Asad Abdul Rahman (; born 1944) is a Palestinian political scientist, academic and politician who was a long-term member of the

executive committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

of the

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...

(PLO) and the

Palestinian National Council The Palestinian National Council (PNC; ) is the legislative body - in Arabic, the ''Majlis'' - of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The PNC is intended to serve as the parliament that represents all Palestinians inside and outside th ...

Early life and education

Abdul Rahman was born in Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine, in 1944. He obtained a degree in public administration from the American University of Beirut in 1965. He was a member of the

General Union of Palestinian Students The General Union of Palestine Students (GUPS; ) is a Palestinian student organization. Created in the 1920's, it is generally considered one of the first Palestinian institutions. It was officially launched in Cairo in 1959 with chapters formed ...

during his university studies. His political career began in Beirut when he joined the

Arab Nationalist Movement The Arab Nationalist Movement (, ''Harakat al-Qawmiyyin al-Arab''), also known as the Movement of Arab Nationalists and the Harakiyyin, was a pan-Arab nationalist organization influential in much of the Arab world, particularly within the Pales ...

. Abdul Rahman completed his Ph.D. studies in 1973 and obtained a Ph.D. degree from

University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...

, Canada. His thesis is entitled ''Military bureaucracy, politics and society in Egypt: The era of Nasir''.

Career

Abdul Rahman is one of the founders of the

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP; ) is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist organization founded in 1967 by George Habash. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation ...

(PFLP). He was made a member of the Palestinian National Council in 1969. He worked as a researcher at the Palestine Research Center in Beirut between 1966 and 1967 and then, headed its research section between 1968 and 1970. After his Ph.D. studies he continued to work at the center as a research consultant from 1973 to 1974. He joined

Kuwait University Kuwait University (, abbreviated as Kuniv) is a public university located in Kuwait City, Kuwait. History Kuwait University (KU), (in Arabic: جامعة الكويت), was established in October 1966 under Act N. 29/1966. The university was of ...

as an assistant professor in political science in 1974 becoming a full professor in 1984. Abdul Rahman later left the PFLP and became an independent member of the PLO's executive committee. He was in charge of refugee affairs and also, headed the Palestine Authority's Higher Council for Refugee Camps until his resignation in July 2000. His tenure at the executive committee ended in May 2018. Abdul Rahman published several studies on the

Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about Territory, land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation ...

. His articles on the topic were also featured in the Pakistani newspaper ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

''. He was one of the participants of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

's first seminar on the question of Palestine which was held in

Arusha Arusha is a city in Tanzania. The city is the Capital city, capital of the Arusha Region. It has a population of 617,631 people.

, Tanzania, between 14 July and 18 July 1980. At the conference Rashid Hamid and he presented a paper entitled "The Palestine Liberation Organization: Past, Present and Future". Abdul Rahman lives in Jordan and serves as the executive director of the Palestine International Institute.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdul Rahman, Asad 20th-century Palestinian politicians 20th-century Palestinian writers 21st-century Palestinian politicians 1944 births Living people American University of Beirut alumni Arab people in Mandatory Palestine Members of the Palestinian Central Council Palestinian emigrants to Jordan University of Calgary alumni Academic staff of Kuwait University Palestinian political scientists Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine members Members of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization Arab Nationalist Movement Palestinian non-fiction writers Politicians from Jerusalem