Who is he?:
President of the Palestinian National Authority since Jan. 15, 2005. Abbas was also briefly Yasser Arafat's prime minister in 2003. Also known as Abu Mazen (literally, "father of Mazen," the name of Abbas' first-born son who died of a heart attack in 2002 at the age of 43).
Birthdate:
March 26, 1935, in Safed, which is now a city in northern Israel that came under Katyusha rocket fire from Lebanon during Israel's 2006 war with Hezbollah. Went to Syria when he was 13 years old.
Personal life:
Married to Amina Abbas; they had three sons together.
Political affiliation:
Fatah, the same party as Arafat and the largest party in the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Career:
Abbas has a background as an elementary school teacher. He got his doctorate in history from Oriental College in Moscow, drafting a thesis comparing Nazism and Zionism that many have criticized; he obtained a law degree from Damascus University in Syria. He's worked in Palestinian politics since the mid-1950s. He advocated negotiations with Israelis in the 1970s. He led the Central Election Commission for the Palestine Legislative Council elections in Jan. 1996. In March 2003, he was named the first Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, a term that lasted just six months.
Future:
Under Abbas' rule, the Palestinian territories have essentially fractured into separate autonomous territories. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh continues to operate out of Gaza, Abbas continues running things out of the West Bank, and Hamas and Fatah continue to fight. Hamas and others are opposed to Abbas efforts to negotiate a Mideast peace with Israel. Abbas comparatively moderate stance in this process has earned his government recognition from other nations over the shadow administration in Gaza.
Quote:
"We look forward to that day and hoping it will come as soon as possible in order that the language of negotiations will replace the language of bullets and cannons and in which neighborhood and livelihood will prevail instead of the war; and in order to provide our grandsons and our future generations, Palestinian and Israelis, a different tomorrow, a promising tomorrow." -- Abbas speaking at the 2005 cease-fire agreement in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt
