Muhammad Mustafa holds high political and economic positions in Palestine and abroad (social networking sites)

Muhammad Mustafa is a Palestinian economic and political figure. He was born in the city of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank in 1954. He obtained his academic degrees from American and British universities.

On March 14, 2024, the President of the National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, assigned him to form the 19th government.

Birth and upbringing

Muhammad Abdullah Muhammad Mustafa was born on August 26, 1954, in the village of Saffarin, southeast of the city of Tulkarm, in the northern West Bank. He had two sons.

Between Palestine, Kuwait, the United States, Britain, and the corridors of the World Bank, Mustafa’s political and economic personality was refined.

Study and training

He received his basic education in Tulkarm schools, and when he reached the age of 15, he joined his family with his father, who was working in Kuwait, and there he continued his studies until high school.

He began his higher academic studies at the University of Baghdad in Iraq in 1972, from which he obtained a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronic engineering in 1976, then returned to Kuwait to work in the same specialty.

In 1983, he went to the United States and enrolled at George Washington University, where he obtained a master’s degree in management within two years.

He continued his higher education at the same university until he obtained a doctorate in business administration and economics in 1988, and after 3 years he worked as a visiting professor at the same university.

Mustafa (left) with French Finance Minister Moscovici in Ramallah in 2013 (French)

Practical and political experience

Immediately after graduating from the University of Baghdad, he returned to Kuwait and worked as an engineer in a consulting office, then as an engineer in a joint Kuwaiti-English contracting company.

He held many positions at the World Bank at its headquarters in Washington during the period between 1991 and 2005, during which he contributed to the development of many international telecommunications companies, including those in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Africa, Bulgaria, and Russia.

After the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority, he contributed to the establishment of the telecommunications sector, and was the founding CEO of the Palestinian Telecommunications Company “Paltel” between 1995 and 1996.

Jobs and responsibilities

  • During his work at the World Bank between 1991 and 2005, he was seconded for economic reform to the Government of Kuwait, and as an advisor to the Public Investment Fund in Saudi Arabia.

  • On November 1, 2005, Abbas appointed him to the position of Presidential Advisor for Economic Affairs in the Presidential Office.

  • In early 2006, he appointed him to the position of CEO of the Palestine Investment Fund, one of the institutions of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and he continued in that position until 2013, and in 2015 he appointed him to chair the Fund’s Board of Directors.

  • Politically, he served as Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs in the 15th government between June 6 and September 19, 2013. He held the same position in the 16th government between September 19, 2013 and June 2, 2014.

  • He served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy in Government No. 17 (Government of National Accord) from June 2, 2014 until he submitted his resignation on March 31, 2015.

Abbas Ain Mustafa (right) forming the Palestinian government on March 14, 2024 (Reuters)

  • In October 2014, he chaired the Gaza Reconstruction Committee at the donor conference in Cairo with the aim of reconstructing the Strip following the 2014 war.

  • In February 2022, he became an “independent” member of the Executive Committee of the PLO, and head of the organization’s Economic Department.

  • On January 11, 2023, Abbas appointed him Governor of the State of Palestine to the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development in Kuwait.

  • In January 2024, he assumed the position of State Governor of the Arab Monetary Fund.

  • On March 14, 2024, President Abbas appointed him to form the 19th government.

  • In addition to the above, Mustafa enjoys membership in several international and local institutions, most notably the Davos World Economic Forum, the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Palestine Studies, and the Board of Trustees of the Yasser Arafat Foundation, which is concerned with the heritage and history of the late president.

Achievements

According to what is recorded on the Palestine Investment Fund’s website, Mustafa contributed from 2006 until he was appointed to form the government to institutionalize the Fund, and founded several major companies, most notably: Wataniya Mobile (Ooredoo Palestine) in 2008, the Ammar Group for Real Estate and Tourism Investment in 2009, and the Rasmala Fund. for Palestinian stocks in 2011, Palestinian Ijarah for Islamic Finance in 2013, Aswaq for Asset Management in 2014, Sources for Natural Resource Development and Infrastructure Projects in 2015, Building Jerusalem in 2018, Palestine Power Generation, Sanad for Construction Resources, and others.

During the same period, the Fund’s investment portfolio included more than 70 investment projects and programs, 95% of which were inside Palestine, and covered 7 economic sectors such as energy, health, the digital economy, industry and trade, agriculture, and the real estate and tourism sectors.

Charged in the Panama Papers

Mustafa's name appeared in what was known as the "Panama Papers" or "Panama Papers" published by the German newspaper "Süddeutsche Zeitung" in 2016, showing that many leaders and celebrities took havens to evade taxes.

These documents - which number more than 11 million and were analyzed by the newspaper in cooperation with dozens of other international newspapers and with the International Consortium for Investigative Journalism - show how a number of clients of Mossack Fonseca - a law firm registered in Panama - were able to launder money and defraud to evade taxes and avoid penalties.

The Panama Papers appeared in which Mustafa’s name was mentioned when he was head of the Palestine Investment Fund, and about a year after submitting his resignation from the position of Deputy Prime Minister. During that period, the American magazine “Foreign Policy” called him “the most important Palestinian economic man.”

According to the documents - which were also published by the International Consortium for Investigative Journalism website - these celebrities - including Mustafa - send their money outside their country with the aim of laundering it and evading taxes by depositing it in banks in the Virgin Islands located in the Caribbean Sea.

Mustafa responded at the time with a statement in which he said that the information contained in those documents is “not confidential,” but rather is “available to the public,” stressing that it relates to his membership in the board of directors of the “Arab Palestinian Investment Company (APEC).

The statement added that the aforementioned company is listed and its shares are traded on the Palestine Stock Exchange. It is also international and registered abroad and “is subject to all regulatory procedures according to the law.”

Source: websites