Nobel Peace Prize Recipient. He received worldwide recognition as the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize, sharing equally the coveted award with Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin. The three men received their award, according to the Nobel committee, "for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East." He was the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and head of the Palestinian Authority. Born Mohammed Yasser Abdul-Ra'ouf Qudwa Al-Husseini in Egypt of Palestinian parents, Yasser Arafat grew up in Cairo until he was five years old, when his mother died. The place of Arafat's birth is in dispute. Some accounts put his birth in Jerusalem, other sources say he was born in the Gaza Strip. His date of birth is also in dispute as either August 4th or 24th. After his mother's death, he was sent to Jerusalem, then under British rule, to live with a maternal uncle and his family. After four years in Jerusalem, he returned to Cairo, where he lived with an older sister. In his mid-teens, he helped smuggle guns into Palestine, to oppose the British. In 1948, when war broke out between the newly independent nation of Israel and the Arab League, he left the University of Cairo to fight in Gaza. Following the war, he returned to his studies, and in 1956, graduated from the University of Cairo with a degree in Architectural Engineering. For a short time, he worked in Egypt, then moved to Kuwait to work in the Department of Public Works. Here he became interested in the fledgling Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and in 1958, he and several others founded Al-Fatah, an underground network that called for an armed struggle against Israel. In 1964, he left Kuwait to become a fulltime Revolutionary, organizing Fatah raids into Israel from Jordan. In 1969, he became the third Chairman of the PLO, then based in Jordan. Following the aftermath of the 1969 to 1971 dispute with Jordan, the PLO was expelled and Arafat moved to Lebanon, where he remained until 1982, when Israel invaded Lebanon. He re-established the PLO headquarters in Tunis, but he moved from country to country, seeking aid for his cause. A breakthrough between Israel and the Palestinians came in 1988, when Arafat spoke at a special United Nations meeting in Geneva, renouncing terrorism and supporting the right of Israel to exist. In 1993, at the urging of United States President Bill Clinton, Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed a peace accord, guaranteeing each other's security, and establishing a Palestinian Authority over the occupied land of the West Bank of the Jordan River and the Gaza Strip. For this peace accord, the 1994 Noble Peace Prize was jointly awarded to Arafat, Rabin, and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. In the next ten years, Arafat worked to build a new nation of Palestine, a goal that he did not see happen within his lifetime. On October 29, 2004, he flew to Paris, France, to be treated for "unspecified aliments," where he died from liver failure. He had requested in his will to be buried in Jerusalem, but this was refused by Israeli authorities.

Nobel Peace Prize Recipient. He received worldwide recognition as the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize, sharing equally the coveted award with Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin. The three men received their award, according to the Nobel committee, "for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East." He was the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and head of the Palestinian Authority. Born Mohammed Yasser Abdul-Ra'ouf Qudwa Al-Husseini in Egypt of Palestinian parents, Yasser Arafat grew up in Cairo until he was five years old, when his mother died. The place of Arafat's birth is in dispute. Some accounts put his birth in Jerusalem, other sources say he was born in the Gaza Strip. His date of birth is also in dispute as either August 4th or 24th. After his mother's death, he was sent to Jerusalem, then under British rule, to live with a maternal uncle and his family. After four years in Jerusalem, he returned to Cairo, where he lived with an older sister. In his mid-teens, he helped smuggle guns into Palestine, to oppose the British. In 1948, when war broke out between the newly independent nation of Israel and the Arab League, he left the University of Cairo to fight in Gaza. Following the war, he returned to his studies, and in 1956, graduated from the University of Cairo with a degree in Architectural Engineering. For a short time, he worked in Egypt, then moved to Kuwait to work in the Department of Public Works. Here he became interested in the fledgling Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and in 1958, he and several others founded Al-Fatah, an underground network that called for an armed struggle against Israel. In 1964, he left Kuwait to become a fulltime Revolutionary, organizing Fatah raids into Israel from Jordan. In 1969, he became the third Chairman of the PLO, then based in Jordan. Following the aftermath of the 1969 to 1971 dispute with Jordan, the PLO was expelled and Arafat moved to Lebanon, where he remained until 1982, when Israel invaded Lebanon. He re-established the PLO headquarters in Tunis, but he moved from country to country, seeking aid for his cause. A breakthrough between Israel and the Palestinians came in 1988, when Arafat spoke at a special United Nations meeting in Geneva, renouncing terrorism and supporting the right of Israel to exist. In 1993, at the urging of United States President Bill Clinton, Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed a peace accord, guaranteeing each other's security, and establishing a Palestinian Authority over the occupied land of the West Bank of the Jordan River and the Gaza Strip. For this peace accord, the 1994 Noble Peace Prize was jointly awarded to Arafat, Rabin, and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. In the next ten years, Arafat worked to build a new nation of Palestine, a goal that he did not see happen within his lifetime. On October 29, 2004, he flew to Paris, France, to be treated for "unspecified aliments," where he died from liver failure. He had requested in his will to be buried in Jerusalem, but this was refused by Israeli authorities.

Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson