Yousef Haikal (1907–1989) was a

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

ian

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

and the Mayor of

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 ...

between 1945 and 1948.

Biography

Haikal was born in 1907 in the city of

. After learning at the Arab College 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 ...

, he sought degrees in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, before returning to

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 1938. He served as the General Inspector of

Awqaf A (; , plural ), also called a (, plural or ), or ''mortmain'' property, is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charit ...

(Muslim public properties in Palestine) for four years, and then as a District Judge in

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

between 1943 and 1945. On 30 March 1945, Haikal was appointed to chair the Jaffa Municipal Commission by Mandatory authorities, thus becoming Mayor of Jaffa. 18 months after becoming mayor, Haikal held an election for the office, which he proceeded to win. In February of 1948, during the

Palestine war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. During the war, the British withdrew from Palestine, Zionist forces conquered territory and established the Stat ...

, Haikal contacted

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary List of national founders, national founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency ...

through a British intermediary trying to secure a peace agreement with nearby

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, which was opposed by the commander of the city's Arab militia. In May, Haikal left the city for Jordan. In 1949, Haikal was appointed Jordanian Minister to the United States, In August of 1952, he became Jordan's representative at the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

. He held both positions until December of 1953. He subsequently led the Jordanian Delegation with the

Jordan–Israel Mixed Armistice Commission Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission (HKJI MAC) was the United Nations organisation of observers which dealt with complaints from Jordan and Israel to maintain the fragile cease fire along the demarcation line (Green Line ...

between 1953 and 1954. He subsequently served as Jordan's ambassador to the United Kingdom between 1954 and 1956, to France between 1956 and 1957, to the United States In 1957 and then again in 1959, to India between 1962 and 1964 and to the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

between 1964 and 1969. Haikal also served as Jordan's

Permanent Representative to the United Nations A permanent representative to the United Nations (sometimes called a "UN ambassador")"History of Ambassadors", United States Mission to the United Nations, March 2011, webpagUSUN-a. is the head of a country's diplomatic mission to the United Natio ...

between 1957 and 1962. After retiring from his diplomatic posts, Haikal moved to Lebanon and wrote a memoir. Hilmi Hanoun, long-term mayor of Tulkarm, was a son of Haikal's sister, Asya. Haikal died in 1989 and was buried 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 ...

References

1907 births 1989 deaths Alumni of the University of London International Monetary Fund people Permanent representatives of Jordan to the United Nations Ambassadors of Jordan to the United States Ambassadors of Jordan to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Jordan to France Ambassadors of Jordan to India Ambassadors of Jordan to Taiwan {{Jordan-diplomat-stub