From the early 1970s until 1988, the mission was called PLO Information Office.
In 1988, because of the peace initiative that led to our acceptance of the two -state solution, and in agreement with Her Majesty’s Government, the Delegation was upgraded, to be called the PLO General Delegation.

In 1993, after the Oslo Agreement, the Delegation was renamed as the Palestinian General Delegation, representing the PLO and the PNA simultaneously.

 

The Palestinian General Delegation has all the responsibilities, burdens and expectations of a regular Embassy however; it lacks all the privileges, immunities, and the financial facilities of a normal Embassy. We the Palestinians are still a national liberation movement struggling for independence and statehood.

The first PLO representative was Mr. Said Hamami, until he was assassinated in 1978 in his office. He was succeeded by Mr. Nabil Ramlawi, from 1978 to 1983, who was then transferred to the U.N. in Geneva and now is in our Foreign Ministry in charge of the unit for diplomatic training. Mr. Faisal Oweida followed from 1983 till 1990 and from here was transferred to Austria and died three years ago from cancer.
Mr. Afif Safieh was the 4th Palestinian representative in London,from 1990-2005 and now he is our representative in Washington.
Professor Manual Hassassian is our new Palestinian General Delegate to the UK.

These are the areas that the Delegation deals with:
British Government
British Parliament
Political Parties
The Diplomatic Corps
The Media
The NGOS’
The Palestinian Community
The Arab Community
The Muslim Community
The Jewish Community

In addition to the regular consular duties, the Palestinian General Delegation does not have the authority to issue passports nor visas but it authenticates documents and power of attorney, etc…
In moments of optimism the Delegation performs some commercial duties with companies that consult it about potential cooperation for economic deals and transactions.