Update July 2000: Jordan

The major changes to key people in Jordan in the quarter from March 1 – June 30, were the changes in Government as a new Prime Minister was appointed and a new cabinet was formed. Other changes to key persons in Jordan was the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Rima Khalaf as assistant secretary general and director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States, and a new director general of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission.

Ministries & Regulatory Bodies

Following Prime Minister Abdur-Ra’uf S. Rawabdeh’s resignation on Sunday June 18, His Majesty King Abdullah appointed Ali Abul Ragheb as the new Prime Minister and designated Ali Abul Ragheb to for a new government. On Monday June 19 a new cabinet was sworn in before His Majesty King Abdullah. The key ministries concerning Information Society and their related ministers are:

• Minister of Information: Taleb Rifai
• Minister of Trade and Industry: Wasif Azar
• Minister of Planning: Jawad Hadid
• Minister of Telecommunications and Post: Fawwaz Zobi
• Minister of Energy: Wael Sabri
• Minister of Health: Tareq Suheimat
• Minister of Municipal, Rural and Environmental Affairs: Abdul Rahim Akour
• Minister of Education: Khalid Touqan
• Minister of State for Administrative Development: Mohammad Thneibat

On June 5 the administrator of United Nations Development Programme, Mark Malloch Brown, announced the appointment of Rima Khalaf as assistant secretary general and director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States (RBAS). The appointment will become effective later this year upon the arrival of Khalaf in New York. At present, Khalaf is a senator in the Upper House of Parliament and is a member of the Economic Consultative Council, a public-private initiative established and directly supervised HM King Abdullah to push forward economic reform and modernisation. She has held high ranking positions in Jordan, including Minister of Industry and Trade, Minister of Planning and most recently Deputy Prime Minister.

After one-year in his position Yusuf Mansur the director general of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission was replaced at the end of May, by Ma’moun Balqar former director general of Jordan Telecom.