Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Salem Khamis is a Palestinian scientist and international economist and statistician . He was born in the Palestinian village of Reina in Galilee on November 22, 1919, to parents Hanna and Jamila.
Scientific life
He completed his secondary studies at the Arab College in Jerusalem with distinction in 1938 .
With a grant from the British Mandate government, he studied at the American University of Beirut, where he obtained a baccalaureate in mathematics and physics in 1941 , and a master’s in physics in 1942 .
Working life
He worked in Palestine ( 1942-1943 ) as a teacher at Acre High School and then St. Luke High School in Haifa . In 1943 , he was appointed a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at the American University of Beirut . In 1945 , with a grant from the British Council, he prepared for his doctorate at University College - London. He defended his thesis during the “Nakba” events, and obtained his doctorate in 1950 . He became prominent at that time with his patriotic activity in student forums, defending the rights of the Palestinian people. Israel prevented him from returning to Palestine in 1948 , so he moved to Aleppo, where he worked as a lecturer in applied mathematics at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Syria , and headed the Faculty of Mathematics there.
In 1949, he married Mary Guy and raised a family with her, giving birth to four children: Thea, Hanna, Christopher, and Tariq. At the invitation of the United Nations, he worked in New York in its census office. In addition to his work at the United Nations, he served as a guest lecturer in the Department of Statistics at Columbia University . He visited the country for the first time after the occupation in 1952 with immunity for his work at the United Nations. In 1953, he returned to Beirut as a lecturer (with the rank of assistant professor) in the Department of Economics at the American University . Between the years 1955 and 1958, he held the rank of professor and head of the mathematics department at the university.
In 1958, he headed the Regional Statistics Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), affiliated with the United Nations , and in this work he moved between the Cairo office and the Rome office ( 1958 - 1960 ). Between 1961 and 1970 , he held the position of Head of the Trade and Prices Department at the FAO in Rome. Between 1970 and 1972 , the United Nations and the FAO sent him to Uganda as Director-General of the Foundation for Statistics and Applied Economics at Makerere University to establish and develop the work of the foundation and its program to train, educate and study the needs of African countries that speak the English language. In 1972, he returned to Rome, where he was appointed to the FAO as head of the Methodology (Methodology) Group in the Department of Statistical Development. In 1974, he headed the Statistical Development Department at FAO . His work in this position included helping developing countries improve their food and agricultural statistics through national, regional and international projects. At the same time, he worked in Baghdad between 1976 and 1978 as director and chief advisor to the United Nations for the project to establish the Arab Statistical Institute for Training and Research.
In 1981, he retired from the head of the FAO's Statistical Development Department and moved to live in Britain , where his children reside. But he continued to work as an expert and head of several scientific missions from the United Nations, and he carried out consulting work in several places, including:
Advisor to the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development in Kuwait , affiliated with the League of Arab States , evaluator and developer of statistical activities in the Palestine Liberation Organization , advisor to An-Najah University in Nablus ( 1986 ) in reviewing statistics on the export of agricultural products to Jordan , and statistical advisor to the countries: Sri Lanka , Libya and Sudan.
He died on June 16, 2005 at his home in Hemel Hempstead - Britain.
United Nations
In 1949, Khamis married Mrs. Mary Gay, and they had four children: Henna, Christopher, Tariq, and Thea. Khamis then agreed to work at the United Nations at the Census Bureau in Lake Success and then in New York (1950-1953). In addition to his job at the United Nations, he became a part-time visiting lecturer in the Department of Statistical Mathematics at Columbia University .
Salem finally visited his home in Israel in 1952. In 1953, he returned to the American University of Beirut to work as an assistant professor of economics. Between 1955 and 1958, he was chosen as professor and head of the Mathematics Department. Between 1958 and 1963 he became the United Nations Regional Food and Agriculture Statistician for the Near East (service stations included: Cairo, United Arab Republic 1958-1960, and Rome, Italy 1960-1963).
Between 1961 and 1970, Salem became Head of the Commercial Prices Branch of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome. Between 1970 and 1972 he became a project director at the United Nations at the Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. In 1972, he returned to Rome to become Head of the FAO Methodology Group in the Statistical Development Services Division until 1974, and Head of the Service between 1975-1981. The work was to assist developing countries in improving statistics in the areas of food and agriculture through national, regional and international statistical projects.
Between the years (1976-1978), he worked in Baghdad as director of the United Nations project and advisor to the Arab Institute for Training and Scientific Research in Statistics.
In 1981, Salem resigned from his position at FAO and moved to England, where his children lived. However, he continued to work despite this, as an expert and head of many scientific missions carried out by the United Nations, and provided advice to many countries such as:
• 1981-1987: Statistical Advisor, Arab Finance Fund for Social and Economic Growth, Kuwait.
• 1982: Development and evaluation of statistical activities in the Palestine Liberation Organization.
• 1986: Advisor to the Jordanian Government, Royal Research Center, An-Najah National University , Nablus, West Bank.
• Statistical consultant for Sri Lanka, Libya, Sudan and other countries.
Salem Khamis died on June 16, 2005, at his residence in Hamel, Hampstead, England.
Scientific contributions
Professor Khamis presented dozens of scientific papers in statistics and mathematics, and he made important contributions to sampling theory and tabulation of incomplete Gamma functions. In 1966, he published a book entitled : Tables of the Incomplete Gamma Function Ratio .
However, his work is in the field of Index Number Theory and its applications, and his development of what is known as the Geary-Khamis Method to calculate “purchasing power parity (PPP) of currencies. ” It has left its mark on all modern works in the international comparison of prices, real income, national production and productivity using one common currency. The Irish statistician RC Geary was the first to propose the approach in 1952. In 1972, Professor Khamis developed the approach and put it into practice, in a series of scientific papers published in the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society .
The Gerry-Khamis approach has been extensively used for three decades in calculating global inequality, living standards, and estimating the human growth index, and is also used by important international institutions such as the World Bank, the FAO, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
During his life, Professor Khamis received several recognitions and honorary positions from international institutes such as the International Institute of Statistics, which serves as a global academy for statistics, and the American Statistical Association .
In addition to his professional work in the service of humanity, Professor Khamis helped many of his countrymen and other peoples obtain scholarships, and supported many of his students, regardless of their nationalities, in developing their professional lives. He was also known for his strong support for all the causes of the oppressed in the world, and his continued support for Palestinian refugee camps and the Palestinian cause.
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Achievements and Awards
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