Zuhdi Labib Terzi

Zuhdi Labib Terzi (née Zuhdi Labib Suleiman Tarazi 20 February 1924 – 1 March 2006) served as the first Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations from 1974 to 1991.[1]

Zuhdi Labib Tarazi
1st Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations
In office
1974–1991
PresidentYasser Arafat
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byNasser al-Qudwa
Personal details
Born20 February 1924
Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine
Died1 March 2006(2006-03-01) (aged 82)
Amman, Jordan
Spouse(s)Widad Awad
ChildrenKarimah Zuhdi Tarazi, Kamel Zuhdi Tarazi
Alma materTerra Santa College

Ambassador to the UN

Terzi was the first Ambassador, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations and served from 1974 to 1991.[2][3] Terzi successfully fought attempts by the United States to close down the Mission, and following the 1988 Declaration of the Independence of the State of Palestine, Terzi changed the role of the Ambassador from representing the Palestinian Liberation Organization to representing the State of Palestine.[2]

In 1985, the United States Department of State refused Terzi the right to enter the United States for a debate with Harvard professor, Alan Dershowitz.[4] Consequentially, Harvard Law School brought suit against the Secretary of State George P. Shultz to permit Terzi to enter the United States.[4] Judge Skinner, of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, reversed the decision of the Secretary and permitted Terzi to enter the United States because denying Terzi entry into the United States suppressed political speech that is protected under the First Amendment.[4]

Personal life and education

Tarazi, dubbed a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, was born to Orthodox parents in Jerusalem during the British Mandate.[1] He attended Terra Santa College, and graduated with a law degree in 1948.[1]

See also

References
  1. Ian Williams (7 March 2006), Zehdi Tarazi, The Independent, retrieved 21 January 2015
  2. "Former Ambassadors". Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  3. Kirkpatrick Refuses to Meet with the PLO Representative at the UN, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, March 31, 1982, retrieved January 21, 2015
  4. "Harvard Law School Forum v. Shultz 633 F.Supp. 525 (1986)". Leagle. Retrieved June 29, 2015. The Secretary's proffered reason for denying Terzi's travel request is not facially legitimate because it is related to the suppression of protected political discussion. Accordingly, even under the limited review contemplated by Mandel, I conclude that it is likely that the Secretary's actions will be adjudged unconstitutional. Finally, I must consider the balancing of the public interest. It may well be that the public interest will, in some respect, be adversely affected by affording a forum to a PLO representative whose policies are in conflict with those of the United States and indeed are anathema to many citizens. The public interest in preserving free and open debate on precisely such subjects, however, must be regarded as of overwhelming priority, as mandated by the First Amendment, and as being at the heart of our survival as a free people
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