List of Prime Ministers of Palestine

The Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority was the position of the official head of government of the Palestinian Authority government, which operated between 2003 to January 2013, when it was officially transformed into the State of Palestine. Some still refer to the position of the Prime Minister of the Gaza Strip as the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority.

The Prime Minister's Office was created in 2003 to manage day-to-day activities of the Palestinian government, which had previously been performed by Yasser Arafat. The position was created because both Israel and the United States refused to negotiate directly with Arafat. The executive structure of the government however lied under the President of the Palestinian National Authority.

The first Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority was Mahmoud Abbas. He was nominated on 19 March 2003 by President Arafat. On 29 April, the Palestinian Legislative Council approved the appointment and his government. Abbas’s short term was marked by a power struggle with Arafat over control of the Palestinian Security Services, with Arafat refusing to relinquish control to Abbas. The issue was critical because the Roadmap for peace plan required the Palestinian side to stop violent attacks by various Palestinian militant groups, which Arafat refused to do. Abbas resigned as Prime Minister on 6 September 2003, citing lack of support from Israel and the United States as well as "internal incitement" against his government.

Abbas was followed in the office by Ahmed Qurei, who as Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council became acting Prime Minister. Arafat nominated Qurei for the post of Prime Minister, who agreed to form an "emergency government" on 10 September. The next day, Qurei decided to form a full government rather than a trimmed one. Arafat appointed Qurei Prime Minister on 5 October 2003 by presidential decree, and Qurei‘s eight-member emergency government was sworn in on 9 October. The Fatah dominated PLC refused to a vote of confidence in the government. Arafat and Qurei were in a standoff over the division between them of security powers, essentially the issue of control of the Palestinian Security Services, which was the same issue that led to Abbas’s resignation. Another issue was Arafat’s opposition to Qurie's nomination of General Nasser Yousef as Interior Minister who would control the security forces. On 4 November, as the term of the emergency government was about to expire, they agreed for Qurei to stay on on a caretaker basis. On 12 November 2003, the caretaker government was replaced by Qurei's 2003 government, which was confirmed by the PLC. Hakam Balawi, described as an Arafat “loyalist”, was appointed Interior Minister, with control of the security forces. After Arafat's death in November 2004 and Mahmoud Abbas' subsequent victory in the Palestinian presidential election in January 2005, which was boycotted by Hamas, Qurei was asked to continue in his post and form a new government, which took place on 24 February 2005. On 15 December 2005, Qurei resigned, and Nabil Shaath, the Deputy Prime Minister, became Acting Prime Minister. However, Shaath lost that position nine days later when Qurei returned to office.

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