Dr Ghassan Abu Sittah has given his first address as the newly-appointed Rector of the University of Glasgow. Abu-Sittah - who gained global renown after he went to Gaza during the first few months of Israel's still-ongoing war to offer his services as a doctor - dedicated the honour to his healthcare colleagues in Gaza whom Israeli forces had killed while working in hospitals.
Last month, the Palestinian plastic and reconstructive surgeon secured 4,172 – or some 80% – of first-preference votes to be elected as the new rector.
His nearest rival, Paul Sweeney, a Labour Party member of the Scottish parliament, won just 430 first-choice ballots, while then- rector Rita Rae came in fourth and final place with a mere 234 votes. Glasgow is one of only five universities with a rector, whose job is to represent students’ views to management on the institution’s governing body, the University Court. All registered University of Glasgow students were eligible to cast ballots in the election.
Election turnout more than doubled from the previous election, ensuring a landslide victory for Abu-Sittah. His appointment as rector is also symbolic: the position was once held by Lord Balfour, the British statesman behind the 1917 Balfour Declaration, the ill-fated letter that expressed support for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people". Lord Balfour was the University of Glasgow rector between 1890-1893, during which he also served as Chief Secretary for Ireland - which saw him nicknamed "Bloody Balfour" due to his brutal enforcement of colonial rule of Ireland at the time.
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