Born in Nablus in 1952, Dr. Salam Fayyad remembers his early school years in Tulkarem, when doing well at school was not the main thing (as it continues to be today), it was the only thing. Well, almost the only thing. Back then, after-school street football was also a daily routine and a prominent item on his agenda.
In his late teens, Fayyad left the West Bank and headed to Jordan for high school before moving to Beirut, where he received his first college degree at the American University of Beirut. He then went on to complete graduate studies in the United States. In Texas, he earned an MBA from St. Edward’s University and a doctorate in economics from the University of Texas, Austin (1986). It was there that he developed a keen appreciation for that other game they call football, of which he has since become an avid fan.
Fayyad has always loved to teach, and in the early to mid 1980s, he taught economics at the University of Texas as well as at Yarmouk University in Jordan. However, he found another calling at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, D.C., where he worked from 1987 to 2001, acting as resident representative in the West Bank and Gaza Strip from 1996 until 2001. Between his teaching and his IMF career, he served as a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Before embarking on a political career, Fayyad also worked as the regional manager of the Arab Bank, Palestine, in 2002. However, by June of that year, politics beckoned, and Fayyad was appointed minister of finance of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). Having held similar positions since then, including membership in the Palestinian Legislative Council, Fayyad is now in the midst of one of the most important challenges of his life - the role of prime minister.
Throughout the years, Fayyad has earned an international reputation for his commitment to fairness, transparency, and accountability. As the minister of finance and prime minister, Fayyad essentially whipped the PNA’s books into shape. Last year, he re-launched the Ministry of Finance’s website, committing to post monthly reports on the PNA’s financial operations, thereby allowing every citizen to examine all of the PNA’s financial transactions in order to eliminate any doubts about corruption and financial mismanagement. As Fayyad said during the launch, “Reform is not just a slogan, nor is political will - important as it is - enough to turn it into a reality. It is the combination of the will to undertake it and the capacity to carry it out that matters.”
Fayyad spends his days dealing with correspondence, reading reports, meeting with ministers, security chiefs, local and international delegations, and foreign representatives. He doesn’t like to travel abroad, preferring to stay where his duties lie, in the domestic arena. The highlight of his week, however, is when he gets to leave the office behind and head out to refugee camps, villages, and towns around the country, meeting ordinary people. Under his leadership, the government has dedicated millions of dollars to small community projects such as the building and expansion of schools, the opening of wells and other water and electricity projects, the paving of new roads, the inauguration of cultural and youth centres, and the establishment of local councils. Fayyad sees these projects as a means of reinforcing the steadfastness and ability of Palestinian citizens to remain on their land. Fayyad’s own personal version of sumud is to run a government, provide basic services, develop the infrastructure, build schools and hospitals, have a transparent budget, etc., all in spite of the occupation.
These community and rural projects, essential to improving the lives of Palestinians, are elements of a much bigger vision. On 25 August 2009, Fayyad unveiled the Thirteenth Government Program entitled “Palestine: Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State.” Fayyad describes the Program as highly proactive, a form of positive unilateralism to produce positive change on the ground for Palestinians. The Program is not just another government document targeting politicians and donors. Instead, it calls on Palestinians from all segments of society to unite behind it and transform it into a reality. Its goal, the national goal, is to establish an independent, sovereign, and viable Palestinian state, which Fayyad insists is fundamental for peace, security, and stability in the region.
A son of Tulkarem, Fayyad reaches back to his own roots and remembers his own personal struggles as he soldiers on in pursuit of a Palestinian state for the Palestinian people. Fayyad is working towards a future that holds freedom, hope, and prosperity for all the Palestinian people, including his own three children.
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