President of the Palestinian National Authority
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The President of the Palestinian National Authority is the highest-ranking political position (equivalent to head of state) in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
The President appoints the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority from the Palestinian Legislative Council, with whom he shares power.
[edit] The term
The Arabic term ra'ees or ra'is (رئيس) can be translated to English as either "president" or "chairman". As the status of Palestine as a political entity is controversial, the use of the term "President" to describe the leader of the Palestinian government is controversial to some, as its use may be seen to imply a recognition of state sovereignty. The use of the term "Chairman" is controversial for the opposite reason -- its use may be seen to imply denial of Palestinian aspirations for statehood. [1]
The Arabic term was used in the English text of the 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip [2], part of the Oslo accords which established the PNA. In practice, when referring to the ra'ees in English documents and statements, the PNA uses the term "president", whereas Israel uses "chairman".
The United States, in its role as peace broker, uses several different terms according to context. News releases from its embassy in Israel refer to the PNA "chairman"; press briefings in Washington use "president"; both occasionally avoid the issue with "Palestinian leader". The international English-language press mostly (but not always) follows the Palestinian terminology. Israeli press refers to the leader variously as "ra'ees", "president", "chairman" or by name alone.
A letter delivered from Chairman Arafat to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin as part of the Gaza-Jericho agreement affirmed that "When Chairman Arafat enters the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area, he will use the title 'Chairman (Ra'ees in Arabic) of the Palestinian Authority' or 'Chairman of the PLO', and will not use the title 'President of Palestine.'"[1]
[edit] List of Presidents
- Yasser Arafat: July 5, 1994 - November 11, 2004
- Rauhi Fattouh (interim): November 11, 2004 - January 15, 2005
- Mahmoud Abbas: January 15, 2005 - present
[edit] History
Yasser Arafat was leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and became the Palestinian National Authority's first president when the governing body was created in 1994. His rule was validated by an election on January 20, 1996, but future elections were suspended. Arafat remained president until his death on November 11, 2004, at which point Palestinian house speaker Rauhi Fattouh assumed most of Arafat's duties and became interim president. However, he never formally assumed the title. New elections were held in January 2005, and won by Mahmoud Abbas.
