Janet Mikhail ( ar, جانيت ميخائيل; born 1945) or Janet Michael, sometimes known as Janet Khouri (جانيت خوري) is the former

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...

in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. She is the first woman to hold this post. She was head teacher of the girls' school in Ramallah for 20 years, now retired. She is a

Palestinian Christian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

(

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

). She was chosen as mayor on 29 December 2005 by the newly elected 15-member city council. She ran as a political independent (although some sources have associated her with the

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ( ar, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين, translit=al-Jabhah al-Sha`biyyah li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn, PFLP) is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist and revolutionary soci ...

movement), and was the head of the "Ramallah for All" independent list, which won six seats in local elections held earlier in December. The

Fatah Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

-associated "Homeland (Watan)" faction, headed by

Palestinian Legislative Council The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) is the unicameral legislature of the Palestinian Authority, elected by the Palestinian residents of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It currently comprises 132 members, e ...

member Ghazi Hanania, also won six seats, while the

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

-affiliated faction of "Change and Reform" headed by Khaldoun Khader won three seats. The new council voted 9-6 to elect Mikhail as mayor, after the three "Change and Reform" council members allied themselves with her "Ramallah for All" faction.

External links

Interview with herKhaleej Times report

Report in French
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mikhail, Janet 1945 births Living people Mayors of Ramallah Palestinian schoolteachers Palestinian Roman Catholics Women mayors of places in Palestina Palestinian women in politics

See also

External links