Salam Fayyad

Salam Fayyad has been Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority since 2007. While some consider Ismail Haniyeh the Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas has twice appointed Fayyad to the position. A trained economist, Fayyad was a professor before representing Palestine at the IMF and subsequently serving as Yasser Arafat's Finance Minister. After Arafat's death, he left his cabinet position to establish the Third Way political party as an alternative to Fatah and Hamas.

Ismail Haniyeh assumed the Prime Ministry after the 2006 elections, but Abbas removed him after Hamas seized the Gaza Strip and appointed Fayyad in his place. Palestine's Legislative Council and Hamas dispute this, but it is recognized by Fatah, Israel, and much of the world. As Prime Minister, Fayyad, noting the failure of past Palestinian bids for statehood, whether violent or peaceful, instead seeks to improve security, governance, and economic opportunities.

For more information, see http://bit.ly/rGcalY and for an interview where he discusses Palestinian statehood, see http://bit.ly/s8h1Io.