The president of the State of Palestine is the

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

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 The president of the Palestinian National Authority ( ar, رئيس السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية) is the highest-ranking political position (equivalent to head of state) in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). The presiden ...

. Both functions were held by

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 ...

from 1994 and continued until his death in November 2004, and was continued by his successor

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 Nati ...

. In January 2005, the

PLO Central Council The Palestinian Central Council (PCC), also known as PLO Central Council, is one of the institutions of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The PCC makes policy decisions when the Palestinian National Council (PNC) is not in session. The ...

asked Abbas to perform the duties of the president of the State of Palestine. In November 2008, the PLO Central Council approved the continuation of Abbas's function as president of the State of Palestine.''PLO body elects Abbas ′president of Palestine′''
AFP, 23 November 2008 Since 2013, the title president of the State of Palestine became the sole title of the Palestinian president.

History

Titular

On 15 November 1988, the

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and sta ...

proclaimed the

State of Palestine Palestine ( ar, فلسطين, Filasṭīn), officially the State of Palestine ( ar, دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn, label=none), is a state located in Western Asia. Officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization ( ...

(SoP). Yasser Arafat, the

Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization The Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (or Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization) is the leader of the Executive Committee (EC) of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the executive bo ...

, 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 The Palestinian National Council (PNC) ( ar, المجلس الوطني الفلسطيني, "'Almajlis Alwataniu Alfilastiniu"') is the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and elects the PLO Executive Committee, which ...

and a

government in exile A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile ...

, both representing the

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

worldwide.

Palestinian Authority

The

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993;

established the parallel

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

(PA) and the

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, ...

, both representing Palestinians in the

Palestinian territories The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The ...

. From 1994, Arafat assumed the title of

President of the Palestinian National Authority The president of the Palestinian National Authority ( ar, رئيس السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية) is the highest-ranking political position (equivalent to head of state) in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). The presiden ...

, 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

. In 1989, the PLO Central Council elected Arafat the first President of the State of Palestine.Tom Lansfor
''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 ..." 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. On 23 November 2008, the PLO Central Council formalized the function by electing Abbas President of the State of Palestine. 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,

became the symbolic President of the State of Palestine declared by the Palestine Liberation Organization, formalized on 2 April 1989. In 1994, he also became the

upon the PA's formal inauguration on 5 July.''Europa World Year Book 2004''
p. 2235. Taylor & Francis, 2004 (on Google Books).
"On 26–28 May

994 Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish gener ...

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." Arafat remained President until his death on 11 November 2004.

List of Presidents (1989–present)

Notes

References

External links

Palestinian President Office
(English)
Palestinian President Office
(Arabic) {{Palestinian elections Presidents of the State of Palestine Government of the State of Palestine