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Yasser Arafat
Leading the Palestinian national movement and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
United Nations address · Oslo process
- Born
- August 1929
- Birthplace
- Cairo, Egypt
- Died
- 11 November 2004
More people
Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat was a Palestinian political leader associated with armed struggle, diplomacy and the Palestinian Authority.
Early life
Youth
Spent parts of his childhood in Cairo and Jerusalem.
Education
Studied engineering in Cairo and became a student organiser.
Career
- 1950s–1960s
Fatah
Helped establish the movement and its armed campaign.
- 1969 onward
PLO leadership
Led the organisation through conflict and diplomacy.
- 1990s–2004
Palestinian Authority
Returned to the occupied territories and led the new authority.
Political record
United Nations address
Presented the Palestinian cause to the General Assembly.
Oslo process
Signed the declaration of principles with Israel.
Nobel Peace Prize
Shared the award with Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres.
Beyond work
Political legacy
Remains a central and contested figure in Palestinian history.
Final years
Spent much of his final period confined in his Ramallah headquarters.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Photo: Gideon Markowiz. CC BY 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.