Munib Rashid al-Masri ( ar, منيب رشيد المصري), also known as the "Duke of Nablus", and "the Godfather"(b. 1934), is a

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

industrialist, philanthropist, and patriarch of the al-Masri family. Relatives of his include his cousin,

Arab Bank Arab Bank is one of the largest financial institutions in the Middle East, founded in 1930 in Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine, as the first private sector financial institution in the Arab world. Headquartered today in Amman, Jordan, it serves c ...

and

Paltel Palestine Telecommunications (Paltel) Company ( ar, الاتصالات الفلسطينية شركة), listed in the Palestine Exchange (PEX) as PALTEL, is the largest employer (after the government) in Palestine, employing almost 3,000 people. P ...

chairman Sabih al-Masri, and nephews, developer Bashar Masri, and Jordanian former prime minister

Taher al-Masri Taher Nashat al-Masri ( ar, طاهر المصري; born March 5, 1942) is a Jordanian of Palestinian origin who served as the 28th Prime Minister of Jordan from 19 June 1991 to 21 November 1991. He opposed the invasion of Iraq but reportedly wante ...

. One of

Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...

's closest friends and supporters, al-Masri has served as a minister in the cabinet of

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, and has on multiple occasions declined both the presidency and the prime ministership of

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

Personal life

al-Masri was born in

Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...

in 1934. He attended the

an-Najah National University An-Najah National University ( ar, جامعة النجاح الوطنية) is a Palestinian non-governmental public university governed by a board of trustees. It is located in Nablus, in the northern West Bank. The university has 22,000 studen ...

and graduated from the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

in the United States. He was involved in establishing the

al-Quds University Al-Quds University ( ar, جامعة القدس) is a Palestinian university with campuses in Jerusalem, Abu Dis, al-Bireh, and Hebron. Overview The idea of establishing an institution of higher learning in the outskirts of Jerusalem was con ...

. His wealth is rooted in the oil and gas business, but much of his investments fall under th
Edgo Group
his holding company which operates in contracting, industrial development, trading, distribution and representation, project development, operation and maintenance. Between 1998 and 2000 he built a house which he named ''Beit Falasteen'' or "House of Palestine", near Nablus, inspired by

Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of th ...

Villa Capra "La Rotonda" Villa La Rotonda is a Renaissance villa just outside Vicenza in northern Italy designed by Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. The villa's correct name is Villa Almerico Capra Valmarana, but it is also known as "La Rotonda", "Villa Rot ...

. He is married to Angela Masri and they have four sons, Rabih, Mazen, Omar and Leith, and two daughters

Mai Masri Mai Masri ( ar, مي المصري; born April 2, 1959) is a Palestinian filmmaker, director and producer. Her films are primarily documentaries which focus on the real life struggles of the women and children living in the occupied Palestinian te ...

and Dina.

Peace efforts

Al-Masri has stated that he has been working for the last 40 years to bring about a long lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis. He would like to see an independent Palestine living in peace and harmony with Israel. In May 2013, al-Masri and high-level Israeli high-tech entrepreneur

Yossi Vardi Joseph "Yossi" Vardi ( he, יוסי ורדי, born September 2, 1942) is an Israeli entrepreneur and investor. He is one of Israel's first high-tech entrepreneurs. For over 47 years he has founded and helped to build over 85 high-tech companies ...

unveiled the

Breaking the Impasse Breaking the Impasse (BTI) is an advocacy group consisting of Israeli and Palestinian business leaders. BTI's aim is to urge the Israeli government and Palestinian Authority leadership to reach a peace agreement based on the two-state solution. BTI ...

(BTI) Initiative at the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

held at the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...

. At the launch, al-Masri stated, "It’s not for us to iron out the details. We are worried by the status quo. We want to change the status quo… Now the Israeli and Palestinian side f the initiativeare very honest in their appeal: They want to break the impasse… They want the two sides to negotiate… to push all the parties to engage in real negotiations." The BTI Forum was hosted by King Abdullah of Jordan and attended by

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...

and

Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas ( ar, مَحْمُود عَبَّاس, Maḥmūd ʿAbbās; born 15 November 1935), also known by the kunya Abu Mazen ( ar, أَبُو مَازِن, links=no, ), is the president of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian Natio ...

. Breaking the Impasse initiatives goal is to encourage and support political leaders to work towards a two-state solution. al-Masri has stated that he will keep working towards achieving peace through the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which, like the

Fez Initiative Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...

, offers Israel full recognition and normal relations with the Arabs in the context of comprehensive peace.

References

External links

* *
Prime Ministry of Jordan website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masri, Munib 1934 births Palestinian businesspeople People from Nablus Palestinian inventors Palestinian chief executives Palestinian investors Palestinian philanthropists Palestinian company founders American University of Beirut trustees Living people Government ministers of Jordan Public works ministers of Jordan University of Texas at Austin alumni An-Najah National University alumni