President of the State of Palestine

The President of the State of Palestine is the head of the State of Palestine. Yasser Arafat became the first titular President of the State of Palestine in 1989, one year after proclamation of independence. The title was originally titular, in parallel with the de-facto title President of the Palestinian National Authority. Both functions were held by Yasser Arafat from 1994 and continued until his death in November 2004, and was continued by his successor Mahmoud Abbas. In January 2005, the PLO Central Council asked Abbas to perform the duties of the President of the State of Palestine.[2] In November 2008, the PLO Central Council approved the continuation of Abbas's function as President of the State of Palestine.[3] Since 2013, the title President of the State of Palestine became the sole title of the Palestinian President.

"President of Palestine" redirects here. For other uses, see President of Palestine (disambiguation).
President of the State of Palestine
رئيس دولة فلسطين
Coat of arms of Palestine
Incumbent
Mahmoud Abbas
since 23 November 2008
Term length4 years
Renewable
Formation2 April 1989
First holderYasser Arafat
Salary120,000 USD annually[1]
State of Palestine
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politics and government of
Palestine
Officeholders whose status is disputed are shown in italics

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History

Titular

On 15 November 1988, the Palestine Liberation Organization proclaimed the State of Palestine (SoP). Yasser Arafat, the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, assumed the title "President of Palestine". The United Nations recognized the PLO as the "representative of the Palestinian people". The PLO established a Palestinian National Council and a government in exile, both representing the Palestinian people worldwide.

Palestinian Authority

The Oslo Accords established the parallel Palestinian National Authority (PA) and the Palestinian Legislative Council, both representing Palestinians in the Palestinian territories. From 1994, Arafat assumed the title of President of the Palestinian National Authority, which was consolidated by the 1996 Presidential elections. Since then, both functions (President of the SoP and of the PA) were simultaneously performed by a single person.

After 2013

In 2012, the United Nations recognized the "State of Palestine" as non-member observer state, but this did not abolish the function of President of the Palestinian Authority, as this originated from the Oslo Accords.

Election

Unlike the President of the Palestinian Authority, the position of President of the State of Palestine is not validated by democratic elections, but rather by the PLO Central Council. In 1989, the PLO Central Council elected Arafat the first President of the State of Palestine.[4] At the time, the PLO that elected him was led by Arafat himself. After Arafat's death in November 2004, the office was vacant. In May 2005, four months after Abbas was elected President of the Palestinian Authority, the PLO Central Council asked Abbas to act as President of State of Palestine.[2] On 23 November 2008, the PLO Central Council formalized the function by electing Abbas President of the State of Palestine.[3] The PLO organs that appointed Abbas in 2005 and 2008 were and still are led by Abbas himself.

Presidents

Yasser Arafat

On 15 November 1988, Yasser Arafat became the symbolic President of the State of Palestine declared by the Palestine Liberation Organization, formalized on 2 April 1989.[4] In 1994, he also became the President of the Palestinian National Authority upon the PA's formal inauguration on 5 July.[5]

Arafat remained President until his death on 11 November 2004.

List of Presidents (1994–present)
No. Portrait Name
(Born-Died)		 Term Political Party Election Ref.
Took office Left office Duration
1
Yasser Arafat
(1929–2004)		2 April 198911 November 2004 †15 years, 223 daysFatah1996[4][6]
–
Rawhi Fattouh
(born 1949)
Acting		11 November 200415 January 200565 daysFatah–[7]
–
Mahmoud Abbas
(born 1935)
Acting		15 January 200523 November 20083 years, 313 daysFatah2005[2]
2
Mahmoud Abbas
(born 1935)
[lower-alpha 1]		23 November 2008Incumbent11 years, 208 daysFatah–[9]

See also

Notes
  1. Made President of UN-observer Palestine state on 8 January 2013[8]

References
  1. "قانون مخصصات وتعويضات رئيس السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية رقم (18) لسنة 2005م". muqtafi.birzeit.edu.
  2. PLO asks Mahmud Abbas to be acting president of "state of Palestine" Archived 2013-12-19 at the Wayback Machine, Al Jazeera, 8 May 2005
  3. PLO body elects Abbas ′president of Palestine′, AFP, 23 November 2008
  4. Tom Lansford,Political Handbook of the World 2014, p. 1628. CQ Press, March 2014.
    "On April 2, 1989, the PLO's Central Council unanimously elected Arafat president of the self-proclaimed Palestinian state and designated Faruk Qaddumi as foreign minister ..."
  5. Europa World Year Book 2004, p. 2235. Taylor & Francis, 2004 (on Google Books).
    "On 26–28 May [1994] the PA held its inaugural meeting in Tunis, ... Arafat made a symbolic return to Gaza City on 1 July—his first visit for 25 years—and the PA was formally inaugurated in Jericho on 5 July."
  6. Aburish, Said K. (1998). From Defender to Dictator. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 201–228. ISBN 1-58234-049-8.
  7. PNA interim chairman calls for elections preparations. Xinhua News Agency, 13 November 2004
  8. Palestinian Authority rebrands itself 'State of Palestine' after U.N. vote
  9. "PLO body elects Abbas 'president of Palestine'". Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-08., AFP (23 November 2008): "I announce that the PLO Central Council has elected Mahmud Abbas president of the State of Palestine. He takes on this role from this day, November 23, 2008," the body's chairman Salem al-Zaanun told reporters.
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