| President of the State of Palestine | |
|---|---|
| رئيس دولة فلسطين | |
 Presidential Emblem | |
 Presidential standard[1] | |
 | |
| Style | His Excellency |
| Type | |
| Residence | Presidential Palace,Ramallah |
| Term length | Four years, renewable indefinitely |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Palestine (2003) |
| Inaugural holder | Yasser Arafat |
| Formation | 2 April 1989 (1989-04-02) |
| Deputy | Vice President |
| Salary | US$120,000 annually[2] |
| Website | State of Palestine, President |
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Thepresident of the State of Palestine (Arabic:رئيس دولة فلسطين,romanized: Raʼīs Dawlat Filasṭīn) is thehead of state ofPalestine.Yasser Arafat became the first titular president of the State of Palestine in 1989, one year after thePalestinian Declaration of Independence. The title was originally titular, in parallel with the de facto titlepresident of the Palestinian National Authority. Both functions were held by Arafat from 1994 and continued until his death in November 2004, and were continued by his successorMahmoud Abbas. In January 2005, thePalestinian Central Council (PCC) asked Abbas to perform the duties of the president of the State of Palestine.[3] In November 2008, the PCC approved the continuation of Abbas's function as president of the State of Palestine.[4] Since 2013, the title president of the State of Palestine became the sole title of the Palestinian president.
On 15 November 1988, thePalestine Liberation Organizationproclaimed theState of Palestine (SoP). Yasser Arafat, theChairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, assumed the title "President of Palestine". The United Nations recognized the PLO as the "representative of the Palestinian people". The PLO established aPalestinian National Council and agovernment in exile, both representing thePalestinian people worldwide.
TheOslo Accords established the parallelPalestinian National Authority (PA) and thePalestinian Legislative Council, both representing Palestinians in thePalestinian territories. From 1994, Arafat assumed the title ofPresident of the Palestinian National Authority, which was consolidated by the1996 Presidential elections. Since then, both functions (President of the SoP and of the PA) were simultaneously performed by a single person.
In 2012, theUnited Nations recognized the "State of Palestine" as non-member observer state, but this did not abolish the function of President of the Palestinian Authority,[citation needed] as this originated from the Oslo Accords.
Unlike the President of the Palestinian Authority, the position of President of the State of Palestine is not validated by democratic elections, but rather by thePLO Central Council. In 1989, the PLO Central Council elected Arafat the first President of the State of Palestine.[5] At the time, the PLO that elected him was led by Arafat himself. After Arafat's death in November 2004, the office was vacant. In May 2005, four months after Abbas was elected President of the Palestinian Authority, the PLO Central Council asked Abbas to act as President of State of Palestine.[3] On 23 November 2008, the PLO Central Council formalized the function by electing Abbas President of the State of Palestine.[4] The PLO organs that appointed Abbas in 2005 and 2008 were and still are led by Abbas himself.
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term | Political party | Election | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Duration | ||||||
| 1 |  | Yasser Arafat (1929–2004) | 2 April 1989 | 11 November 2004 † | 15 years, 223 days | Fatah | 1996 | [5][6] |
| – |  | Rawhi Fattouh (born 1948) Acting | 11 November 2004 | 15 January 2005 | 65 days | Fatah | – | – |
| 2 | | Mahmoud Abbas (born 1935) [a][b] | 15 January 2005 | Incumbent | 21 years, 32 days | Fatah | 2005 | [3][8] |
