BIOS FOR JORDAN'S NEW CABINET MEMBERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 008812 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/24/2014 TAGS: PINR PGOV KDEM JO SUBJECT: BIOS FOR JORDAN'S NEW CABINET MEMBERS REF: A. AMMAN 8794 ¶B. AMMAN 8628 ¶C. AMMAN 8600 ¶D. AMMAN 7862 ¶E. AMMAN 7336 ¶F. AMMAN JO 7188 ¶G. 03 AMMAN 7068 Classified By: CDA David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (U) King Abdullah swore in ten new ministers October 24 and accepted the resignation of three (ref A). The expanded cabinet raised the number of ministers from 21 to 28 by separating ministerial portfolios combined when PM Fayez's first cabinet was formed in October 2003 and by creating two new ministries. The number of women ministers has increased from three to four. Nine out of the ten new ministers are East Bankers, making a total East Bank/West Bank ratio of 22 to 6. There are three Christians and 12 U.S. educated ministers in the new cabinet. The average age of all the ministers is 49. Bios for ministers that remained in the cabinet were provided in October 2003 (ref G). End Summary. -------------- BIOS FOR NEW MINISTERS -------------- ¶2. (U) New members of the cabinet are: ¶A. (U) Minister of Foreign Affairs Hani al-Mulki: A Muslim, East Banker whose family's roots are in Syria, Hani al-Mulki was born in Amman in 1951. He is the son of the late Fawzi al-Mulki, who was Jordanian Prime Minister in 1953 and held several other cabinet positions in different governments. Al-Mulki received a Bachelor of Arts in Production Engineering from the University of Cairo in 1974. He also studied at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, from which he received a Master of Science in Management Engineering in 1977 and a Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering in 1979. Al-Mulki worked as a field engineer at the Ministry of Public Works from 1974-75, and as a researcher at the Royal Scientific Society (RSS) from 1975-1979. He served as Assistant Dean of the Engineering Department at Yarmouk University from 1980-81 before heading the RSS Solar Energy Department from 1981-1987. He then served as Executive Director of the Islamic Academy for Science from 1987-1989 and RSS President from 1989 until ¶1997. Al-Mulki was Secretary General of the Higher Council for Science and Technology from 1993-1997. He was appointed Minister of Trade, Industry, and Supply in PM Majali's cabinet in 1997, and Minister of Water and Irrigation & Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources in PM Tarawneh's cabinet in August 1998. He was also an advisor to former Crown Prince El Hassan Bin Talal. Al-Mulki became Ambassador to Cairo and to the Arab League in 2001. He is married to an American citizen and has two sons. ¶B. (U) Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Nayef Hadid A Muslim, East Banker, Hadid was born in Amman in 1939. He graduated from the Cairo University faculty of law in 1965 and was appointed as a diplomatic attach in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1967. Hadid served in Jordan's diplomatic missions in Cairo, London, Rome, Washington, Brussels, Damascus and Muscat. He was Foreign Ministry secretary general from 1993 to 1995. Hadid served as Jordan's ambassador to Morocco for three years and then Tunisia for four years until July 2004. He is married, with two daughters and one son. ¶C. (U) Minister of Industry and Trade Ahmad Hindawi A Muslim, East Banker, Hindawi was born in Cairo in 1966. He holds a PhD in Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Birmingham, UK, a Masters in industrial engineering and industrial management from the University of Jordan and a BA in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University, Indiana. He has been director general of the Jordan Institution for Standards and Metrology since ¶2001. Prior to that, he served at the Ministry of Industry and Trade as assistant secretary general (for one year) and director of industrial development (for four years). Hindawi is on the boards of directors of the Jordanian National Commission for Industrialization, the Jordan Export Promotion Corporation, the Natural Resources Authority, the Investment Promotion Committee, and the Jordan Businessmen's Society. He is from a politically prominent and active family; his father was a leading, moderate voice in parliament in the early 1990s and became deputy prime minister. ¶D. (C) Minister of State for Legal Affairs Fahed Abul Atham Ensour A Muslim, East Banker, Ensour was born in Salt and attended the Salt Secondary School, graduating in 1952. He completed his higher education at the Syrian University, Damascus, earning a law degree in 1958. Ensour served as attorney general and a judge in several courts. He was president of the Higher Court of Justice Committee. Between 1972 and 1974, he served as director general of the Press and Publications Department, and from 1974 to 1978 he worked as a legal adviser at the Cabinet. He also lectured at Muta University, and participated in several local and international conferences on international law and human rights. He has published several books and working papers on legal issues. Ensour has long been a good contact for post on human rights and legal issues. He operates his own private law office in Amman. ¶E. (U) Minister of Transport Saud Nsairat A Muslim, East Banker, Nsairat was born in 1950 in Natfeh in Irbid Governorate. Following high school graduation, he joined the Air Force and was trained as a pilot. While serving in the army, he earned a Masters degree in military affairs management. From 1992 to 1994, he served as Jordan's military attach to Paris. A career officer, Nsairat became Air Force commander in the Jordan Armed Forces in 1999, serving in that position until 2002 when he was promoted to vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He retired on October 1, 2004 (ref F). He is married and has two sons and one daughter. ¶F. (C) Minister of Political Development Munther Shara A Muslim, East Banker, Shara was born in Husun in Irbid Governorate in 1950. He graduated with a BA in economics and political science in 1972 from the Beirut Arab University. He obtained his Masters and PhD in economics and political science from The University of Wales in the UK. Shara lectured at Yarmouk University for 25 years and was appointed founder-dean of the economics faculty in the Hashemite University. Shara also served as a consultant for ESCWA, chairman of the accreditation board at the Ministry of Higher Education, and chairman of board of the Arab Society for Economic Research. He has written and published books and articles on economy. Shara is married with two children. ¶G. (U) Minister of Environment Yousef Shureiqi A Muslim, East Banker, Shureiqi was born in 1948 in Amman. He obtained his BA in 1972 from Alexandria University, specializing in agricultural sciences. In 1980, he received his MA from the American University of Beirut and a PhD in toxicology from Bonn University in Germany in 1987. Shureiqi held various posts at the Ministry of Agriculture commencing in 1972 as a researcher and then as head of the toxins department. From 1993 to 2001, Shureiqi was seconded to the Omani government to serve as an expert and head of the pesticides department. Upon returning to Jordan, he was appointed as chancellor at the prime ministry. In 2003, Shureiqi was appointed secretary general of the Ministry of Environment, a post he held until he was sworn in as environment minister. ¶H. (C) Minister of Information and Communications Technology Nadia Saeed Saeed's family is of Palestinian, West Bank origin. She has a Bachelor's degree in economy and business from the University of Jordan and a Master's degree from the American University in Cairo. She worked in the public sector for 10 years, mainly in the banking and technology fields before she was hired by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology on a special contract as senior advisor to the Minister. Saeed served as acting secretary general since early 2003, and became secretary general when PM Fayez's government was formed in October 2003. She has worked well with USAID as secretary general and has a good grasp of the issues. ¶I. (U) Minister of Public Sector Reform Ahmad Masaadeh A Muslim, East Banker, Masaadeh was born in 1969 in Amman. His father was the Minister of Justice in PM Rawabdeh's cabinet in 2000. Masaadeh is a practicing lawyer who holds an LL.B. degree from the University of Jordan, an LL.M. from the University of Virginia, and a PhD degree in international trade and foreign investment law from the University of London. He has been actively engaged in business and corporate law with a focus on international trade and foreign investment, restructuring, privatization and administrative reform. Since 1995, Masaadeh has been a key player in the regulatory reforms of the judicial system. He has served as assistant professor of international business law at the University of Jordan since 2000. Masaadeh is married with three daughters. ¶J. (U) Minister of Agriculture Sharary Shakhanbeh A Muslim, East Banker, Shakhanbeh was born in Madaba in 1943. He received his Bachelors degree in law from Beirut Arab University in 1984. He started his career at the Agriculture Ministry, then moved to Jordan Television where he was deputy director of the development media department for 10 years. Shakhanbeh was the head of the Jordanian Society for the Production and Marketing of Eggs for two years, and head of the investment promotion unit at the Industrial Estate Corporation for seven years. He became the legal consultant of the Jordanian Cooperative Corporation before being elected as head of the Jordan Farmers Union for two terms. Shakhanbeh is married with five children. Shakhanbeh was secretary general of the Ministry of Agriculture upon his appointment. -------------- THE COMPLETE CABINET -------------- ¶3. (U) The complete cabinet list follows: Faisal Fayez: Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Marwan Muasher: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Prime Ministry Affairs and Government Performance Hani Mulki: Minister of Foreign Affairs Bassem Awadallah: Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Salah Bashir: Minister of Justice Samir Habashneh: Minister of Interior Khalid Touqan: Minister of Education Ahmad Hilayel: Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Hazem Nasser: Minister of Water and Irrigation Mohammad Abu Hammour: Minister of Finance Amjad Majali: Minister of Labor Alia Hattough-Bouran: Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Azmi Khreisat: Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Riyad Abu Karaki: Minister of Social Development Raed Abu Saud: Minister of Public Works and Housing Issam Zabalawi: Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Amal Farhan: Minister of Municipal Affairs Asma Khader: Minister of Culture and Government Spokesperson Saeed Darwazeh: Minister of Health Nayef Hadid: Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ahmad Hindawi: Minister of Industry and Trade Yousef Shureiqi: Minister of Environment Nadia Saeed: Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology Fahd Abul Athem Ensour: Minister of State for Legal Affairs Soud Nsairat: Minister of Transport Munther Shara: Minister of Political Development Ahmad Masaadeh: Minister of State for Public Reforms Sharari Shakhanbeh: Minister of Agriculture ¶4. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. Please visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at http://www.state.sgov/p/nea/amman/ or access the site through the Department of State's SIPRNET home page. HALE