Today, 56 years ago, on February 3, 1969 (December 17, 1968) Arafat became the leader of the Palestinian Armed Forces. Arafat was born in Jerusalem on August 4, 1929. In 1950, he entered the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Cairo and was elected President of the Palestinian Student Federation. In 1959, Arafat prepared the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (abbreviated as Fatah) and published the book Our Palestine. At the end of 1964, he formed the Fatah Military Organization's "Tempest" Assault Corps. In 1969, Arafat was appointed President of the Executive Committee of the Palestinian Liberation Student Organization. In 1973, he served as the commander-in-chief of the Palestinian Armed Forces. On April 2, 1989, he was elected President of the Palestinian State,