JABR, BASSIL (1964-)

Born in London on 15 Oct. 1964; received a Diploma in International Relations from Veliko Tornovo, Bulgaria; was Assistant Vice-Pres. for International Relations of the International Union of Students in Prague from 1986-88; worked as Desk Officer, Western European Affairs Dept., in the PLO’s Political Dept. in Tunis from 1988-90; then became Public Relations Officer at the Embassy of Palestine in Malta from 1990-95; during that time, also enrolled at the University of Malta, receiving a BA in International Relations and an MA in Diplomacy; also served as Sec.-Gen. of the GUPS in Malta from 1992-95; joined the PA in 1995, becoming Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC) (until 1997), then Chief of Cabinet at MOPIC (1997-2001), and MOPIC’s Chief Senior Advisor on Aid Coordination and the Peace Process (2001-02); was part of the Palestinian negotiating team on refugees at the Jan. 2001 Taba talks; member of the Palestinian-Israeli Peace Coalition since 2001; since 2002, works as Dir.-Gen. of the Reform Coordination Technical Support Unit at the Office of the Prime Minister in Ramallah; also served as advisor on refugee issues for the Norwegian Institute for International Relations (2001-2002) and as Sec. of the PLC Reform Committee; since 2003, also leads the technical team of the PLC Reform Committee; founding member of the Palestinian Forum for Strategic Studies in Ramallah in 2001; member of the Palestinian Study Group on Regional Security and the Multilateral Talks on Arms Control and Disarmament; is part of the World Bank-PA joint initiative on Information Technology and the Palestinian Constitution Committee; has written several papers related to reform, diplomacy, the refugee issue, demography, and national security; among the signatories of the Geneva Accords in Dec. 2003; Dir.-Gen. of the Palestinian Company for Economic Development in Ramallah since 2005.