Salah Al-Zawawi or among Iranians Salah Zawawi (; 1937 – February 20, 2023) was born in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

and was the ambassador of the

Palestinian government The government of Palestine is the government of the Palestinian Authority or State of Palestine. The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (EC) is the highest executive body of the Palestine Liberation Organization and ac ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. He was the second ambassador of Palestine in Iran after Hani al-Hassan and held this position from February 1981 to 2022. He is one of the founding members of the Fatah movement and the former Palestinian ambassador to

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Life

Salah al-Zawawi was born in 1937 and before the formation of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in Palestine in the city of

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

, Al-Jalil region. In those years, the city of Safed was under the British protectorate in Palestine. During the 1948 war (the war of several Arab countries against Israel after the declaration of independence and the establishment of Israel), Salah al-Zawawi migrated to

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

with his family. His family immigrated to Syria in 1948 and settled in the city of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

. Salah al-Zawawi came to

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

in 1980 as the Palestinian ambassador. After that, he lived in Tehran for about 39 years and died in the same city. Al-Zawawi started fighting against Israel in his youth and was one of the founders of the Fatah movement along with

Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...

and was present in many important operations. Salah al-Zawawi, who was an experienced diplomat, was sent to Tehran in 1983 to succeed Hani al-Hassan. Salah al-Zawawi was the Palestinian ambassador in Tehran for a long period of four decades, from 1980 to 2022. And because of his long service, he was given the title of "Moghaddam Al-Sofara" or "Sheikh Al-Sofara" ('). He was always respected by all ambassadors of other countries in Tehran. Salah al-Zawawi continued his diplomatic activity in Tehran until January 2022 and resigned from the embassy in this year. Salah al-Zawawi's daughter named Salam al-Zawawi, who was familiar with Iranian culture due to her long-term residence in Iran, appointed as the Palestinian ambassador in Tehran after her father's resignation.

The end of the mission in Iran

On Thursday, January 6, 2022, at the end of his mission in Iran, Salah al-Zawawi met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. Salam al-Zawawi, the daughter of Salah al-Zawawi, became the new Palestinian ambassador to Iran after her father, took the oath before

Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas (; born 15 November 1935), also known by the Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Mazen (, ), is a Palestinian politician who has been serving as the second president of Palestine and the President of the Palestinian National Authority, P ...

, the president of the

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...

, on Saturday night, January 8, 2022, and started working as the new Palestinian ambassador to Iran. This ceremony was held at the residence of Mahmoud Abbas in

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

, the capital of

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

Career

Before working as an ambassador in Tehran, Salah al-Zawawi was the Palestinian ambassador to

in 1968, the Palestinian ambassador to

in 1975, and the Palestinian ambassador to

from 1977 to 1979. In 1980, after the victory of the Iranian Islamic revolution, he came to Tehran as the ambassador of Palestine and held this position until 2022. He was the ambassador of Palestine in Iran for more than 40 years, and contrary to diplomatic custom and even though his mission was over, he continued to work as an ambassador in Iran at the request of the

, which according to him, "staying in this position is beyond politics." Salah al-Zawawi was the second Palestinian ambassador to Iran after Hani al-Hassan. Salah al-Zawawi was the "only legal representative of the Palestinian nation" in Iran from 1981 to 2022. Salah al-Zawawi established a close relationship with Iranian politicians and had relations with representatives of all Palestinian resistance groups.

His title

Due to his long-term presence as an

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 so ...

, Salah al-Zawawi was given the titles such as "Al-Safir al-Avval" ('' in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, ''), "Moghaddam al-Sofaraa" ('' in Arabic, '') and "Sheikh al-Sofaraa" ('' in Arabic, '').

Honoring him

Because of the 39 years or according to another story more than 40 years of Salah al-Zawawi's diplomatic and media activity for

and

, a celebration ceremony was held for him at ''Media Cultural Center'' in

on Monday February 28, 2022. The ceremony, was prepared by the ''Society for the Defence of Palestinian Nation'' and was held with the presence of some Iranian officials and political figures. In the ceremony, Salah al-Zawawi's sincere efforts were appreciated and thanked. When Salah al-Zawawi died, many Iranian officials, including Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the

Islamic Republic of Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, expressed their condolences.

Death of his wife

After the death of his wife ''Dalaal Al-A'raj'', Salah al-Zawawi buried her at

Behesht-e Zahra Behesht-e Zahra ( ; ) is the largest cemetery in Iran. Located in the southern part of metropolitan Tehran, it is connected to the city by Tehran Metro Line 1. History In the early 1950s, all the cemeteries in Tehran were supposed to be replac ...

cemetery in

Death

Salah al-Zawawi was admitted to a hospital in

due to old age and illness. He died on February 20, 2023, at the age of 86. His body was buried in the section of ''Naam Aavaraan'' (burying place of famous figures) of the