Mahmoud Abbas, also widely known by his nom de guerre “Abu Mazen,” is the President of the State of Palestine. He was elected president on 9 January 2005 after winning 62 percent of the vote in the election held following the death of Yasser Arafat.

Mahmoud Abbas was born as Mahmoud Ridha Abbas on 26 March 1935 in Safed. Following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, he became a refugee and settled in Syria. There, he worked as a primary school teacher before pursuing higher education. Abbas studied law at Damascus University and later completed a master’s degree at the Oriental College, Moscow, focusing on Zionist movements and Nazism.

After his studies, Abbas worked as a personnel manager in the Qatari civil service while simultaneously organizing Palestinian political groups. In 1957, he became one of the founding members of Fatah. From 1968 onward, he served as a member of the Palestine National Council and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

In 1980, Abbas was appointed head of the PLO’s Department of National and International Relations. In May 1988, the PLO Executive Committee selected him to replace Abu Jihad, who had been assassinated earlier that year, as regional coordinator. In 1996, Abbas was elected Secretary-General of the PLO Executive Committee, continuing to serve as a close deputy to Yasser Arafat.

In January 1993, following the Gulf War, Abbas became the first PLO official to make an official visit to Saudi Arabia, during which he expressed regret over the organization’s stance toward Gulf states during the crisis.

Throughout the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Abbas became known for advocating negotiated and peaceful solutions. During the 1970s, he supported dialogue with Israeli and nonviolent Jewish movements. He coordinated Palestinian participation in the Madrid Conference and played a central role in secret negotiations that later became known as the Oslo process.

On 13 September 1993, Mahmoud Abbas signed the 1993 Peace Accord with Israel on behalf of the PLO. From 1994 onward, he headed the PLO Negotiations Affairs Department and, in September 1995, again signed the Interim Agreement, representing the Palestinian side.

In September 1995, Abbas returned to Gaza and Ramallah for the first time since 1948 and took up residence there. That same year, he published the book Through Secret Channels: The Road to Oslo, which detailed the background and inner workings of the Oslo negotiations.

Abbas was also known for controversial statements in earlier years regarding the scale of the Holocaust, claims from which he later distanced himself. In January 1996, he served as Chairman of the Central Elections Commission of the Palestine Legislative Council.

In March 2003, under pressure from the United States and Israel, Yasser Arafat appointed Abbas as Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, making him the first person to hold that office. However, he was not granted full executive authority, as Arafat retained control over key security services and final decision-making powers.

Despite being viewed favorably in the United States and Israel, Abbas struggled to gain broad popular support among Palestinians. Many saw him as a conciliator between Israel and the Palestinian people, lacking Arafat’s charismatic leadership. Disillusioned, Abbas resigned from the premiership on 6 September 2003, after only four months in office, and was succeeded by Ahmed Qurei.

Following the death of Yasser Arafat, presidential elections were held on 9 January 2005. Mahmoud Abbas won the election with 62 percent of the vote and was sworn in as President of the State of Palestine on 15 January 2005.

Mahmoud Abbas is married to Amina Abbas. They have three sons: Yasser Abbas, Mazen Abbas, and Tareq Abbas.

On 12 January 2015, Mahmoud Abbas paid an official visit to Turkey, where he was received with a formal ceremony at the Presidential Complex by Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Source: Biyografiler.com