Mohammad Mustafa

Mohammad Mustafa (محمد مصطفى) is a Palestinian economist, Chairman of the Board of the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF), Senior Economic Advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas and an Independent member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Mustafa was widely tipped to become the Prime Minister of Palestine, following the resignation of Mohammad Shtayyeh in February 2024.

Mustafa was born on 26 August 1954 in Kafr Sur, West Bank.

As a child, his family was uprooted from their home in the West Bank and took refuge in Kuwait.

Mustafa went on to earn a bachelor's degree from Baghdad University in electrical engineering, and a master's degree and Ph.D. from The George Washington University.

Mustafa is married and has two children.

Between 2006 and 2013, Mustafa was also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the PIF.

Under his leadership, the PIF has become the premier investor in Palestine, having completed c. 60 investments, incentivized $1.2 billion in foreign investment, which has provided Palestinians with c. 75,000 jobs.

As CEO of the PIF, Mustafa led the establishment of several leading Palestinian companies including Wataniya Mobile, Amaar Real Estate Investment Company, Al Reehan Real Estate Investment Company, Palestine Power Generation Company, Khazanah Asset Management Company, and Sharakat Fund for Small businesses.

Previously, he had served as Deputy Prime Minister of Palestine (Governments #15 & 16, 2013–2014) and as Minister of National Economy of Palestine (Government #16, 2014).

Mustafa has extensive international experience with government, global institutions, and academia, having spent over 15 years in senior positions across different sectors at the World Bank Group in Washington, D.C. As a prominent expert on investment and economic affairs, Mustafa spent two years as economic advisor to the Government of Kuwait on economic reform and two years as advisor to the Public Investment Fund in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Mustafa also taught as a visiting professor at his alma mater, The George Washington University.

Currently, Mustafa is the Chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund.

As Deputy Prime Minister, amongst other responsibilities, Mustafa was appointed head of Reconstruction of Gaza following the 2014 Gaza War.

Prior to joining the PIF, Mustafa worked with leading international organizations across global markets.

During his time with the World Bank Group, Mustafa held several senior positions across sectors including economic development and reform, project finance, private sector development, telecommunications privatization, and infrastructure development.

During his tenure at the World Bank, Mustafa took a sabbatical to work as the founding chief executive officer of PalTel.

In April 2016, Mustafa, was named in the Panama Papers, where it was claimed he used Mossack Fonseca to ensure the transfer of money from Arab countries to the Palestinian Authority.