Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Saed Raji Ahmad Al-Kouni was born on March 14, 1960, in Nablus, in the northern West Bank. He is married and has one son and three daughters. He completed his primary and preparatory education at schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and his secondary education at Al-Ghazaliyya and Qadri Touqan schools, from which he received his high school diploma in the science track in 1978. He earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences at An-Najah National University in 1982, a master's degree in accounting from Angelo State University in Texas, USA in 1986, and a doctorate in accounting from the University of Würzburg in Germany in 1999. He worked as a research and teaching assistant at the Faculty of Economics at An-Najah National University in 1982, and later became a faculty member. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences from 2002 to 2006 and as Dean of Graduate Studies from 2006 to 2008. He was appointed Vice President of the University for Administrative Affairs on more than one occasion. He chaired and served on numerous university, community, and administrative committees and councils, most notably as coordinator of the Master of Business Administration program from 2000 to 2010. He held the portfolio of Minister of Local Government in the fifteenth and sixteenth governments and was responsible for the file of resistance against the wall and settlements from 2013 to 2014. He was assigned to head the Prime Minister's Office with the rank of minister from 2017 to 2019. He returned to lecturing in the Accounting Department at the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at An-Najah National University.
Al-Koni was deeply affected by the harsh realities of the occupation and the resistance movement within his community. He began participating in national activities, including demonstrations, sit-ins, and stone-throwing at occupation patrols, even as a schoolboy. This led to his detention and beating by the occupation forces on several occasions. He joined the Fatah movement and became active within its student wing during his university studies. He was also active in student unions of Arab and Palestinian students while pursuing his master's and doctoral degrees. From 2000 to 2005, he served on the administrative committee of Fatah members at An-Najah National University, which later became the Fatah movement's office at the university. During this period, he was responsible for student affairs at the university. He also headed the Popular Committee for the Al-Masaken Al-Sha'biya (Al-Aruba suburb) area, which oversaw humanitarian and relief efforts for residents during the 2002 Israeli invasion of Nablus as part of Operation Defensive Shield. At that time, he and others formed a key intellectual force for the national activism of Fatah youth in the area.
Al-Koni believes that despite the current bleak situation of the Palestinian cause, hope remains that the Palestinian people will obtain all their legitimate rights in full, regardless of how long it takes. He sees the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the overarching framework under which all Palestinian national factions must unite, upholding freedom of expression and respect for differing opinions. He believes that national action must be based on partnership, prioritizing the national interest above all organizational interests. He maintains that as long as the occupation persists, no one can completely dismiss the option of armed resistance. However, given the current international, Arab, and regional circumstances, popular resistance is the best option, requiring the strengthening of citizens' sense of belonging and support for their steadfastness on their land.
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