JORDAN: BIOS FOR NEW BADRAN CABINET MEMBERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 AMMAN 005922

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/26/2015
TAGS: PGOV PINR KDEM PHUM ECON JO PBIO
SUBJECT: JORDAN: BIOS FOR NEW BADRAN CABINET MEMBERS

REF: A. AMMAN 5848

B. AMMAN 5314

C. AMMAN 2974

Classified By: CDA David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


1. (U) Prime Minister Badran's reshuffled cabinet received
its vote of confidence from parliament on July 21 (ref A),
nearly three weeks after King Abdullah swore in ten new
ministers (although three only shifted portfolios) and
accepted the resignation of five (ref B). Hisham al-Tel
loses the title of Minister of Parliamentary Affairs but will
stay on as Deputy Prime Minister for Political Development;
Marwan Muasher moved from the Royal Court to become Deputy
Prime Minister and government spokesperson. Minister of
State for Legal Affairs Abed Shakhanbeh was appointed Justice
Minister. As a result of the reshuffle, Badran's new cabinet
has grown from 26 to 29 (including Badran) and is even more
heavily dominated by Western-educated Muslim East Bankers
than the previous cabinet. Just six of the 29 ministers are
Jordanians of Palestinian origin (West Bankers),four are
women, and two each hail from the minority Christian and
Circassian communities. A little over half (15) of the
ministers received degrees at American or European
universities. Bios for ministers that held over from the
last cabinet were provided in April 2005 (ref C). End
Summary.

--------------
BIOS FOR NEW MINISTERS
--------------


2. (U) New (and re-assigned) members of the cabinet are:


A. Deputy Prime Minister and GOJ spokesperson Marwan Muasher:

(U) A Christian East Banker, Muasher was born in Amman in

1956. He completed his secondary education at the Terra
Sancta school and holds a BS in electrical engineering as
well as an MS and PhD in computer science from Purdue
University. Muasher has served as a lecturer at the
University of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia and Director of the
computer department at the Jordan Electricity Company. He
also worked at the Planning Ministry and was advisor to
former Prime Minister Zaid Bin Shaker. Muasher participated
in a multi-regional project as part of the International
Visitors Program on "New Technologies in American Industry"
in 1986. He was director of the Jordan Information Bureau in
Washington from 1991-1994 and the spokesman for Jordan's
delegation during peace treaty negotiations with Israel,
signed in 1994. Muasher was appointed as Jordan's ambassador
to Israel in 1995, Minister of Information in 1996, and
ambassador to Washington in 1997. In 2000, Muasher was
decorated with the GOJ's Kawkab (planet) medal, first degree.
He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from January 2002
until October 2004, when he was named as Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of State for Prime Ministry Affairs and
Government Performance in Faisal al-Fayez's reshuffled
cabinet. He was appointed Minister of the Royal Court in
April 2005.

(C) Instrumental in guiding the GOJ strategy for political
and economic development, Muasher is currently head of the
National Agenda Commission that is charged with developing
Jordan's reform agenda for the next ten years. Reform
contacts are heartened that Muasher has been returned to the
position of Deputy Prime Minister, with the explicit task of
leading the reform effort.


B. Deputy Prime Minister for Political Development Hisham
al-Tel:

(U) A Muslim, East Banker, al-Tel was born in 1943 in Irbid.
Al-Tel earned a BA in Law from Damascus University in 1964.
Upon graduation, he practiced law until he was appointed as a
judge at the Supreme Court of Justice in February 1991. He
served as legal adviser to several ministries and public and
private establishments. Al-Tel was appointed Minister of
Justice by former PM Zaid Ben Shaker in 1994. He became
chairman of the legislative board at the Prime Ministry on
October 27, 2004, where he served until his appointment in
April 2005 as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
Parliamentary Affairs and Political Development in the Badran
cabinet.


C. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Abdul Karim
al-Malahmeh:

(U) A Muslim East Banker, al-Malahmeh was born in Karak in

1952. He holds a BA in sociology from the University of
Baghdad and law degree from Beirut Arab University. Malahmeh
joined the Interior Ministry as a civil servant in 1975, and
was appointed director of the AI District in Karak in 1979.
After holding positions in several governorates over ten
years, he became governor of Tafileh in 1995, Madaba in 1996,
Aqaba in 1997, and Irbid in 1999. He was named Amman
governor in 2002, a post he held until his appointment as
minister.


D. Minister of Culture Ameen Mahmoud:

(U) A Muslim West Banker, Mahmoud was born in Bethlehem in

1940. He earned a BA in history from Cairo in 1960, and an
MA and PhD in Contemporary History from Georgetown University
in 1972. He was a fellow at Georgetown from 1960-1972 and
served as a Jordan University history professor and head of
department from 1981-1982. Mahmoud was director of Hebrew
Studies at Jordan University and a history professor at the
University of Kuwait until August 1990, and appointed
President of the Jordan University for Women in 1991. He was
appointed Minister of Culture in 1993, and then President of
Amman National University in 1995.


E. Minister of Finance Adel al-Qudah:

(U) A Muslim East Banker, al-Qudah was born in Salt in 1940.
He holds a BA in business administration from Cairo
University (1959) and an MA in public administration/public
finance from the University of Southern California (1979).
He served as General Director of the Customs Department in
the Minister of Finance from 1982-1990, and General Director
of the Income Tax Department from 1990-1991. Later that year
he became director of the Audit Bureau, serving until he was
appointed Minister of Supply in 1994. He held that position
until 1996, when he became Chairman of the Executive
Privatization Commission in the Prime Ministry, a job he has
held until his appointment as Finance Minister. He is
married and has four children.

(C) Finance was a difficult position to fill in the
aftermath of the resignation of Bassem Awadallah. Al-Qudah
was not the first choice and something of a compromise. He
is technically proficient, a team player, and philosophically
understands economic reform issues. USAID reports a positive
working relationship with Qudah during his tenure at the
Privatization Commission, noting he has made significant
strides towards privatizing services and state-owned
enterprises in the face of strident domestic opposition to
the plans. He has successfully created a privatization
process that serves as a model for the region. Unlike
Awadallah, he has cordial relations with Parliament, having
shown skill in the past in negotiating with deputies on
privatization issues. This track record may serve him well
as he navigates a parliament hostile to necessary but
unpopular fiscal reforms.


F. Minister of State Mohammad Najadat:

(U) A Muslim East Banker, Najadat was born in 1939. He has
a MA in military and administrative sciences. He served as
an officer in the Jordan Armed Forces from 1957 until 1988
when he assumed the post of adviser at the Royal Court in the
office of Prince Hassan, a post he held until 1993. Najadat
was elected to the lower house of Parliament in 1993,
representing the southern Badia district. He was appointed
as Minister of State in al-Kabariti's cabinet in 1996.


G. Minister of Justice Abed Shakhanbeh:

(U) A Muslim East Banker, Shakhanbeh was born in Madaba in

1950. He obtained his high school education in Raghadan
School in Amman and his BA in law from Damascus University in

1971. He earned his MA in law from the University of Jordan
in 1987 and his PhD from Cairo University in 1992. He worked
in the Ministry of Justice from 1973 until 1992 when he was
appointed secretary general of the Inspection and Control
Department. He became director of the department in 1995.
He was appointed Minister of State for Legal Affairs in Abu
al-Ragheb's third cabinet in July 2003, and then served as an
advocate and lecturer at Amman Private University. He was
appointed Minister of State for Legal Affairs in Badran's
Cabinet in April 2005.

(C) Considered a safe choice, Shakhanbeh is generally seen
as competent if colorless. We expect him to maintain a low
profile in this cabinet. He has assured us -- prompted by
the Royal Palace -- of his commitment to championing our
substantial USAID program in the judicial sector, and to
improving judicial assistance cooperation.


H. Minister of Agriculture Muzahem al-Muhaisen:

(U) A Muslim East Banker, al-Muhaisen was born in Amman in

1948. He obtained a BSc in civil engineering from the Ein
Shams University in Cairo in 1973. From 1973 to 1983, he
worked as assistant to the head of the Aqaba Regulatory
Commission. From 1986 to 1992, Muhaisen worked as head of
the Land Department. He was Secretary General of the Aqaba
Regional Authority from 1992 until 1997, after which he
became Secretary General of the Ministry of Post and
Telecommunications until 1999. He was director general of
the Vocational Training Corporation from 1999 until he was
appointed Minister of Labor in Abu al-Ragheb's second cabinet
reshuffle in October 2001. He was appointed Minister of
Labor in Abu al-Ragheb's third cabinet in July 2003.


I. Minister of Government Performance Ruwaida al-Ma'aytah:

(U) A Muslim East Banker, al-Ma'aytah was born in Karak in

1955. She obtained a BSc in nursing from the University of
Jordan, MSc in public health from Tulane University in
Louisiana, and a PhD in public health from Louisiana
University. She served as Dean of the Nursing College at the
Jordan University of Science and Technology in Irbid,
consultant to UNICEF, and a consultant to the United Nations
Population Fund. She worked as a consultant to Princess Muna
for Health and Social Development. Ma'aytah was appointed
President of al-Hashimiyeh University in 2002 until she
became Minister of Social Development later that year in PM
Abul al-Ragheb's government. She was head of the National
Council for Family Affairs prior to her posting as minister.
She is married to Dr. Bashar Khasawneh and has two children.

(C) Given her strong background in public health and social
development, Ma'aytah seems miscast in this cabinet position.


J. Minister of Water and Irrigation Munther al-Shara'a:

(U) A Muslim, East Banker, Shara'a was born in Husun in
Irbid Governorate in 1950, and is a distant relative of the
Syrian Foreign Minister. 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. Shara'a
lectured at Yarmouk University for 25 years and was appointed
founder-dean of the economics faculty in the Hashemite
University. Shara'a 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'a served as Minister of Political
Development in the Fayez cabinet from October 2004 until
April 2005. He visited the U.S. in 1998 on a one-month
program funded by the GOJ and visited several different
states. In the past, Shara'a was a member of two "centrist"
political parties, including the al-Dustori (Constitutional)
Party, but he is no longer affiliated with any party.
Shara'a is married and has two children.

(C) Shara'a's lack of experience in water issues leaves many
experts scratching their heads about this appointment. His
performance as minister of the newly-created Ministry of
Political Development from October 2004 until April 2005 was
lackluster, and he is not seen as having the necessary
political connections needed to sustain difficult decisions
on sensitive water issues.

--------------
THE COMPLETE CABINET
--------------


3. (U) The complete cabinet list follows:

Prime Minister and Defense Minister Adnan Badran

Deputy Prime Minister and Government spokesperson Marwan
al-Muasher

Deputy Prime Minister for Political Development Hisham al-Tel

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Abdul Karim
al-Malahmeh

Minister of Culture Ameen Mahmoud

Minister of Finance Adel al-Qudah

Minister of State Mohammad Najadat

Minister of Justice Abed Shakhanbeh

Minister of Agriculture Muzahem al-Muhaisen

Minister of Government Performance Ruwaida al-Ma'aytah

Minister of Water and Irrigation Munther al-Shara'a

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

Minister of State for Legal Affairs Abed al-Shakhanbeh
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Alia Hatough-Bouran

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Azmi Khreisat

Minister of Health Sa'id Darwazeh

Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology
Nadia Sa'id

Minister of Transport Saud Nuseirat

Minister of State for Development of the Public Sector Taysir
al-Smadi

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

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