Ahmad Abdel Rahman

Ahmad Abdel Rahman (1943–2019) was a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and served in different capacities under both Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas from 1967 to 2000s.

Ahmad Abdel Rahman
Personal details
Born12 November 1943
Bayt Shanna, Ramla, Mandatory Palestine
Died2 December 2019(2019-12-02) (aged 76)
Ramallah, West Bank
Resting placeRamallah
NationalityPalestinian
Political partyFatah
Alma mater

Early life and education

Abdel Rahman was born in Bayt Shanna, Ramla, Mandatory Palestine, on 12 November 1943.[1] He obtained a degree in law from Damascus School of Law.[1] He joined the PLO in 1967 and became the first Fatah representative in the Palestinian Student Union in Syria. He received his MA in political science from the American University of Beirut in 1982.[2]

Career

Abdel Rahman was the director of Voice of Al Asifa or Voice of the Storm radio station in Syria until 1973 and then was appointed chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Council in 1973 which he held until 1994.[2] He began to edit Falastin Al Thawra, a Fatah publication, in 1973.[3] He was named as the head of the Palestinian Cinema and Photography Organization in 1981 when the head of the organization, Majed Abu Sharar, was assassinated.[4]

Abdel Rahman served as the official spokesman for the PLO between 1982 and 1994. He was a member of the Palestinian National Council and the Palestinian Central Council. He was appointed secretary general of the Palestinian Council of Ministers in 1996 which he held until 2003. During the same period he was also the spokesman for the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).[2]

Abdel Rahman was the political adviser to Yasser Arafat during the siege of the PLO's administrative center in West Bank during the Second Intifada. He was one of the PLO officials who accompanied Arafat during his illness.[2]

Abdel Rahman's role as the PNA spokesman continued after the death of Arafat in 2004.[5] In addition, he was one of the advisers to the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.[6][7]

Views

Abdel Rahman was part of the pro-Soviet faction within the PLO in the 1970s.[8] Later he adopted a moderate political stance.[8] He was one of the PLO officials who claimed that Arafat was poisoned a year before his death on 11 November 2004.[9]

Death

Abdel Rahman died in Ramallah on 2 December 2019. Mahmoud Abbas attended his funeral ceremony held in Ramallah on 4 December.[10]

References
  1. "Ahmad Abdulrahman". All 4 Palestine. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  2. "Mr. Ahmad Abdel Rahman (1943-2019)". Yasser Arafat Foundation. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  3. Dina Matar (2018). "PLO Cultural Activism". Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. 38 (2): 363. doi:10.1215/1089201x-6982123. S2CID 148869236.
  4. Dina Matar (2023). "The PLO's political communication arena; Arafat and the struggle for media legitimacy". British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies: 7. doi:10.1080/13530194.2022.2087598.
  5. "Fatah backs Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations". ReliefWeb. 9 October 2007. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  6. Adam Entous (13 June 2007). "Diplomats say "Gaza lost" as Fatah arms running short". Reuters. Jerusalem. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  7. "Palestinian factions row over unity government". NBC News. Reuters. 17 September 2006. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  8. "Filastin Al-Thawra (Palestine of the Revolution)". Encyclopedia. 18 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023. citing the Dictionary of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
  9. "Arafat was poisoned, says Fatah chief". Dawn. 13 July 2005. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  10. Ali Sawafta; Nidal Al Mughrabi (6 May 2020). "Pandemic boosts Palestinian PM as potential Abbas successor". Reuters. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
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