Terrorism Reference Biographies | Yasir Arafat Biography

August 24, 1929

Cairo, Egypt or Palestine

Leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization

"I have come bearing an olive branch and a freedom fighter's gun. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand."

Yasir Arafat has represented the Palestinian people on the world stage since the 1960s, first as a terrorist leader and later as a peace negotiator in an area that has seen almost constant warfare since the end of World War I (1914–18). He has caused controversy every step of the way.

Childhood

Arafat was born on August 24, 1929, and given the name Mohammed Abdel-Raouf Arafat As Qudwa al-Hussaeini. As a boy, he was called Yasir (meaning "easygoing"). The controversy surrounding him begins with his birthplace. The Nobel Prize committee and the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs say he was born in Cairo, Egypt. The Palestine...