(1952- ) A
Palestinian political figure. Fayyad worked at the World Bank from 1987-1995 and then served as the International Monetary Fund's representative to
Palestine until 2001. As a member of
Fatah, he served as Finance Minister for the
Palestinian Authority (PA) from 2002-2005. Fayyad resigned from Fatah in 2005 to help found the
Third Way party, which won two seats in the January 2006 legislative elections. Appointed Finance Minister in March 2007 as part of the unity government between Fatah and
Hamas, he served in that post until the June 2007
Hamas-Fatah conflict. Fayyad was then appointed as Prime Minister of the Fatah-dominated PA, a post he held until April 2013. In the absence of successful political negotiations, Fayyad focused on developing the institutions of a Palestinian state. See "
Are Palestinians Building a State?" Nathan Brown, The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, July 1, 2010; and "
Palestinian Prime Minister Resigns, Adding Uncertainty to Government," Isabel Kershner and Jodi Rudoren, The New York Times, April 13, 2013.