Arafat, Situation worse, not what Bush and Sharon planned Archived 2005-04-16 at the Wayback Machine
- The Real Obstacle to Peace was Ariel Sharon, not Yasser Arafat
- Death of Arafat, burial and reburial November 13 2004
- .theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/01/israel-acknowledges-killing-palestinian-deputy Israel acknowledges killing Yasser Arafat's deputy Khalil al-Wazir in 1988 raid