NEW JORDANIAN SENATE: MORE WOMEN, FEWER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 007509

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2013
TAGS: PGOV JO
SUBJECT: NEW JORDANIAN SENATE: MORE WOMEN, FEWER
PALESTINIANS, LOTS OF FORMER MINISTERS

REF: AMMAN 07295

Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm for Reasons 1.5 (B,D)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) The King November 17 appointed a new 55-member
Senate. Fourteen senators were carried over from the
previous 40-member Senate. In line with tradition, the
Senate contains a large number of former government
officials, including 24 former ministers and four former
prime ministers. The number of women members increased from
three to seven, while the number of senators of Palestinian
origin decreased from nine to seven. While many of the
changes exchanged old deadwood for new, the re-appointment of
Zeid Rifai as president and the inclusion of seven
progressive-minded women indicate that the King will use the
body and parliamentary procedure to block lower house
challenges to his more liberal social reform agenda. End
Summary.

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A GROWING SENATE
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2. (U) King Abdullah issued a royal decree on November 17
appointing a new Senate. While the outgoing Senate contained
40 members, there are 55 individuals in the new Senate. This
represents the maximum number of senators possible as the
Jordanian constitution limits the size of the Senate to half
that of the lower house of Parliament (which currently
contains 110 deputies, up from 80 in the last Parliament).


3. (U) In keeping with past practice, the new Senate
includes many former government officials. Twenty-four of
the new senators served as ministers in previous governments,
while four senators held the post of prime minister: Zeid
Rifai, Abdul Salam Majali, Fayez Tarawneh, and Ali Abul
Ragheb. This compares with 24 ministers and two prime
ministers in the outgoing Senate. Fourteen members of the
new Senate were carried over from the previous Senate,
including Zeid Rifai who also retained his position as
president of the Senate.


4. (U) In addition to former ministers, the new Senate
contains ex-military officers (including two army chiefs of
staff),businessmen, bankers, artists and women's rights
activists. From the media, three prominent journalists were
appointed: Saleh Qallab (former Minister of Information and
current columnist in the daily Al Rai),Tarek Masarweh (daily
columnist in Al Rai) and Jihad Momani (chief editor of the
weekly Shihan).

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MORE WOMEN, FEWER PALESTINIANS
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5. (C) The new Senate contains seven women, as compared to
only three in the previous Senate. Moreover, unlike the
female deputies in the lower house of Parliament, the women
senators are vocal proponents of women's rights and have
close links to women's organizations. Whereas nine of the 40
members of the outgoing Senate were of Palestinian origin
(22.5%),only seven senators in the new legislative body are
West Bankers (12.7%).

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COMMENT
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6. (C) King Hussein traditionally used the Senate to move
respected but aging senior officials up and out of
government. With a new lower house in place and willing to
challenge government policies -- especially on social issues
-- the appointed Senate takes on greater importance since
actions taken by the lower house require Senate approval.
The King used the Senate this fall to prevent the lower house
from nullifying several socially liberal provisional laws.
The re-appointment of the Machiavellian Zeid Rifai as Senate
President makes clear the King's desire to keep control of
the Senate agenda.


7. (C) The increased number of women -- mostly from the
ranks of independent-minded women's activists -- was
previously alluded to by the King (see reftel) and should
please women's right activists. The decreased number of
senators of Palestinian origin, on the other hand, will be
noticed among Jordan's large Palestinian community. The
names of the new senators follow in paragraph 8. Further
biographic information on the new Senate will be provided
septel.


8. (U) Zeid Rifai
Abdul Salam Majali
Fayez Tarawneh

Ali Abul Ragheb
Marwan Hmoud

Rajai Muasher

Inaam Mufti

Laila Sharaf

Hisham Sharari

Yousef Hamdan

Awad Khleifat

Yanal Hikmat

Jamal Khreisha

Abdul Razzaq Tbeishat

Aref Batayneh

Fawwaz Abul Ghanam

Abdul Razzaq Nsour

Tawfiq Kreishan

Nader Thuheirat

Salwa Masri

Saadeddine Jumaa

Nayef Qadi

Saleh Qallab

Abdul Rahim Ekour

Mustafa Qaisi

Trad Fayez

Rowaida Maaitah

Abdul Hafez Kaabneh

Subhiyyeh Maani

Kaseb Sfouq Jazi

Issa Reimouni

Hani Kheir

Haidar Murad

Mustafa Fayyadh

Assem Ghosheh

Fathi Abu Taleb

Hani Tabara

Zaid Zreiqat

Fawwaz Abu Tayeh

Jawdat Muheisin

Faleh Tawil

Abed Musa Nahar

Usama Malkawi

Yousef Shreideh

Ayed Adaileh

Mohammad Azaideh

Adel Haddad

Basel Mufti
Ziyad Sharaiha
Kleib Fawwaz

Tareq Masarweh
Nabil Mashini

Jihad Momani

Mai Abul Samen

Wijdan Al Saket

Visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman or access the site
through the State Department's SIPRNET home page.
GNEHM