Press Release
from Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
CAMBRIDGE, MA – The Middle East Initiative (MEI) at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs announced today that Salam Fayyad, former Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, will join the HKS community as a Senior Fellow this academic year.
“It is a great honor to welcome former Prime Minister Fayyad to Harvard Kennedy School as a Senior Fellow this autumn,” said Nicholas Burns, Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations, and Faculty Chair of the Middle East Initiative. “Dr. Fayyad brings unique insights and extensive knowledge of the political, economic, institutional and social challenges in the Middle East. His background as both an economist and a prime minister, among other key roles held across three sectors, make him an invaluable addition to the intellectual life here at the Kennedy School.”
Salam Fayyad is an economist and former Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority. With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 1987 to 2001, his tenure included serving as IMF resident representative in the West Bank and Gaza Strip from 1996 to 2001. He then served as manager of the Arab Bank in Palestine, and, in June 2002, he was named Minister of Finance of the Palestinian Authority. Until he resigned in December 2005, Fayyad served in that capacity on several cabinets, introducing in the process extensive financial reforms. In January 2006, he ran for elections on a slate of independents and was elected for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), where he served as chairman of the Finance Committee. In March 2007, Fayyad was appointed again as Minister of Finance in a national unity government, and in June 2007, he was appointed Prime Minister, a position he held until he stepped down in June 2013. In August 2013, Fayyad founded "Future for Palestine," a nonprofit development foundation. Currently, Fayyad is a Visiting Senior Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and a Distinguished Statesman with the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security. Fayyad holds a BSc from the American University of Beirut, an MBA from St. Edward's University, and a PhD in economics from the University of Texas at Austin.
As a Senior Fellow, Fayyad will deliver several public and closed addresses, engage with HKS students, faculty, and affiliates, and participate in various events and activities at MEI, HKS and the broader Harvard campus.
The Senior Fellows Program attracts advanced practitioners who are invited to lead study groups or give public addresses and interact with students, other fellows, faculty, and affiliates at Harvard. Their presence helps enrich on-campus program offerings regarding the Middle East and supports the broader mission of the Middle East Initiative.
The Middle East Initiative is dedicated to advancing public policy in the Middle East by convening the world’s foremost academic and policy experts, developing the next generation of leaders, and promoting community engagement on campus and in the region.