Samir Ghawshah also spelled Samir Ghosha (, 1937–August 3, 2009), 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 ...

politician and militia leader. He was the head of the Secretary-General of the

Palestinian Popular Struggle Front The Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF, occasionally abbr. PSF) (Arabic: جبهة النضال الشعبي الفلسطيني, ''Jabhet Al-Nedal Al-Sha'abi Al-Falestini'') is a Palestinian political party. Samir Ghawshah was elected secr ...

(PPSF) and member of the Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee.Samir Ghousha, PPSF secretary-general and co-founder, dead at 72
. ''

Ma'an News Agency Ma'an News Agency (MNA; ) is a large wire service created in 2005 in the Palestinian territories. It is part of the Ma'an Network, a non-governmental organization media network created in 2002 in the Palestinian territories among independent journ ...

''. 2009-08-05. Ghawsha also served in the

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a c ...

as Minister of Labor and later on Minister of Jerusalem.

Life

Ghawshah was born 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 ...

in 1937 and received his elementary and secondary education there. He obtained a BA in dentistry from the

University of Damascus A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. He joined the

pan-Arabism Pan-Arabism () is a Pan-nationalism, pan-nationalist ideology that espouses the unification of all Arabs, Arab people in a single Nation state, nation-state, consisting of all Arab countries of West Asia and North Africa from the Atlantic O ...

movement when he was young. After the Palestinian exodus, he co-founded the PPSF and was elected its secretary-general in 1971. Frequently in opposition to

Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...

's policies (being a part of the

Rejectionist Front The Rejectionist Front (Arabic: جبهة الرفض) or Front of the Palestinian Forces Rejecting Solutions of Surrender (جبهة القوى الفلسطينية الرافضة للحلول الإستسلامية) was a political coalition forme ...

), it also received backing from a number of

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

governments, especially

and

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. In 1991, Ghousha was elected a member of the PLO's Executive Committee, where he represented the party. The PPSF broke apart when talks between

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 ...

and Palestinians began in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

in 1991, with Ghawshah heading the more moderate faction and returning to the favor of Arafat. Ghawshah's PPSF accepted the

Oslo Agreement The Oslo I Accord or Oslo I, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or short Declaration of Principles (DOP), was an attempt in 1993 to set up a framework that would lead to the resolution of th ...

and he served as Minister of Labor in the resulting

(PNA) from 1994, but resigned in 1998 in protest of "corruption and the lack of a joint Palestinian strategy." He published his resignation in a letter, complaining of irregularities in the PNA's system of governance, and of apparent examples of

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

He continued to serve as Minister without Portfolio, but from 1999 had no ministerial post. He was present at the Camp David negotiations of 2000 as an adviser to Arafat, and briefly returned as Minister for Jerusalem, formally known as the Orient House Director, in the PNA between late October 2002 and April 2003.

Death

Ghawsha died in an

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 ...

hospital on 3 August 2009 at the age of 72 due to complications from cancer. His will was to be buried in Jerusalem but

refused it. Instead he was buried in Martyr's Square in

al-Bireh Al-Bireh, al-Birah, or el-Bira (; also known historically as Castrum Mahomeria, Magna Mahomeria, Mahomeria Major, Birra, or Beirothah) is a city in the central West Bank, north of Jerusalem. It is the capital of the Ramallah and al-Bireh Gove ...

. The funeral procession began at the Governmental Hospital 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 ...

, and his body was transported on an official military vehicle with Palestinian Presidential Guards securing the convoy. The mourners, who included

Yasser Abed Rabbo Yasser Abed Rabbo () also known by his '' kunya'', Abu Bashar () (born 1944) is a Palestinian politician and a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) Executive Committee. Biography Early life and career Born in Jaffa in 1944 ...

and

Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas (; born 15 November 1935), also known by the Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Mazen (, ), is a Palestinian politician who has been serving as the second president of Palestine and the President of the Palestinian National Authority, P ...

' representative Ahmad Abdel Rahman, traveled past Ghawshah's family home, then to the

Mukataa Mukataa () is an Arabic word for headquarters or administrative center, particularly in Palestine. Mukataas were mostly built during the British Mandate as Tegart forts and were used both as British government centers and as dwellings for the ...

in Ramallah for an official ceremony. PPSF colleague

Ahmed Majdalani Ahmed Majdalani (; born 1956) is a Palestinian politician, university professor and researcher. A former Palestinian government minister, he currently serves as Secretary-General of the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF) and is a senior mem ...

succeeded Ghawshah as secretary-general on August 8.PPSF elects new Secretary General replacing deceased former leader
. ''

''. 2009-08-12. Retrieved on 2012-01-23.

References

External links

PPSF Homepage
Biography of Samir Ghawshah. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghawshah, Samir 1937 births 2009 deaths Palestinian militants Palestinian dentists Palestine Liberation Organization members Politicians from Jerusalem Palestinian Popular Struggle Front politicians Government ministers of the Palestinian National Authority Palestinian Arab nationalists Labor ministers of the Palestinian National Authority Members of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization 20th-century dentists