Success stories of Palestinian achievers from all over the world

Ahmad Shukeiri

Personal Info

  • Country of residence: Palestine
  • Gender: Male
  • Born in: 1908
  • Age: 113
  • Curriculum vitae :

Information

Ahmed Asaad Al-Shugairi (1908 - February 26, 1980) is a Palestinian politician, born in the Lebanese Tibnin Castle, and grew up in the Palestinian city of Tulkarm since he was an infant until he grew up. He is the founder of the Palestine Liberation Organization and its first president. For the Arab League, the Saudi Minister of State for United Nations Affairs, and the Saudi ambassador to the United Nations.

Ahmed Asaad Al-Shugairi was born in the Tibnin Castle in southern Lebanon in 1908. His father is Asaad Al-Shugairi, the Mufti of the Ottoman Fourth Army, and he was exiled outside Palestine, while his mother is of Turkish origin. After his mother's divorce from his father Asaad, Ahmad Al-Shugairi, a baby, returned to his city of Tulkarm with his mother. There in Tulkarm, his family is located, especially his uncle Qassem Al-Shugairi, his uncle's family and their home. His uncle Qasim was an official in the city's finance department. After that, his mother remarried in Medina to a man named Salim from Medina, and he worked in the telephone line department at Dar al-Barq and Postal House in Medina. Then her husband, Salim, died a year after the marriage and was buried in the Medina cemetery. Ahmed Al-Shugairi received his education in the schools of his city of Tulkarm, and in 1916 his mother died of cholera, and was buried in the city cemetery.

His father, Asaad Al-Shugairi, returned one day to the city of Tulkarm with the Ottoman leader Jamal Pasha, but Ahmed was not able to know his father at that time. Ahmed Al-Shugairi talked about all the details of his life in his city of Tulkarm in his book "Forty Years in Arab and International Life".

Ahmad Al-Shugairi witnessed the battles of the First World War in the city of Tulkarm, and continued his education in the city of Tulkarm. When the battles intensified in Tulkarm, he was forced to complete his education at the Amiri School in Acre, then completed his secondary education in 1926 in Jerusalem, to join the American University in Beirut.

It started with politics
His connection with the Arab Nationalist Movement was strengthened during his education at the American University of Beirut, and he was an active member of the Al-Urwa Al-Wuthqa Club, but the university expelled him the following year because he led a huge demonstration at the university protesting the French presence in Lebanon, and the French authorities took a decision to expel him from Lebanon in 1927.

Al-Shugairi returned to the Institute of Law in Jerusalem and worked at the same time as an editor for the newspaper, Mirat al-Sharq. After graduating, he trained in the office of lawyer Awni Abdel Hadi, one of the founders of the Independence Party in Palestine, and in that office he was introduced to the symbols of the Syrian revolution who sought refuge in Palestine and was influenced by them.

Between 1936 and 1939, Al-Shugairi participated in the events of the Great Palestinian Revolution. As a lawyer, he was active in defending Palestinian detainees before the British courts. He also participated in the Bludan Conference in September 1937, when the British authorities pursued him, so he left Palestine for Egypt. In 1940 he returned again to Palestine when his father died and settled there and opened a law firm.

It was decided to establish Arab offices in a number of foreign capitals, so Ahmad Al-Shugairi was appointed director of the Arab Information Office in Washington [?], then he became director of the Central Arab Information Office in Jerusalem, and continued to head this office until the Palestinian plight in 1948, when he immigrated to Lebanon and settled in Beirut .

His work at the United Nations
Because he holds Syrian citizenship and for his extensive experience, he was chosen by the Syrian government to be a member of its mission to the United Nations in 1949/1950. He then returned to Cairo and held the position of Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, and remained in that position until 1957.

He was also chosen in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to occupy the position of Minister of State for United Nations Affairs, and then was appointed permanent ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations. Al-Shukairy's activity during his tenure at the United Nations focused on defending the Palestinian cause and the issues of the Arab Maghreb.

After the death of Ahmed Helmy Abdel-Baqi, Palestine's representative to the Arab League, Al-Shugairi was chosen to occupy that position by Arab presidents and kings in the Arab League.

Founding and chairing the organization
At the 1964 Arab Summit Conference (Cairo) called by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Palestine Liberation Organization was established, and the conference assigned the representative of Palestine, Ahmed Al-Shugairi, to contact the Palestinians and write a report on that to be presented to the next Arab Summit Conference. During his tour, the draft National Charter and the Basic Law of the Palestine Liberation Organization were drawn up, and it was decided to hold a general Palestinian conference. Shugairi chose the preparatory committees for the conference, which in turn drew up lists of candidates for membership in the first Palestinian conference (March 28 to June 2, 1964), which was called the Council. The first Palestinian nationalist of the Palestine Liberation Organization. This conference elected Ahmed Al-Shugairi as its president, announced the establishment of the Palestine Liberation Organization, approved the national charter and the statute of the organization, and elected Al-Shugairi as the head of the organization’s executive committee, and tasked the Shugairi conference with choosing the fifteen members of the permanent committee. At the Second Arab Summit Conference on September 5, 1964, Al-Shugairi presented a report on the establishment of the organization, in which he emphasized the military and organizational aspects to achieve the liberation of Palestine and mobilization. The conference approved what Al Shugairi had accomplished and approved providing financial support to the organization.

Al-Shukairy devoted himself to the Executive Committee of the organization in Jerusalem, laid the foundations of work and regulations in the organization, supervised the establishment of its own departments and established offices in Arab and foreign countries, and supervised the construction of the military apparatus under the name of the Palestine Liberation Army.

In the second session of the Palestinian National Council, which was held in Cairo from May 31 to June 4, 1965, Al-Shugairi presented a report on the achievements of the Executive Committee, then submitted his resignation from the presidency of the Council, which was accepted by the Council, and renewed his presidency of the Executive Committee and granted him the right to choose its members.

 

Source

Achievements and Awards

Among the books left by Ahmed Al-Shugairi, which revolve around Arab issues and the Palestinian cause:

From Jerusalem to Washington, 1947.
"Forty Years in Arab and International Life", 1969.
"Dialogue and Secrets with Kings and Presidents", 1970.
"From Summit to Defeat, With Kings and Chiefs", 1970.
On the road to defeat, with kings and presidents, 1972.
"The Great Defeat with Kings and Chiefs", 1973.
"Twenty One Star Flag", 1977.
Pages from the Arab Issue, 1979.
"Jewish Myths", 1980.

 

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