Hanna Nasser (academic)

Hanna Nasir
Chairman of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission
Incumbent
Assumed office 2002
President	Yasser Arafat
President of Birzeit University
Head of the Palestine National Fund
In office 1982–1984
Personal details
Born	1936 (age 87–88) Jaffa, Mandatory Palestine
Alma mater	Purdue University
Occupation	Academic, Political figure

Hanna Nasir (Arabic: حنا ناصر; born 1936), alternately transliterated Hanna Nasser, is a Palestinian academic and political figure.

Early life and education

Nasser was born in Jaffa in 1936. His cousin was Kamal Nasser who was assassinated by the Israelis in Beirut in 1973.

Nasser holds a PhD in Nuclear Physics from Purdue University in the United States.

Career and activities

Nasser was a long-time president of Birzeit University, which his father, Musa Nasser, founded. He directed the school's transition from a community college to an accredited university. In November 1974 Nasser was exiled by the Israeli authorities. He continued to serve as Birzeit's president in exile; while the school's vice-president managed its day-to-day business, Birzeit officials regularly visited Nasser in Amman to receive his input on major decisions.

Nasir served on the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization between 1981 and 1984 and held the position of Head of the Palestine National Fund between 1982 and 1984. Nasir, along with 29 other exiles, was allowed to return to the West Bank in May 1993 as the peace process got under way. He remained president of Birzeit until his retirement in 2004.

In 2002, Yasser Arafat appointed Nasir to the post of Chairman of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission (CEC). The CEC was established by the Palestinian Authority in 1995 as an independent body, responsible for the conduct of elections in the Palestinian territories. In the post, Nasir oversaw the presidential election in 2005, the legislative election in 2006, and the local election in the West Bank in 2012 and 2017.

Personal life

Born to a Palestinian Christian family, Hanna is the father of three sons and one daughter.

Awards

He holds honorary titles including the French Legion of Honour and an honorary doctorate from the American University in Cairo.

Further reading

• An extensive discussion of Nasir's career can be found in Gabi Baramki's Peaceful Resistance: Building a Palestinian University under Occupation, Pluto Press, October 2009.