Salam Fayyad
Born in Deir Al-Ghussun, near Tulkarem, in 1952; studied at the AUB, graduating with a BSc in 1975; continued his studies and earned an MBA in Accounting from St. Edward's University (1980) and a PhD in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin (1986);
Worked in the private sector in Jordan and as university researcher at the University of Texas at Austin and at Yarmouk University in Jordan; scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; worked as an economist at the World Bank in Washington from 1987 until 1995; joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1992 and held several positions over the next ten years, incl. Resident Representative of the IMF in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (1995-2001), working on financial reform for the PA Ministry of Finance;
Played a central role in establishing the Palestine Investment Fund in Oct. 2000, of which he is the Chairman of the Board of Directors; Chairman of the Board of Insurance and the Salaries Fund; in 2002, left the IMF and became the Regional Manager for the Arab Bank - Palestine, before being asked to serve as PA Finance Minister, a post he accepted in June 2002;
As such very much involved in the (financial) reform process in Palestine; submitted the first publicly disclosed PA budget that was approved by the PLC in early 2003; became Minister of Finance in the cabinet of PM Mahmoud Abbas on 30 April 2003; member (Finance Minister) in the Oct. 2003 Emergency Govt. of the PA; appointed Minister of Finance in the Nov. 2003 govt. of PM Ahmed Qrei'a; nominated as Minister of Finance in the Qrei'a Cabinet, approved by the PLC on 16 Feb. 2005. |
