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Revision as of 20:43, 8 September 2003 by Stravinsky00 (talk | contribs) (new page for Ahmed Qurei)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Ahmed Qurei ((b. 1937), also known as Abu Ala, was elected Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council in March of 2000. He was nominated for Prime Minister by Yasser Arafat after the resignation of Mahmoud Abbas in September 2003.
Qurei was born in Abu Dis, Jerusalem to a relatively wealthy family. He joined the Fatah wing of the Palestinian Liberation Organization in 1968. As a banker, he used his expertise during the 1970s as the director of the PLO's foreign investment branch and director-general of the PLO's economic branch, helping to make the organization one of the largest employers in Lebanon. He followed Arafat to Tunis after the PLO was forced to leave Lebanon. As more senior leaders died, Qurei rose to prominence and was elected to the Fatah Central Committee in August 1989.
As a member of the Central Committee, Qurei was instrumental in negotiating the Oslo Accords. He was also responsible for a development plan for the Palestinian territories submitted to the World Bank in 1993. He held various posts in the first Palestinian Authority cabinets including Minister of Economy & Trade and Minister of Industry. In 1993, he founded and became director of the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction (PECDAR) in order to help garner money from international donors. Soon after, he was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council and was elected Speaker in March 2000. He has been nominated for Prime Minister by Yasser Arafat and is awaiting confirmation of the appointment by the Palestinian parliament.