Ja'afar Touqan (Jafar Tukan) is one of the pioneering Palestinian

Palestinian people

The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...

-Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

ian architects

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

 and one of the most famous as well. He designed the Municipality of Amman

Amman

Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...

 in Ras Il Ayn, and he belongs to several important committees including that of the National Gallery. Ja'afar Touqan also designed the Royal Automobile Museum in Amman Jordan, as well as the Central Bank of Jordan building.

He is the recipient of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture

Aga Khan Award for Architecture

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Islamic societies in the fields of contemporary design, social housing, community...

 for his 1991 design of a Children's Village - Aqaba

Aqaba

Aqaba is a coastal city in the far south of Jordan, the capital of Aqaba Governorate at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba. Aqaba is strategically important to Jordan as it is the country's only seaport. Aqaba is best known today as a diving and beach resort, but industrial activity remains important...

, Jordan.

Touqan is also on the Board of Trustees of the Palestinian Art Court – Al Hoash.

Ja'afar Touqan graduated from the American University of Beirut

American University of Beirut

The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...

  in 1960. He is the son of the prominent Palestinian poet Ibrahim Touqan

Ibrahim Touqan

Ibrahim Abd al-Fattah Touqan was a Palestinian nationalist poet whose works rallied Arabs during their revolt against the British. Touqan was born in Nablus, Palestine during Ottoman times. He was the brother of poetess Fadwa Touqan and he tutored and influenced her to write poetry...

, writer of the famous poem Mawtini

Mawtini

Mawtini is a popular poem written by famous Palestinian poet Ibrahim Touqan circa 1934 in Palestine and became the de facto national anthem of Palestine and Iraq. It is also recognized in Syria and Algeria as an anthem as to show their support for the Palestinian cause. The original music was...

, the current national anthem of Iraq. He is also the nephew of both the Jordanian Prime Minister Ahmad Toukan

Ahmad Toukan

Ahmad Toukan was a Palestinian political leader who was Prime Minister of Jordan from 26 September 1970 to 28 October 1970.- Overview :Toukan was born on 15 August 1903 in Nablus, Palestine....

 and the famous Palestinian Poetess Fadwa Touqan and thus a member of the prominent Touqan

Touqan

Touqan is a prominent Palestinian & Jordanian family based in Nablus and Al-Salt. During Ottoman times they were the only household that ever came close to centralizing all of the District of Nablus under their rule, and their members held the post of district chief longer than did any other local...

family.