Yousef Haikal

Yousef Haikal (1907–1989) was a Jordanian Ambassador and the Mayor of Jaffa between 1945 and 1948.^[1]

Yousef Haikal
يوسف هيكل
Mayor of Jaffa
In office 1945–1948
Jordanian Minister to the United States of  Jordan to  United States
In office March 23, 1949 / June 1, 1949 – December 14, 1953
Succeeded by	Abdelmunim al-Rifai
Jordanian Ambassador to the United Kingdom of  Jordan to  United Kingdom
In office August 4, 1954 – May 18, 1956
Preceded by	Sulayman al-Nabulsi
Succeeded by	Baha Toukan
Jordanian Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York City of  Jordan to  United Nations
In office August 21, 1957 – June 5, 1962
Preceded by	Abdelmunim al-Rifai
Succeeded by	Abdelmunim al-Rifai
Jordanian Ambassador to India of  Jordan to  India
In office June 5, 1962 – May 10, 1964
Succeeded by	October 3, 1964 – 1968 Kemal Mehmood Homoud
Jordanian Ambassador to China of  Jordan to  Republic of China
In office May 10, 1964 – March 10, 1969
Preceded by	Azmi Nashachibi
Succeeded by	Kamel Al-Sharif
Personal details
Born	1907 (1907) Jaffa
Died	1989 (aged 81–82) Amman
Education	studied primary and secondary school in Jaffa
Alma mater	Arab College (Jerusalem), University of London and BA in law and a diploma in political science, international relations, Economic Sciences, PhD in human rights and economic sciences from the University of Paris.

Biography

Haikal was born in 1907 in the city of Jaffa. After learning at the Arab College in Jerusalem, he sought degrees in Montpellier, Paris and the University of London, before returning to Mandatory Palestine in 1938. He served as the General Inspector of Awqaf (Muslim public properties in Palestine) for four years, and then as a District Judge in Nablus between 1943 and 1945,^[2] When Haikal was appointed Mayor of Jaffa by Mandatory authorities. 18 months after becoming mayor, Haikal held an election for Mayor which he proceeded to win.^[3][4]

In February of 1948, during the Palestine war, Haikal contacted David Ben-Gurion through a British intermediary trying to secure a peace agreement with nearby Tel Aviv, which was opposed by the commander of the city's Arab militia.^[5][6] In May, Haikal fled the city for Jordan.^[3]

In 1949, Haikal was appointed Jordanian Minister to the United States,^[7] In August of 1952, he became Jordan's representative at the International Monetary Fund.^[8] He held both positions until December of 1953. and December of 1953.^[9][10] He subsequently led the Jordanian Delegation with the Jordan–Israel Mixed Armistice Commission in Jerusalem between 1953 and 1954. He subsequently served as Jordan's ambassador to the United Kingdom between 1954 and 1956, to France between 1956 and 1957,^[2] to the United States In 1957 and then again in 1959,^[11] to India between 1962 and 1964 and to the Republic of China between 1964 and 1969. Haikal also served as Jordan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations between 1957 and 1962.^{[citation needed]}

After retiring from his Diplomatic posts, Haikal moved to Lebanon and wrote a memoir. He died in 1989 and was buried in Amman.^[3]

References

1. Monterescu, Daniel (2015-08-24). Jaffa Shared and Shattered: Contrived Coexistence in Israel/Palestine. Indiana University Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-253-01683-6.
2. The Middle East. Europa Publications. 1958. p. 438.
3. "יפו המנדטורית והזכות ההיסטורית על פלסטין". Sicha Mekomit (in Hebrew). 2020-04-11. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
4. Monterescu, Daniel (2015-08-24). Jaffa Shared and Shattered: Contrived Coexistence in Israel/Palestine. Indiana University Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-253-01683-6.
5. Morris, Benny (1987). The birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947–1949. Cambridge University Press. p. 47. ISBN 0-521-33028-9.
6. Morris, Benny (2004). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge University Press. pp. 114–115. ISBN 978-0-521-00967-6.
7. "T.J Minister to Washington". The Palestine Post. National Library of Israel. 1949-05-12. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
8. "International Monetary Fund Annual Report 1953". International Monetary Fund. Annual Report of the Executive Board: 119. 1953. doi:10.5089/9781616351656.011. ISBN 978-1-61635-165-6. ISSN 2227-8915.
9. Fund, International Monetary (1953). Annual Report of the Executive Directors for the Fiscal Year. International Monetary Fund.
10. Foreign Relations of the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1986. p. 1939.
11. "Jordan". Department Of State. 2008-03-16. Retrieved 2022-10-08.