Yousef Haikal (1907–1989) was a Jordanian

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

and the Mayor of

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

between 1945 and 1948.

Biography

Haikal was born in 1907 in the city of

. After learning at the Arab College in Jerusalem, he sought degrees in

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

, Paris and the University of London, before returning to Mandatory Palestine in 1938. He served as the General Inspector of Awqaf (Muslim public properties in Palestine) for four years, and then as a District Judge 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 ...

between 1943 and 1945, When Haikal was appointed Mayor of Jaffa by Mandatory authorities. 18 months after becoming mayor, Haikal held an election for Mayor which he proceeded to win. In February of 1948, during the

Palestine war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. It is known in Israel as the War of Independence ( he, מלחמת העצמאות, ''Milkhemet Ha'Atzma'ut'') and ...

, Haikal contacted David Ben-Gurion through a British intermediary trying to secure a peace agreement with nearby Tel Aviv, which was opposed by the commander of the city's Arab militia. In May, Haikal left the city for Jordan under commands from King Abdulla I. In 1949, Haikal was appointed Jordanian Minister to the United States, In August of 1952, he became Jordan's representative at the International Monetary Fund. He held both positions until December of 1953. and December of 1953. He subsequently led the Jordanian Delegation with the Jordan–Israel Mixed Armistice Commission in Jerusalem between 1953 and 1954. He subsequently served as Jordan's ambassador to the United Kingdom between 1954 and 1956, to France between 1956 and 1957, to the United States In 1957 and then again in 1959, to India between 1962 and 1964 and to the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

between 1964 and 1969. Haikal also served as Jordan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations between 1957 and 1962. After retiring from his diplomatic posts, Haikal moved to Lebanon and wrote a memoir. Hilmi Hanoun, long-term mayor of Tulkarm, was a son of Haikal's sister, Asya. He died in 1989 and was buried in Amman.

References

1907 births 1989 deaths Ambassadors of Jordan to the United States Ambassadors of Jordan to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Jordan to France Ambassadors of Jordan to India Ambassadors of Jordan to Taiwan {{Jordan-diplomat-stub