(1935- ) A Palestinian political figure.  He has been a leading figure in Fatah  and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) since the 1960s. Throughout his career, Abbas has been involved in negotiations between Palestinians and the Israeli government, most notably as the leading Palestinian negotiator of the Oslo Accords and as the PLO signatory of the Declaration of Principles in September 1993. Following the death of Yasser Arafat in 2004, the PLO executive committee appointed Abbas as Chairman of the PLO. In January 2005, he was elected President of the Palestinian Authority (PA). He currently maintains both positions, though his four-year term as PA President would have ended in January 2009. However, PA presidential and legislative elections have been delayed. See Fischbach, Michael R. “Abbas, Mahmud.” Philip Mattar, ed. Encyclopedia of the Palestinians. New York: Facts on File, 2005; and “Profile: Mahmoud Abbas.” 5 November 2009. BBC. 13 June 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1933453.stm. http://www.justvision.org/glossary/abbas-mahmoud