Birzeit University Grants Trustee Samih Darwazah an Honorary Doctorate
During Birzeit University’s 39th graduation ceremony, prominent Palestinian businessman Samih Darwazah was granted an honorary doctorate for his excellence in community and economic development in the Arab world, and in gratitude for his generous support.
Darwazah has been a member of the university’s Board of Trustees for three years, during which he funded the Samih Darwazah Institute of Pharmaceutical Industries at the university, covering its construction costs and modern equipment. The institute will focus on pharmaceutical research and develop the pharmaceutical industry in Palestine.
Darwazah was born in Nablus, Palestine in 1930, and lived his early childhood in Jaffa before being exiled to Jordan in 1948. He joined the American University of Beirut in 1949, where he obtained his BSc Degree in Pharmacy in 1954. As a Fullbright scholar, Samih got his master’s degree in Industrial Pharmacy from St. Louis College of Pharmacy, Missouri, USA in 1964, from which he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science degree in 2010.
Darwazah founded Hikma Pharmaceuticals Company Ltd. in 1978 and has been its honorary life president since May 15, 2014. Darwazah served as the Chief Executive Officer of Hikma Pharmaceuticals Company until July 2007. Hikma Pharmaceuticals became a public shareholding company in 2005, and has issued its shares via the London Stock Exchange and is now the fourth largest pharmaceutical company on the exchange, in addition to its listing in the FTSE 250 Index.
