Rawhi Fattouh is a Socialist International Vice President. He devoted his life to the Palestinian cause, and his trajectory reflects all the challenges of the last decades, the hardship and the struggles. Despite the massive killings and the destruction by the Israeli armed forces to his homeland, he is contributing decisively to the efforts for a peaceful and just solution that will bring Palestinians an independent statehood, security for Palestinians and Israelis, and stability for the region. The Award to Rawhi Fattouh symbolizes also the SI position that the implementation of any peace process in Gaza cannot be successful without giving a leading role to the Palestinians.
From a refugee camp in Rafah to Chairman of the Palestinian National Council
Rawhi Fattouh was born in a refugee camp in Rafah, after his family was expelled from a village near Asdod. A member of the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS), after the 1967 war he moved to Jordan and joined Fatah’s armed wing. He became a member of Fatah’s Commission for Popular Organization in the 1980s and a member of its Revolutionary Council in 1989.
Rawhi Fattouh was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in 1996, and served as its speaker between 2004–2006. In 2003 he was appointed by then Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei as PA Minister of Agriculture.
After Yasser Arafat’s death in 2004, he served as the interim PA President for two months until the election of Abbas in January 2005. In 2006 he became Abbas’ personal representative.
He was elected to Fatah’s Central Committee in 2016. He has been a member of the Palestinian National Council (PNC) since 1983. In February 2020 he was elected PNC speaker, replacing Salim Zanoun. In this capacity he chairs also the Palestinian Central Council (PCC).
In November 2024, President Mahmoud Abbas announced that he will act as interim president, should the position become vacant, for a period of 90 days during which presidential elections will be held.
