Janet Mikhail
Encyclopedia
Janet Mikhail or Janet Michael, sometimes known as Janet Khouri (جانيت خوري) is the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...

 in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

.

She is the first woman to hold this post. She was head teacher of the girls' school in Ramallah for 20 years, now retired. She is a Palestinian Christian
Palestinian Christian
Palestinian Christians are Arabic-speaking Christians descended from the people of the geographical area of Palestine. Within Palestine, there are churches and believers from many Christian denominations, including Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholic , Protestant, and others...

 (Roman Catholic).

She was chosen as mayor on 29 December 2005 by the newly elected 15-member city council. She ran as a political independent (although some sources have associated her with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization , the largest being Fatah...

 movement), and was the head of the "Ramallah for All" independent list, which won six seats in local elections held earlier in December. The Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...

-associated "Homeland (Watan)" faction, headed by Palestinian Legislative Council
Palestinian Legislative Council
The Palestinian Legislative Council, the legislature of the Palestinian Authority, is a unicameral body with 132 members, elected from 16 electoral districts in the West Bank and Gaza...

 member Ghazi Hanania
Ghazi Hanania
Ghazi Hanania is a Christian member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. He is a member of Fatah.He was Fatah's candidate for mayor of Ramallah, but lost to Janet Mikhail....

, also won six seats, while the Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...

-affiliated faction of "Change and Reform" headed by Khaldoun Khader won three seats. The new council voted 9-6 to elect Mikhail as mayor, after the three "Change and Reform" council members allied themselves with her "Ramallah for All" faction.

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