Riyad al-Maliki
Riyad al-Maliki | |
---|---|
رياض المالكي | |
al-Maliki in 2024 | |
Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
Assumed office July 2007* | |
President | Mahmoud Abbas |
Preceded by | Salam Fayyad |
Personal details | |
Born | Bethlehem, West Bank | 31 May 1955
Political party | Independent |
Alma mater | Pontifical Xavierian University American University |
*al-Maliki's term was disputed by Muhammad Awad from May 2011 to September 2012, and Ismail Haniyeh from September 2012 to 2 June 2014, both representing Hamas. | |
Riyad al-Maliki (Arabic: رياض المالكي; born 31 May 1955) is a Palestinian politician and former Minister of Information, government spokesperson, and Foreign Affairs Minister of the Palestinian National Authority in its 12th government. He also resumed office as Foreign Affairs Minister in the current 13th government.
Biography
[edit]He was born on 31 May 1955 in Bethlehem,[1] and earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Pontifical Xavierian University in Colombia in 1978[2][3] and a PhD in civil engineering at the American University.[4]
He started working as a lecturer in the Civil Engineering Department of Birzeit University in 1981 and served as the head of the department from 1993 to 1996.[5][1] He also founded and headed Panorama, the Palestinian Center for the Dissemination of Democracy and Community Development, an active non-governmental organization.[5] He also served as spokesman for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.[1]
He was awarded the European Peace Prize in 2000 in Copenhagen and the Italian Peace Prize (Lombardi) in 2005. He is the coordinator of the Arab Program to Support and Develop Democracy, which is an alliance of more than 12 civil society institutions. He is also a visiting professor in several European universities.[4][6]
In 2007, al-Maliki was one of three government ministers who investigated the circumstances of Palestinians who were stranded on the Egyptian side of the border along the Gaza Strip, because the only border crossing available to them was Israeli-controlled and they feared interrogation or arrest.[7]
His VIP travel card was confiscated by Israeli border security in 2021 as per the instructions of Benjamin Netanyahu. This was done after he returned from a meeting of the International Criminal Court. The Palestinians had asked the International Court of Justice for an opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of Palestinian Territories.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "MALKI, RIAD (-)". PASSIA. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- ^ Soto Guerrero, Eduard (9 July 2008). "No pensé regresar como Canciller". Periodico El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 July 2024.
- ^ "El canciller palestino es egresado de la Javeriana" (in Spanish). Periodico El Tiempo. 10 July 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b "Al-Maliki Riad". Britain Israel Research and Communications Centre. Archived from the original on 23 December 2010.
- ^ a b "Minister". State of Palestine. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates. 2 December 2023. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023.
- ^ "Profiles: Palestinian interim cabinet". BBC News. 17 June 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
- ^ Frisch, Hillel (2008). The Palestinian military: between militias and armies. Routledge. p. 176.
- ^ "Israel takes Palestinian FM's VIP pass in world court flap". DAWN.COM. Reuters. 8 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
External links
[edit]
- 1955 births
- Living people
- People from Bethlehem
- Pontifical Xavierian University alumni
- American University alumni
- Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine members
- Academic staff of Birzeit University
- Foreign ministers of the Palestinian National Authority
- Government ministers of the Palestinian National Authority
- Government ministers of the State of Palestine
- Palestinian civil engineers
- 20th-century engineers
- Palestinian people stubs