On This Day

Yasser Arafat

Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat

Full Name: Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa
Profession: Palestinian Leader

Nationality:
Palestine
Palestinian

Biography: Leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and for many years branded a terrorist, he received the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize for working for peace with Israeli leaders.

Born: August 24, 1933
Birthplace: Cairo, Egypt

Generation: Silent Generation
Chinese Zodiac: Rooster
Star Sign: Virgo

Died: November 11, 2004 (aged 71)
Cause of Death: Haemorrhagic stroke - although rumours of AICS and polonium poisoning persist

Married Life

  • 1990-07-17 Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (56) weds Suha Tawil (27)

Historical Events

  • 1969-02-04 The Palestine National Congress appoints Yasser Arafat chairman of the PLO
  • 1969-02-07 Al-Fatah-leader Yasser Arafat becomes president of PLO
  • 1975-11-10 PLO leader Yasser Arafat addresses UN in NYC
  • 1982-08-30 PLO leader Yasser Arafat leaves Beirut
  • 1982-09-15 Pope John Paul II receives PLO leader Yasser Arafat
  • 1983-12-20 PLO chairman Yasser Arafat & 4,000 loyalists evacuate Lebanon
  • 1983-12-22 Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak meets with PLO leader Yasser Arafat
  • 1988-12-06 Yasser Arafat meets prominent American Jews in Stockholm, Sweden
  • 1988-12-07 PLO delegation lead by Yasser Arafat proclaims the State of Palestine, recognizing the existence of the State of Israel for the first time
  • 1988-12-13 Yasser Arafat addresses UN in Geneva
  • 1994-02-09 Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Perez signs accord with PLO's Yasser Arafat
  • 1994-06-26 PLO leader Yasser Arafat returns to Gaza after 27 years
  • 1994-10-14 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres
  • 1994-12-10 Nobel Peace Prize presented to Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat
  • 1995-09-28 Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat sign accord to transfer West Bank to the PLO
  • 1997-01-19 Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city.
  • 1998-08-11 Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian National Authority president, Yasser Arafat, arrives in Cape Town on his first state visit to South Africa at the invitation of President Nelson Mandela
  • 1998-10-23 Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat reach a "land for peace" agreement.
  • 2004-11-11 Yasser Arafat's death through unidentified causes confirmed by Palestine Liberation Organization, Mahmoud Abbas elected PLO chairman minutes later.
  • 2005-01-09 Elections are held to replace Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestine Liberation Organization. He is succeeded by Rawhi Fattouh.

Famous Palestinians

Search the largest, most accurate site for today in history.