Yasser Arafat

1929 – 2004

Yasser Arafat was a Palestinian political leader who served as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization from 1969 until his death in 2004, and as president of the Palestinian Authority from 1994 onward. A founding member and longtime leader of the Fatah movement, he transformed the Palestinian cause into a recognized international political force and shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres for his role in the Oslo Accords. He died in 2004 under disputed medical circumstances after years confined to his besieged Ramallah compound by the Israeli military.

Last checked: May 10, 2026, 1:06 PM