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

Why Famous: 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 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 Organisation 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.

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