SALAM FAYYAD Biography - Polititians

 
 

Biography » polititians » salam fayyad

SALAM FAYYAD

Name: Salam Fayyad                                                                     
Born: 1952 Deir al-Ghusun, West Bank                                                   
                                                                                       
Dr Salam Fayyad (born 1952) is a Palestinian politician, who                           
on June 15, 2007, was appointed the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National         
Authority. His appointment, justified by President Mahmoud Abbas on the basis of       
"national emergency", has not been confirmed by the Palestinian Legislative             
Council (PLC), the parliament of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).             
Until that date, Fayyad had been the Finance Minister of the Palestinian               
National Authority in the Fatah interim government from 2002.                           
                                                                                       
Fayyad is an internationally respected economist and politician. Salam                 
Fayyad received his MBA from St. Edwards University in 1980. Dr. Fayyad has             
a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a             
student of William A. Barnett and where he did early research on the American           
Divisia Monetary Aggregates, which he continued on the staff of the Federal             
Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Fayyad began his career teaching economics at Yarmouk       
University in Jordan, before joining the World Bank from 1987 - 1995. He               
subsequently became the International Monetary Fund representative to the               
Palestinian National Authority until 2001, before becoming its Finance Minister.       
                                                                                       
Upon resigning as Finance Minister, Fayyad ran as founder and leader of the new         
Third Way political party in the Palestinian legislative election of 2006               
alongside Hanan Ashrawi and Yasser Abd Rabbo. Fayyad and Ashrawi won seats in           
the PLC.                                                                               
                                                                                       
He is seen as pro-Western and was predicted to be offered the post of Prime             
Minister of the PNA by both Fatah, and as of January 26, 2006, also by the             
winner of the elections: the List of Change and Reform (Hamas). In response to         
the offer, Fayyad presented several conditions to becoming Prime Minister,             
including that Hamas would recognize Israel, which Hamas declined.                     
                                                                                       
On March 18, 2007, Fayyad was appointed Finance Minister of the Fatah-Hamas             
unity government. On June 15, 2007, following the Hamas takeover of the Gaza           
Strip, Fayyad was appointed Prime Minister of a new "independent" government (without   
any Fatah or Hamas members) which is effectively supported by the Fatah and             
Israel.                                                                                 
                                                                                       
This appointment has been challenged as illegal, because while the Palestinian         
Basic Law permits the President of the PNA to dismiss a sitting prime minister,         
the appointment of a replacement requires the approval of the PLC. The law             
provides that after removal of the Prime Minister (in this case, Ismail Haniyeh),       
the outgoing prime minister heads a caretaker government. The current PLC, in           
which Hamas holds a majority of seats, has not approved the appointments of             
Fayyad or the balance of his new government. Fayyad's appointment was never             
placed before, or approved by the PLC. Haniyeh has operate as Prime Minister           
in Gaza, and is recognized by a large number of Palestinians as the legitimate         
caretaker Prime Minister of the PNA. Anis al-Qasem, the Palestinian                     
constitutional lawyer who drafted the Basic Law, is among those who publicly           
declared the appointment of Fayyad to be illegal.