Mayor of Ramallah

Mayor of Ramallah
رئيس بلدية رام الله
Incumbent
Issa Qassis
since 2022
Term length
  • 4 years, renewable once consecutively
Formation1908
First holderElias al-Dabini

The Mayor of Ramallah (Arabic: رئيس بلدية رام الله) is the head of government of the Palestinian city of Ramallah.

History

In 1972, Karim Khalaf was elected Mayor of Ramallah, having previously served as the city's District Attorney. Khalaf adopted largely moderate stances concerning Israel; he supported a policy of non-cooperation with the military occupation of the West Bank, but was among the first Palestinian public officials to advocate for a two-state solution. In his early years as mayor, Khalaf was reluctant to deal with Yasser Arafat and the Palestine Liberation Organization. However, when he faced re-election in 1976, a split had begun to form between "pro-PLO" and "anti-PLO" politicians in the Palestinian municipalities. At this time, Khalaf began coordinating contacts with the PLO and promoting the group. This change in attitude allowed Khalaf to win a second term; in a year when many officials in the West Bank were voted out of office for not adequately backing Arafat and his aims. He won a third term in 1980. Khalaf was one of the most significant Palestinian mayors along with Hilmi Hanoun, mayor of Tulkarm, and Fahd Qawasmeh, mayor of Hebron.

In December 2005, local elections were held in Ramallah in which candidates from three different factions competed for a four-year term on the fifteen-seat municipal council. The council elected Janet Mikhail as mayor, the first woman to hold the post.

Mousa Hadid served as the mayor of Ramallah from 2012 to 2022. On 6 April 2022, Issa Qassis was appointed to be the new mayor of Ramallah.

List

Mayor of Ramallah (1908–present)

Political party:   Independent   Fatah

No. Portrait Name
(birth–death)		 Term of office Political party Election
Took office Left office Time in office
Ottoman Palestine and OETA (1906–1920)
1 Elias al-Dabini 1908 1921 13 years Independent
Mandatory Palestine (1920–1948)
2 Youssef Darbas 1921 1922 1 year Independent
3 Rotational Government 1922 1927 5 years Independent
4 Musa Khalil Musa 1927 1932 5 years Independent
5 Saadallah al-Qassis 1932 1946 4 years Independent
6 Municipal Committee (Acting) 1937 1940 3 years Independent
7 Salem al-Zaarour 1940 1943 3 years Independent
8 Youssef Qaddoura 1943 1947 4 years Independent
9 Khalil Salah 1947 1951 4 years Independent
Jordanian rule (1950–1967)
10 Jalil Badran 1951 1956 5 years Independent
11 Municipal Committee (Acting) 1956 1957 1 year Independent
12 Jalil Harb (Committee) 1957 1958 1 year Independent
13 Municipal Committee (Acting) 1958 1959 1 year Independent
14 Jalil Harb (Committee) 1959 1960 1 year Independent
15 Jalil Harb 1960 1962 2 years Independent
16 Paul Saba 1962 1964 2 years Independent
17 Nadeem al-Zaro
(1931–2014)		 1964 1967 3 years Independent
Israeli military and civil administration (1967–1994)
17 Nadeem al-Zaro
(1931–2014)		 1967 1969 2 years Independent
18 Khalil Musa Khalil 1969 1972 3 years Independent
19 Karim Khalaf
(1937–1985)		 1972 1982 10 years Independent
20 Khalil Musa Khalil 1988 1996 6 years Independent
Palestinian Authority (1996–present)
21 Issa Ziada 1996 1999 3 years Independent
22 Ayoub Rabah 1999 2005 6 years Independent
23 Janet Mikhail
(1945–)		 2005 2012 7 years Independent 2004–05
24 Mousa Hadid
(1965–)		 2012 2022 10 years Fatah 2012–13
2017
25 Issa Qassis 2022 2026 4 years Independent

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Michael Sfard (2018). The Wall and the Gate: Israel, Palestine, and the Legal Battle for Human Rights. Translated by Maya Johston. New York: Henry Holt and Company. p. 73. ISBN 978-1-250-12271-1.
  2. ↑ "Khaleejtimes.com". Khaleejtimes.com. 2 January 2006. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  3. ↑ Karin Laub (1 January 2006). "Ocala.com". Ocala.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  4. ↑ "Musa Hadid (Deputy Chairman)". ECFR. 7 February 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  5. ↑ "عيسى قسيس رئيسا لبلدية رام الله خلفا لموسى حديد" [Issa Qassis appointed mayor of Ramallah, succeeding Mousa Hadid] (in Arabic). Ramallah News. 6 April 2022. Archived from the original on 4 May 2025.
  6. ↑ "رؤساء مجالس بلدية رام الله منذ تأسيس البلدية حتى الوقت الحاضر" [Heads of Ramallah Municipal Councils from the establishment of the municipality to the present] (in Arabic). Municipality of Ramallah. Archived from the original on 16 May 2025.