Daoud Hanania

Daoud Anistas Hanania is a Palestinian-Jordanian heart surgeon born in Jerusalem in 1934. His father, Anistas, was a Palestinian lawyer and politician who held several cabinet positions in the Jordanian government, including Foreign Minister and Minister of Justice. Daoud's mother, Claire, was from the Nashawati family of Syria.

After completing his primary and secondary education in Jerusalem, Hanania joined the Jordanian army and was sent on a military scholarship to study medicine in England. He earned his MBBS medical degree from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School of the University of London (St. Mary's has since been incoporated into Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine).

Hanania subsequently became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and a Fellow of the American College of Surgery.

Career

Hanania performed the first open-heart surgery operation in Jordan in the early 1970s and the first successful heart transplant in the Middle East in 1985 at the King Hussein Medical Center. After retiring from active army duty with the rank of Lt. General in 1987, Hanania served two terms as a member of Jordan's Upper House of Parliament.

Today, Hanania has a private practice and is in the process of establishing a new medical clinics facility.

Family, Friendships and Interests

Daoud Hanania married Nada Hanania (née Nada Pio) in 1974. They have four children.

Hanania was a lifelong friend of the late King Hussein and the late Prince Zeid Bin Shaker, whom he met while the three were students in England.

He enjoys reading and automobile racing. He is also a tennis enthusiast, having served several terms as President of the Jordan Tennis Federation, during which time Jordan entered Davis Cup competition for the first time.