Raghib al-Nashashibi

Raghib al-Nashashibi (Arabic: راغب النشاشيبي, Ragheb al-Nashashibī) (1881–1951), CBE (hon),^[1] was a Palestinian public figure and wealthy landowner during the Ottoman Empire,^[2] the British Mandate and the Jordanian administration. He was a member of the Nashashibi clan, one of the most influential families in Palestine, and mayor of Jerusalem from 1920 to 1935.

Raghib al-Nashashibi
راغب النشاشيبي
Mayor of Jerusalem
In office 1920 – January 1935
Preceded by	Musa al-Husayni
Succeeded by	Hussein Khalidi
Minister of State and Custodian of the Holy Places of Jerusalem
In office 1 January 1951 – 25 July 1951
Minister of Transport
In office 4 December 1950 – 1 January 1951
Minister of Agriculture
In office 12 April 1950 – 11 October 1950
Minister of State
In office 12 January 1950 – 12 April 1950
Minister of Refugees
In office 1 September 1949 – 12 January 1950
Personal details
Born	1881 Jerusalem
Died	April 1951 East Jerusalem
Political party	National Defence Party

Background

Nashashibi graduated from Istanbul University and became Jerusalem's District Engineer. The Nashashibis^[3] were one of the oldest and most influential Jerusalem families, and historical rivals of the Husayni family.^[4]

Political career

Nasashibi was elected to the General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire in 1914,^[5] serving until the end of Ottoman Rule in Palestine in 1918.^{[citation needed]}

King George Street in Jerusalem, dedicated in the presence of Mayor al-Nashashibi, 1924

Nashashibi succeeded Musa Kazim al-Husayni as mayor of Jerusalem in 1920,^[6][7] and was elected to the post in the 1927 Municipal elections with Haym Salomon and Jacob Faradj, who were elected as vice-mayors.^[8] He sought re-election as Mayor and to the City Council in 1934, but lost his seat in the city council to Hussein Khalidi.^[9] He subsequently appealed the results to the Jerusalem District Court. Which ruled in Khalidi's favor in January 1935. Nashashibi was subsequently succeeded as Mayor by Khalidi later that month.^[10]

He was a leading opponent of the Husayni family in Palestine. In 1937 he secretly favoured union with Transjordan.^[11] Nashashibi was a founding member of the Arab Higher Committee and a leader of the National Defence Party.

Following the outbreak of the Arab–Israeli War, Nashashibi fled to Egypt. He subsequently returned to the West Bank,^[5] and was appointed head of the new Jordanian ministry for refugees and rehabilitation in August 1949. That September, he was appointed the first Governor-General for Arab Palestine. In 1950 he became Jordanian Minister of Agriculture and later Minister of Transport. He was also appointed as custodian of the Holy Places of Jerusalem with cabinet rank.

Personal life

His second wife, a French Jew, lived on Kantura street. Their eldest son was Mansur.^[12] Nasashibi died in April 1951 of illness at Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem.^[5]

Bibliography

• Sayigh, Yezid (2000). Armed Struggle and the Search for State: The Palestinian National Movement, 1949-1993. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-829643-6

See also

• Pro-Jerusalem Society (1918-1926) - Nashashibi, as city mayor, was a member of its leading Council