Ismail Abdel Salam Ahmed Haniyeh (; sometimes transliterated as Haniya, Haniyah, or Hanieh; born 29 January 1962) is a senior political leader of Hamas and formerly one of two disputed Prime Ministers of the Palestinian National Authority. Haniyeh became prime minister after Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections of 2006. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah–Hamas conflict, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continued to exercise prime ministerial authority in the Gaza Strip. In September 2016, reports indicated Haniyeh would replace Khaled Mashal as Chief of Hamas's Political Bureau. He was elected as Hamas political chief on 6 May 2017.