Birth: 25/12/1946 Death:NULL/NULL/NULL
Born in Nablus on 25 Dec. 1946; brother of Taher Al-Masri; received a BA and an MA in Economics from the AUB; worked as a businessman in Beirut from 1973-75, later in Jordan and Saudi Arabia; served as General Manager of the Vegetable Oil Company in Nablus from 1987-96; held various board memberships in private sector bodies, incl. the soap industry in Nablus; led Palestinian negotiators in economic talks with Israel; was responsible, inter alia, for negotiating the 1994 Paris Economic Protocol; was appointed PA Minister of Economy & Trade in 1996 (until until the most recent cabinet reshuffle in 2005); former Board of Directors member of the Palestine Investment Fund; elected PLC member for Nablus (Fateh) in the Jan. 1996 elections; has spearheaded the creation of several trade associations and economic forums, such as Paltrade and the Palestinian IT Association (PITA); in Jan. 2000, was appointed by Pres. Yasser Arafat as member of the newly established ‘Palestinian Higher Development Council’ to promote investment in the PA and to control PA financial matters; was a member of the Palestinian delegation to the Camp David negotiations in July 2000; serves as Chairman of the Board of the Palestinian Banking Corporation, of the Palestinian Investment Promotion Agency (PIPA), and the Palestinian Industrial Estates and Free Zones Area (PIEFZA).
