Jordan Times
Friday, April 8, 2005
King swears in new
Cabinet
By Alia Shukri Hamzeh and Amy Henderson
AMMAN — Prime Minister Adnan Badran on Thursday announced the formation of a
25-member Cabinet, including 12 ministers who served in the former Cabinet as
well as prominent personalities from the private sector and civil service.
Key appointments indicate that the government's first order of business will be
to smooth troubled waters both at home and in the region, while the appointment
of five members, one from each of the Jordan First committees, reflects a clear
understanding of the required reforms.
According to informed sources, the new government, which included four women, is
a reformist Cabinet that will push forth with highly desired and belated social
and political reforms.
The return of nearly half of the former Cabinet supports the theory that the
previous government was a house-divided.
According to an informed source, the return of the 12 ministers reflects the
discord that existed within the previous Cabinet on crucial political reform.
“The reformists of the previous government have been carried over,” the source
said. “The new government is more comprehensively reformist and has many members
who are oriented towards the private sector,” which reflects His Majesty King
Abdullah's emphasis on the complementarity of political and economic reforms.
Political observers cited the appointments of Awni Yarvas as interior minister
and Farouq Qasrawi as foreign minister as among the most significant
appointments to the Cabinet.
They replace Samir Habashneh and Hani Mulki, respectively, whose performance was
highly controversial. For the past several months, Habashneh has championed a
new law to govern the country's 14 professional associations, the seat of
Jordan's political opposition for decades. Since the beginning of the peace
process more than a decade ago, the government and the associations have tangled
over the legitimacy of the union's political activities. The tension between the
two has escalated since last December, and culminated in the introduction of a
highly restrictive law governing the associations that was introduced to
Parliament in March. The introduction of the draft not only antagonised the
associations, but Parliament as well, as it fell under pressure to expedite the
debate and passage of the legislation. The Lower House referred the draft to its
Legal Committee instead of giving it priority.
Yarvas was a General Intelligence Department major general before becoming
director general of the Civil Status and Passports Department in 1996. A
political observer described him as a “most important” nomination. “He is a very
logical and articulate man, and a conciliatory guy. He won't antagonise the
unions. And given his experience and background, he'll be able to find another
way to implement a new professional associations law that is to everyone's
satisfaction,” said the observer.
As the drama of the professional associations was unfolding, Jordan found itself
the target of Arab criticism for its proposal to the Algeria summit that was
meant to revive the Arab Peace Initiative, endorsed in Beirut in 2002.
It was also caught up in a diplomatic row with neighbouring Iraq over news
reports claiming that a Jordanian carried out a deadly attack against civilians
in the city of Hilla.
The row escalated when the Foreign Ministry withdrew its envoy to Baghdad for
consultations.
The impasse with Iraq as well as the misconception of Jordan's position on
regional issues by Arab countries during the Algeria summit, illustrated the
need for a more coherent spin on Jordanian foreign policy.
A colleague of new Foreign Minister Qasrawi told The Jordan Times that the
diplomat is likely to be a non-controversial figure. “He is a very responsible
person and an experienced diplomat.”
Qasrawi, who headed the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy, served as Jordan's
ambassador to Japan and Germany — key donor states.
Most notable among the “returnees” is Bassem Awadallah, former minister of
planning and international cooperation, and a highly controversial figure on the
political scene. Many observers were confused over the immediate return of
Awadallah to the government — three months after he resigned and to again
another highly influential post as finance minister.
Although the reasons behind what some described as a “surprise” resignation were
not stated, others hinted at the wave of criticism by Lower House deputies and
the media over the minister's handling of aid projects to the Kingdom. Some said
it was due to differences with former Prime Minister Faisal Fayez over economic
policies.
But others criticised Awadallah, saying the 40-year-old minister, who was
chairman of the government's economic policy, was acting alone on many issues.
Lower House deputies criticised his ministry for exceeding its authority and not
cooperating with the Ministry of Finance, especially on foreign grants, saying
“there was a government within the government.”
The Planning and International Cooperation Ministry will become the
responsibility of Suhair Al-Ali, who was Citigroup country officer.
The Badran government replaces that of Fayez's Cabinet, which resigned on
Tuesday. It is the fourth government to serve since King Abdullah ascended the
Throne in 1999.
While its constitution seems to reflect the cohesiveness urged by King Abdullah
in his Letter of Designation, maintaining unity and efficiency will depend on
the leadership of the new premier, said a political analyst.
“It's a question of whether or not Badran can articulate a vision for the next
year or so. A strong prime minister is intellectual and capable of creating the
conditions to implement his vision,” the analyst said. “Is he that kind of
premier?”
An informed source believes Badran has those qualities. “The choice of the prime
minister was done to bring an open mind and experience to the government. Badran
is experienced and open-minded, and the whole government will reflect a mixture
of these qualities.”
Following is the list of the new Cabinet members announced on Thursday:
1. Prime Minister and Minister of Defence
Adnan Badran
2. Deputy Prime Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minister of Political
Development
Hisham Tal
3. Minister of Finance
Bassem Awadallah
4. Minister of Social Development
Abdullah Oweidat
5. Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs
Abdul Salam Abbadi
6. Minister of Municipal Affairs
Tawfiq Kreishan
7. Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific
Research
Khalid Touqan
8. Minister of State for Legal Affairs
Abed Shakhanbeh
9. Minister of Government Performance
Salah Bashir
10. Minister of Tourism and Antiquities
Alia Hattough-Bouran
11. Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources
Azmi Khreisat
12. Minister of Water and Irrigation
Raed Abu Saud
13. Minister of Culture
Asma Khader
14. Minister of Health
Saeed Darwazeh
15. Minister of Agriculture
Yousef Shreiqi
16. Minister of Information and Communications Technology
Nadia Saeed
17. Minister of Transport
Saud Nseirat
18. Minister of State for Public Sector Reform
Tayseer Smadi
19. Minister of Justice
Mohammad Alawneh
20. Minister of Interior
Awni Yarvas
21. Minister of Foreign Affairs
Farouq Qasrawi
22. Minister of Public Works and Housing
Yousef Hiasat
23. Minister of Industry and Trade
Sharif Zu'bi
24. Minister of Planning and International Cooperation
Suhair Al-Ali
25. Minister of the Environment
Khalid Irani
26. Minister of Labour
Bassem Salem