Kamal Butros Nasser (; 1924–10 April 1973) was a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

political leader, writer and poet. In the early 1970s, Nasser was a spokesman for the

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...

Early life and education

Nasser was born in Gaza in 1924, and grew up in Birzeit. He hailed from a Christian family; his father was Reverend Butrus Nasir, who was a leader within Palestine's Arab Protestant community from Bir Zeit. Kamal was educated at Birzeit school (now Bir Zeit University). He then studied political science 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 ...

and graduated in 1945. Later on he worked as a teacher while studying law in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, and then taught at Al-Ahlia College in

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ) is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of abov ...

. Nasser's cousin was Hanna Nasser.

Political life

Nasser joined the Ba‘ath in 1952. He was responsible for producing the '' Al-Ba'ath'' newspaper from

and also set up ''al-Jil al-Jadid'' (The New Era), a militant newspaper. In 1956 he was elected to Jordanian parliament as Ba‘ath member for the Ramallah district. He did not serve out his term as a result of his expulsion from Parliament during the subsequent martial law period in Jordan. Expelled from the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in 1967, Nasser became editor of the

PLO The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people in both the occupied Palestinian territories and the diaspora. ...

periodical, '' Falastin Al Thawra'', in 1972 and held the post until his assassination on 10 April 1973. In addition, at that time he became a member of

PLO Executive Committee The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO EC; ) is the highest executive body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and acts as the Palestinian government, government of the State of Palestine.

from February 1969 to July 1971, serving as an official with the office of National Guidance. In 1970, he was also spokesman for the committee. In addition, he served as spokesman for the PLO. From 1969 to 1973, Nasser was head of the PLO's media and information efforts.

Death

Nasser was killed in West Beirut on the night of 9 April 1973 by Israeli special forces during an Israeli raid on Lebanon along with Kamal Adwan and Mohammed Yousef Najjar. All three men were included in the Mossad's target list for their alleged participation in the Munich massacre. Their funeral was attended by nearly half a million people most of whom were Lebanese.

Legacy

The main auditorium of

Birzeit University Birzeit University () is a public university in the West Bank, Palestine, registered by the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs as a charitable organization. It is accredited by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Mini ...

is named after him.

Works

Nasser was a published poet and a number of his poems have been translated into English, including The Story and The Last Poem.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nasser, Kamal 20th-century Palestinian male writers 20th-century Palestinian poets 1924 births 1973 deaths American University of Beirut alumni Assassinated Palestinian politicians Mossad assassinations following the Munich massacre People killed in Mossad operations Palestinian Arab nationalists Palestinian Christians Palestinian male poets People from Birzeit 20th-century Palestinian writers Politicians from Gaza City Asian politicians assassinated in the 1970s Fatah members Assassinated Palestinian journalists Arab people in Mandatory Palestine Journalists killed by Israeli security forces Politicians assassinated in 1973 Writers from Gaza City Journalists from Gaza City 20th-century Palestinian journalists