Salam Fayyad is one of the most popular and richest Economist who was born on April 12, 1952 in Deir al-Ghusun, Palestine. Between 2007 between 2007 and 2013 Fayyad established as the Prime Minister various national reform programs that were in the media, and are sometimes called “Fayyadism”. He also announced the “Palestinian Reform and Development Plan 2008-2010” (PRDP), which was a West Bank First strategy, designed to weaken and isolate Hamas in Gaza by establishing an independent West Bank over Gaza, in line the American and Israeli wishes. It was based on strict control by PA security force and an economic model that was based on market forces (some might say Neoliberal) economic program. In 2009, the PA followed with the Reform and Development Plan, known as “Palestine: Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State”. Then in 2011, the president presented the following National Development Plan 2011-2013: Establishing the State and constructing our Future.
Fayyad served as the regional manager of the Arab Bank in the West Bank and Gaza until he accepted an offer to become Yasser Arafat’s Finance Minister in the Palestinian Authority Government of June 2002. He held this post until November 2005, when he resigned from the cabinet to run as founder and leader of the new Third Way party in the legislative elections of 2006 alongside Hanan Ashrawi and Yasser Abd Rabbo. The party yielded little success and only Fayyad and Ashrawi won their seats with only 2.41% of the popular vote. On 17 March 2007, Fayyad was again appointed Finance Minister, this time in the Fatah-Hamas unity government.
Fayyad resigned from the cabinet in November 2005 to run as founder and leader of the new Third Way party for the legislative elections of 2006. The party was not successful, and Fayyad returned as Finance Minister in the March 2007 Unity Government. Fayyad’s first appointment as Prime Minister on 15 June 2007, which was justified by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on the basis of “national emergency”, was not confirmed by the Palestinian Legislative Council. His successor, Rami Hamdallah, was named on 2 June 2013.
His tenure as Finance Minister lasted from June 2002 until November 2005, and from March 2007 until May 2012. Fayyad was the Prime Minister from June 2007 to June 2013.
Fayyad began his career as a teacher in Yarmouk University in Jordan. Then he worked for the World Bank in Washington from 1987 to 1995 and then from 1996 until 2001, he was the representative of the International Monetary Fond to Palestine and based in Jerusalem.
On 15 June 2007, following Hamas’ takeover of Gaza, Fayyad was appointed Prime Minister of a disputed emergency government, appointed by President Abbas. It was a government without any Fatah or Hamas members, supported by Fatah, Israel and the West. This appointment was challenged as illegal, because it was not approved by the Legislative Council as required by the Palestinian Basic Law.
