Abbs sworn in as chairman of P-L-O

cctv.com 01-15-2005 17:16

Profile of Mahmoud Abbas

Abbas was born in Safad in 1935. His family sought refuge in Syria in 1948, when the first Arab-Israeli war broke out.

He was a founding member of Fatah and a member of the Palestine National Council and the PLO Executive Committee.

Abbas has headed the PLO Department for National and International Relations since 1980. He was elected the Committee's secretary general in 1996, informally confirming his position as Yasser Arafat's deputy. He became the first Palestinian Prime Minister in March 2003, but resigned six months later over disputes with Yasser Arafat on security and administration issues. He has devoted much of his life to the struggle for an independent Palestinian state.

He was named chairman of the P-L-O Executive Committee after the death of Arafat in November 2004.

We鈥檒l bring you live coverage of Abbas' swearing-in ceremony today.

Editor:Xiang  Source:CCTV.com