Hana Sweid ( ar, حنا سويد, he, חנא סוייד; also spelt Hanna Swaid, born 27 March 1955) is an
Israeli Arab
The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...
politician who served as a member of the
Knesset
The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
for
Hadash
Hadash ( he, חד״ש, lit=New), an acronym for ''HaHazit HaDemokratit LeShalom uLeShivion'' ( he, הַחֲזִית הַדֶּמוֹקְרָטִית לְשָׁלוֹם וּלְשִׁוְיוֹן, lit=The Democratic Front for Peace and Equalit ...
from 2006 to 2015.
Early life
Born to a
Christian Arab
Arab Christians ( ar, ﺍَﻟْﻤَﺴِﻴﺤِﻴُّﻮﻥ ﺍﻟْﻌَﺮَﺏ, translit=al-Masīḥīyyūn al-ʿArab) are ethnic Arabs, Arab nationals, or Arabic language, Arabic-speakers who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab ...
family in
Eilabun
Eilabun ( ar, عيلبون ''Ailabun'', he, עַילַבּוּן, ) is an Arab Christian village located in the Beit Netofa Valley around south-west of Safed in northern Galilee between Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee. It ihad a population o ...
, Sweid studied Civil Engineering at the
Technion, gaining a
BSc
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...
and an
MSc. Further studies led to him receiving a
PhD in Civil Engineering and Urban Planning. After his studies he worked as an engineer and also lectured at the
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
from 1990 until 1993. He became a member of the National Council for Planning and Construction in 1995, leaving it in 2003, the year in which he became Director General of the Arab Center for Alternative Planning, a position he held until 2006.
Political career
Sweid began his foray into politics as head of Eilabun local council in 1993, a position he held until 2000. He was first elected to the Knesset in the
2006 elections. Since becoming an MK he has led efforts to establish a new Arab city in the north of Israel.
Placed second on the party's list, he retained his seat in the
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
and
2013 elections. He retired from politics prior to the
2015 elections
The following elections were scheduled to occur in the year 2015.
Africa
* 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015
* 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015
* 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015
* 2015 Burun ...
, although he was given a symbolic 109th place on the
Joint List
The Joint List ( ar, القائمة المشتركة, ''al-Qa'imah al-Mushtarakah'', he, הָרְשִׁימָה הַמְּשֻׁתֶּפֶת, ''HaReshima HaMeshutefet'') was a political alliance of four of the Arab-Israeli, Arab-majority politi ...
, an alliance of Hadash and other Arab parties.
Joint List list
Central Elections Committee
See also
*List of Arab members of the Knesset
There have been Israeli Arab members of the Knesset ever since the first Knesset elections in 1949. The following is a list of the 100 past and present members. Some Israeli Druze dispute the label "Arab" and consider Druze to be a separate et ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweid, Hana
1955 births
Living people
Israeli Arab Christians
Israeli Christian socialists
Academics of the University of Reading
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology alumni
Arab members of the Knesset
People from Northern District (Israel)
Hadash politicians
Israeli communists
Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009)
Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013)
Members of the 19th Knesset (2013–2015)