Personal Info
- Country of residence: Portugal
Information
Samir Abdullah Deeb Dar Ali was born in the town of Abu Qash in the Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate on October 12, 1950. He is married and has a son and a daughter. He studied in Abu Qash and Birzeit schools, obtained his high school diploma, and earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Jordan in 1976, a master's degree in economics from the University of Economics and Business Prague in 1980, and a doctorate in economics from the same institution in 1984. He received a Fulbright Scholarship for the 1990-1991 academic year, during which he conducted research and taught at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the United States.
He worked as a lecturer at An-Najah National University in Nablus from 1985, becoming director of its economics department between 1986 and 1989, and an associate professor in 1990. He also worked as a part-time lecturer at Birzeit University. In late 1992, he chaired the Palestinian committee that served alongside the World Bank and International Monetary Fund missions. This committee was formed at their request to assist in preparing reports on development needs in various social and economic sectors and the requirements for building the institutions of the Palestinian Authority. He was appointed Director General of the Economic Policy and Project Selection Department at the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction (PECDAR) in 1994. He also served as Assistant Undersecretary for Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Economy and Trade until the end of 1995. He was the head of the Palestinian team at the World Bank between 1994 and 1996, editor of the Palestine Economic Pulse magazine between 1995 and 1997, Director General of the Arab Palestinian Investment Bank between 1996 and 1999, Director General of the Palestinian Trade Center “PalTrade” between 1999 and 2002, Director General of the Palestinian Economic Policy Research Institute “MAS” between 2004 and 2007 and between 2010 and 2013, and Minister of Planning and Labor in the Palestinian government between 2007 and 2009.
He joined the Palestinian Communist Party (later transformed into the People’s Party), and became one of its leaders. He engaged in organizational, trade union, cultural, and political work. He was one of the cadres of the Ansar Forces (an armed formation) that the Communist Party formed during the presence of the Palestinian resistance in Jordan and Lebanon. He was also active in the Palestinian student movement during his university studies. He was a member of the editorial board of Al-Kateb magazine in 1984. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Arab Intellectual Forum since 1985, and served as its Secretary of the Board of Directors between (1986-1990). He was part of the Jordanian-Palestinian delegation to the Madrid talks in 1991, and participated in bilateral and multilateral talks on the economy in the “Middle East” between (1991-1993).
He co-founded the Palestinian Economists Association (formerly the Arab Economists Association) in 1986 and served as its president from 1993 to 1997. He also co-founded the Palestinian Center for Peace and Democracy (PCPD) in 1992 and served as its chairman from 1992 to 1996 and again from 2004 to 2007. He was a member of the advisory board for the Micro-Enterprise and Micro-Credit Project since its inception in 1999. He co-founded the Arab Center for Agricultural Development (ACAD) in 1993 and served on its board of directors from its inception until 1997, then as its chairman from 2001 to 2007. He was a member of the board of directors of the Palestinian Lending and Development Corporation (FATEN) and served as its vice chairman from 1998 to 2003. He was a member of the Quality Assurance and Performance Evaluation Commission for Higher Education Institutions since 2002 and a member of the National Council for Scientific Research. (2002-2006), and a member of the Board of Directors of the Palestinian Monetary Authority for three consecutive terms between (2004-2013), and a member of the Advisory Council of the Israeli-Palestinian Health Journal “Jisr”, and also participated in the membership of the Internal Audit Committee of the Palestinian Authority since June 2009, and assumed its chairmanship between (2011-2013).
He has lectured at a number of research institutions and cultural centers in Palestine and abroad, and has been hosted by media outlets and satellite channels to comment on the economic reality in Palestine. He has authored books and studies on the Palestinian economy and its relationship to the occupation economy and international economies.
He suffered from the illness until he died on July 1, 2025.
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