Born : August 24, 1929; Cairo, Egypt

Education : Degree in engineering,University of Fuad I (now Cairo Uni.), 1956

Family : Wife, Suha Tawil

Religion : Muslim

Early Years : In 1946, began procuring arms for an anticipated battle for Palestinian territory ; Helped found Fatah , a guerrilla group dedicated to the liberation of Palestine , mid 1950s ; Began mounting raids in to Israel,1965 ; Elected chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), 1969.

Recent Years: Signed draft agreement with Israel providing a Palestinian self-rule in Gaza and the West Bank town of Jericho 1993 Awarded Nobel Peace Prize along with Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres,1994.

Office : Gaza City, The Gaza Strip

1929, August 24 : Born in Cairo , Egypt . Place of birth is not certain, other sources state Jerusalem or Gaza . During his childhood Arafat lived in both Cairo and Jerusalem.
1947: In the wars with the Jews , Arafat fought on the side of the grand mufti of Jerusalem.
1948: Fled Palestine, after the establishment of Israel. He settled in Cairo where he started studying engineering at University of Cairo.
1952: He joined the Muslim B Brotherhood and Union of Palestinian Students, where he became president.
1956: Moved to Kuwait , where he worked as an engineer, and established his own entrepreneur company.
1957: Started Al Fatah. Al Fatah conducted several attacks into Israel.
1968: Al Fatah was linked to PLO.
1969: Elected chairman of PLO. Worked on bringing PLO from Pan-arabism to Palestinian nationalism.
1974: Held a speech in front of the General Assembly in UN.
1982: PLO had to move from Lebanon. after Israel attacked the country.Moved the headquarters to Tunisia.
1988, Nov. 15: State of Palestine proclaimed at a meeting in Algiers, Algeria.
1989: Elected president of State of Palestine by the Central Council of the Palestine National Council.
1991: USA-led talks begin Madrid, but lead nowhere.
1993: Oslo agreement brings the peace process a giant leap forward . The content is a "land for peace" principle.
1993: Arafat recognized Israel's right to existence.
1994: Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza strip and Jericho in May . Arafat came home in July.
1996: Jan. 20 Elected president of the Palestinian Authority in public elections, with 88% of the votes.