Late Ambassador Baker Abdel Munem

The Palestinian General Delegation to Canada, with profound grief, opened this book of condolences to commemorate the late Ambassador Baker Abdel Munem. Ambasssador Abdel Munem was an outstanding diplomat and a fierce advocate for Palestine, he was well respected and loved by everyone who knew him. As one of the first Palestinian representatives to Canada, he has helped set the foundations and he is still well remembered by members of the Palestinian community in Canada and the Palestinian People around the world.

Baker Abdel Munem was born in 1942 in Ramla, Palestine. In 1948, amid the "Nakba", he and his family took refuge in Amman, Jordan. He attended Cairo University in 1966, graduating with a BSc in mechanical engineering and served as head of the main electric power station in Jordan for seven years.  He returned to Cairo University to continue his studies and obtained his MSc in mechanical engineering in 1975. Abdel Munem served as the vice-president of the International Union of Students from 1978 to 1983 when he obtained his PhD in mechanical engineering from Czechoslovakia. In 1979, he became a member of the Palestine National Council (PNC), and an elected member of the Fatah-Revolutionary Council in 1989. In 1985, he earned a PhD in economics from Germany, and in 1988, he earned a PhD in political science from the United States.

Abdel Munem's first diplomatic post was as the Palestine Liberation Organization's ambassador to Japan in 1983. In 1995, he was assigned as Chief Representative to the newly established Palestine General Delegation to Canada. Abdel Munem also served as the Palestinian Ambassador to the Russian Federation during the years 2006-2008.

Abdel Munem authored several books including Palestine in My Heart, The PLO and the Gulf War, Songs to Hiroshima, Letters to Madiha and My Memories of Yasser Arafat. 

Abdel Munem is survived by his wife Ghada Abu Laban, two daughters, Madiha and Kenana, and son, Abdel Munem. He died on 9 April 2023, at the age of 81.