Yasser Arafat Becomes Chairman of the PLO

On February 3rd 1969, Yasser Arafat was appointed chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). Arafat, whose full name was Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini, was a popular Palestinian leader who continuously fought against the Israelis for Palestinian self-determination. Arafat founded the secular Fatah party in the late 1950s – they were dedicated to the liberation of Palestine by an armed struggle. He led many raids, some successful, some not, against Jordan, Lebanon and Israel and was declared leader of the Palestinian people in 1967. As Chairman of the PLO, Arafat later engaged in many peace negotiations with Israel and in 1994 he received the Nobel Peace Prize, together with Israelis Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres. He died on November 11, 2004 at the age of 75.