KING ABDULLAH SWEARS IN NEW CABINET

UNCLAS AMMAN 002890 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINR KDEM PHUM PREL ECON JO PBIO SUBJECT: KING ABDULLAH SWEARS IN NEW CABINET REF: A. AMMAN 2851 ¶B. AMMAN 2826 ¶1. (U) King Abdullah swore in a new cabinet under recently-appointed Prime Minister Adnan Badran on April 7 (refs). Of the 26 ministers (counting Badran),only 11 are hold-overs from the previous cabinet, and four of those have shifted to new ministries. New Deputy Prime Minister Hisham al-Tel adds to his portfolio the Ministry of Political Development. Asma Khader will remain Minister of Culture but loses her title as GOJ spokesperson; no replacement has yet been named. As in the cabinet of ex-PM Fayez, four women occupy ministerial positions. Complete bios of the new ministers and analysis will follow septel. ¶2. (U) Members of the new cabinet are: Prime Minister and Defense Minister Dr. Adnan Badran Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Political Development Hisham al-Tel Minister of Finance Bassem Awadallah (resigned as Minister of Planning in Fayez cabinet) Minister of Social Development Abdullah al-Uwaidat Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Abdel Salam al-Abaddi Minister of Municipal Affairs Tawfiq Kureishan Minister of Education and Higher Education and Scientific Research Khalid Touqan (carry-over from Fayez cabinet) Minister of State for Legal Affairs Abed al-Shakhanbeh Minister of State for Observing Government Performance Salah al-Bashir (former Minister of Justice under Fayez) Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Alia Hatough-Bouran (carry-over from Fayez cabinet) Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Azmi Khreisat (carry-over from Fayez cabinet) Minister of Water and Irrigation Ra'ed Abu al-Saud (former Minister of Public Works and Housing in Fayez cabinet) Minister of Culture Asma Khader (carry-over from Fayez cabinet) Minister of Health Sa'id Darwazeh (carry-over from Fayez cabinet) Minister of Agriculture Yusef al-Shureiqi (former Minister of Environment in Fayez cabinet) Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology Nadia Sa'id (carry-over from Fayez cabinet) Minister of Transport Saud Nuseirat (carry-over from Fayez cabinet) Minister of State for Development of the Public Sector Taysir al-Smadi (former Minister of Planning in Fayez cabinet) Minister of Justice Muhammad Ali al-'Alawneh Minister of Interior Awni Yarfas Minister of Foreign Affairs Farouq al-Qasrawi Minister of Public Works and Housing Yusef Hiyasat Minister of Industry and Trade Sharif al-Zoubi Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Suheir al-Ali Minister of Environment Khalid al-Irani Minister of Labor Bassem al-Salim ¶3. (U) 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