Burhan Dajani (; 1921–2000) was a Palestinian academic, jurist and economist. He served as the secretary general of the Beirut-based Union of Arab Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture and taught economics at the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

Early life and education

Dajani was born in

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

, in 1921. He graduated from the American University of Beirut in 1940. He also graduated from the Government Law School in Jerusalem in 1948 obtaining a law diploma.

Career and activities

Following his graduation in 1940 Dajani joined his alma mater as a lecturer and worked there until 1944. He founded a newspaper entitled ''Al Hadaf'' in Jerusalem in 1950. He became the secretary general of the Union of Arab Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture based in Beirut in 1957 and held the post for a long time. He was one of the founders of the

Institute for Palestine Studies The Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) is the oldest independent nonprofit public service research institute in the Arab world. It was established and incorporated in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1963 and has since served as a model for other such ins ...

which was established in 1963. The other founders of the institute were

Walid Khalidi Walid Khalidi (; born in Jerusalem on July 16, 1925) is a Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus. He is a co-founder of the Institute for Palestine Studies, established in Beirut in December 1963 as an inde ...

Constantin Zureiq Constantin Zureiq (; ; April 18, 1909 – August 11, 2000) was a prominent Syrian intellectual who was one of the first to pioneer and express the importance of Arab nationalism. He stressed the urgent need to transform stagnant Arab society u ...

and Isam Ashour. Dajani also served as a member of the

Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...

economic advisory council. He continued to teach economics at the American University of Beirut. Dajani was also instrumental in the establishment of the academic title ''

Journal of Palestine Studies The ''Journal of Palestine Studies'' (JPS) is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal which has been published since 1971. It is published by Taylor and Francis on behalf of the Institute for Palestine Studies. History and profile The journal ...

'' along with Walid Khalidi, Fuad Sarruf and Constantin Zureiq. He joined the Center for Arab Unity Studies in Beirut as a board member in 1978. In addition to scholarly articles Dajani coedited a book entitled ''Economic Interests in the Service of Arab Causes'' in 1973. His articles were published as a book, ''The Political, Economic, and Literary Writings of Burhan Dajani'', in 2004.

Later years and death

Dajani settled in

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

, Jordan, after his retirement. He died there on 15 September 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dajani, Burhan 20th-century non-fiction writers 1921 births 2000 deaths Arab people in Mandatory Palestine Palestinian economists Palestinian non-fiction writers People from Jaffa American University of Beirut alumni Palestinian emigrants to Jordan Newspaper founders Academic staff of the American University of Beirut