JORDAN'S NEW FOREIGN MINISTER: SALAH BASHIR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 004676 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/25/2012 TAGS: PREL PINR JO SUBJECT: JORDAN'S NEW FOREIGN MINISTER: SALAH BASHIR Classified By: Ambassador David Hale, Reasons 1.4 (B) & (D) ¶1. (C) Summary. Jordan's new, young, U.S.-educated Foreign Minister, Salah Bashir, is ONE of Jordan's leading reformists, and therefore a controversial figure among traditionalists threatened by change. As a dynamic, reforming Justice Minister, Bashir suffered a backlash against his merit-based appointment system in 2005, and has been in the private sector for the past two years. He is for the most part new to the practice of foreign policy, although he played a prominent, technical role in Jordan's WTO accession negotiation. Bashir is intelligent, persuasive, well-informed, and in step with the King's strategy and association with the U.S. He has the King's trust and, as a close associate of Royal Court Chief Awadallah, will work effectively with the palace ) a missing element in recent years that had left the MFA isolated. End summary. ¶2. (C) Salaheddin Bashir was sworn in as Jordan's Foreign Minister on November 25, and will represent his country at the Annapolis Conference. A Harvard educated lawyer, the 41 year-old served in three successive governments from 2001 to 2005, as Minister of Industry and Trade, Minister of Justice, and lastly Minister for Government Performance. Bashir's father comes from a traditional East Bank tribe, but his mother is Palestinian-Jordanian. His father was HEALTH Minister when he died in the 1977 helicopter crash that also killed Queen Alia. His mother is a long-term civil society activist, currently running a charity that helps the elderly and poor. Bashir's rise to prominence started with a USAID contract. During Jordan's WTO accession process, he was tasked with preparing a study of Jordan's investment-related licensing procedures and ideas to reform them. The study caught the leadership's eye, and he became a player in Jordan's trade negotiations. ¶3. (C) Bashir is a poster child for the King's outward looking, modernizing reform movement. As Justice Minister, Bashir was an active partner in implementing a USAID judicial reform program, but suffered a strong backlash because of his refusal to make judicial appointments and other personnel choices based on tribal and political favoritism. In ONE famous episode, he was assaulted by the father of a jilted office seeker and had to restrain his own tribe from seeking revenge. He was also accused in parliament of a conflict of interest during his time on the WTO negotiation team. It was said he recommended policies that benefited his law firm, although no evidence was produced to substantiate these politically motivated charges. ¶4. (C) Along with the King's Chief of the Royal Court, Bassem Awadallah, Bashir was ONE of a handful of reformists close to the King who came under attack from parliament and some quarters of public opinion for their efforts ) sometimes with very sharp elbows ) to make government more efficient and responsive to popular needs, and the economy more market-oriented. Then GID-director Saad Khayr played a role in fueling such attacks, falsely claiming to MPs that the King's support for reform was lipservice to the Americans, and that secretly he wanted to contain the reformers. Khayr's behavior contributed to his own sacking later in 2005. However, Awadallah and Bashir had become so controversial among politicians threatened by the changes they symbolized and advocated, that they were unconfirmable by Parliament, leading to time-outs for them from government. Bashir has spent the last two years building a lucrative law practice. His wife, Nisreen, is also a lawyer and ONE of Jordan's most active and eloquent advocates of women's rights and civil society initatives. ¶5. (C) Bashir will face a confirmation vote, along with the other members of the new Nader Dahabi government, when he returns from Annapolis. His bruising political experience in 2005 has had a salutary effect on Bashir, softening his dismissiveness of more traditional Jordanian public figures, making him more patient about public opinion, and compelling him to recognize that some compromises are essential to governance. ¶6. (C) As Foreign Minister, Bashir will work closely with Awadallah, in contrast to his predecessor. The King told the Ambassador that the new PM accepts a division of duties that will keep him focused on domestic development challenges ) for which he is ideally suited ) and enable the FM to work with a direct line to the Palace. The King also said he has full trust in Bashir, in contrast to Khatib, who was cut out of most of Jordan's critical foreign policies and had to beg to accompany the King on foreign travel (in contrast, the King took Bashir to Saudi Arabia with him moments after the swearing-in). He and Awadallah had marathon sessions November 23-24 to get Bashir up to speed on the full range of issues, and especially to prepare for Annapolis; in contrast, Awadallah and Khatib were barely on speaking terms and PM Bakhit insisted that all Palace-MFA interactions be carried out through him, thereby reinforcing the MFA's isolation from policy. Awadallah has told the Ambassador that he - Awadallah - will retain the lead in dealing with Saudi Arabia and Syria, and he clearly will remain a principal channel for us. ¶7. (C) Bashir is known as a proponent and practitioner of normalizing relations with Israel. He also has extensive contacts with the Palestinian Authority through his law practice. ¶8. (C) Bashir will have a lot to learn. He has little experience in diplomacy and foreign relations, beyond his technical role in the WTO accession negotiations. He is nonetheless well informed overall on the issues facing Jordan. Intelligent and observant, Bashir can be expected to master his brief quickly and establish a network of contacts ) now lacking ) among Arab and other foreign policy makers. Annapolis will be a helpful opportunity for his own personal networking. He will also be an effective spokesman and advocate for Jordan's reform agenda. This choice is a good one for U.S. interests in Jordan, and the conduct of our bilateral relationship. Hale