VZCZCXYZ0004
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAM #8749/01 3410608
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 070608Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5980

UNCLAS AMMAN 008749 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
FOR NEA/ELA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR ECON JO
SUBJECT: Jordanian Cabinet Following the November 22 
Reshuffle 
 
Refs:  A) AMMAN 8572  B) AMMAN 8603 C) 05 Amman 9387 
 
1)  ( U ) As reported ref A, the cabinet reshuffle 
announced November 22 added nine new ministers to the 
government of PM Marouf Al-Bakhit.  Bakhit dismissed seven 
ministers (Abid Shakhanbeh, Azmi Khreisat, Saeed Darwazeh, 
Akef ZuQbi, Sabri Rbiehat, Munir Nassar and Omar Al Kurdi), 
and carved out two new portfolios, a Minister of State for 
Prime Ministry Affairs, and a Minister of State for Legal 
Affairs.  Two ministers, Sharif ZuQbi and Salim Khazaaleh, 
were assigned new portfolios.  Meanwhile, the Parliamentary 
Affairs portfolio shifted from the Minister of Political 
Development to the Minister of Public Sector Reform. 
Paragraph 2 names the complete cabinet, and paragraph 3 
provides biographical information on the new ministers. 
Ref C provided biographical information on the original 
cabinet, named November 27, 2005. 
 
2)  ( U ) Complete list of cabinet members: 
 
--  Marouf Al Bakhit, Prime Minister and Minister of 
Defense 
--  Ziyad Fariz, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of 
Finance 
--  Abdelelah Al Khatib, Minister of Foreign Affairs 
--  Nader Thuheirat, Minister of Municipal Affairs 
--  Eid Al Fayez, Minister of Interior 
--  Muhyiddine Touq (new), Minister of State for Prime 
Ministry Affairs 
--  Hosni Abu Ghaida, Minister of Public Works and Housing 
--  Khalid Touqan, Minister of Education and Minister of 
Higher Education and Scientific Research 
--  Sharif ZuQbi, Minister of Justice (formerly Minister of 
Industry and Trade) 
--  Khalid Samara ZuQbi (new), Minister of State for Legal 
Affairs 
--  Khalid Shraideh (new), Minister of Energy and Mineral 
Resources 
--  Saad Kharabsheh (new), Minister of Health 
--  Saud Nseirat, Minister of Transport 
--  Salim Khazaaleh, Minister of Industry and Trade 
(formerly Minister of Public Sector Reform) 
--  Suhair Al Ali, Minister of Planning and International 
Cooperation 
--  Khalid Irani, Minister of Environment 
--  Bassem Al Salem, Minister of Labor 
--  Mohammad Thuneibat (new), Minister of Public Sector 
Reform and Minister of State for Parliamentarian Affairs 
--  Abdul Fattah Salah, Minister of Awqaf and Islamic 
Affairs 
--  Thafer Al Alem, Minister of Water and Irrigation 
--  Mustafa Qurunfleh (new), Minister of Agriculture 
--  Adel Al Twaisi, Minister of Culture 
--  Mohammad Oran (new), Minister of Political Development 
--  Suleiman Tarawneh, Minister of Social Development 
--  Osama Dabbas (new), Minister of Tourism and Antiquities 
--  Bassem Rousan (new), Minister of Communications and 
Information Technology 
 
3) ( SBU/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION OUTSIDE USG ) 
Bios for the new ministers follow: 
 
--  Muhyiddine Touq, Minister of State for Prime Ministry 
Affairs.  Muslim, Circassian East Banker.  Born in Amman in 
¶1944.  BA in philosophy from the University of Jordan; M.A. 
from Ball State in 1970, and a PhD. in educational 
philosophy from a U.S. university in 1972.  Taught at the 
University of Wisconsin for one year; joined University of 
Jordan (UJ) in 1973; professor at the faculty of education 
in 1982; Dean of Students Affairs at UJ; Dean of the 
Faculty of Education at the University of the UAE from 1984 
Q 1990; President of Philadelphia University in Amman for 
one year; Director of Higher Education with UNESCO and 
UNRWA.  Appointed Minister of Administrative Development in 
Zaid ben ShakerQs third cabinet in 1995.  Appointed 
Director of UNRWA/UNESCO Department of Education in 1996. 
Member of the Economic Advisory Council for King Abdullah 
II, and is a member of the Royal Commission on Human Rights 
in Jordan.  Permrep to the United Nations in Vienna 2001- 
2003, during which time he was a key actor in negotiations 
to draft the UN Convention Against Corruption.  Ambassador 
to Belgium and the EU in 2005.  President of the Jordan 
Institute of Diplomacy until 2005. 
 
--  Khalid Samara ZuQbi, Minister of State for Legal 
Affairs.  Muslim, East Banker.  Born in Ramtha in 1944. 
Studied law in Egypt, where he also obtained a PhD in 
general law.  He held the portfolio of Minister of State 
for Legal Affairs in the government of Abdul Salam al- 
 
Majali twice, in 1995 and 1998.  During his second tenure 
he also handled the parliamentary affairs portfolio.  He 
was the President of al Zaytooneh University.  Until he was 
appointed minister, ZuQbi served as a professor at the 
Amman Arab University and practiced law.  No relation to 
Justice Minister Sharif ZuQbi. 
 
--  Khalid Shraideh, Minister of Energy and Mineral 
Resources.  Muslim, East Banker.  Born in Irbid in 1948. 
Earned his BA, MA and PhD from Utrecht University in the 
Netherlands in physics and mathematics.  Started his 
working life at the Royal Institute for Culture and 
Sciences from 1980-1981; the Higher Education Council from 
1982-1986; physics professor at the University of Jordan 
from 1986-1989; joined the Higher Council for Sciences and 
Technology in 1989 and became its Secretary General in 
¶2004. 
 
--  Saad Kharabsheh, Minister of Health. 
Muslim, East Banker.  Born in Salt in 1950. He obtained his 
bachelors degree in medicine and surgery from Baghdad 
University in 1975.  Earned his MA in epidemiology from Ein 
Shams University in Egypt in 1987.  Earned the Certificate 
of the Jordanian Board of Public Health in 1995; he served 
as the ministryQs Director General for Primary Healthcare, 
a proponent of preventive care.  He was appointed Secretary 
General of the Ministry of Health in 2003.  Dr. Kharabsheh 
is married and has six children. 
 
--  Mohammad Thuneibat, Minister of Public Sector Reform 
and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs. 
Muslim, East Banker.  Born in Karak in 1950.  Obtained a BA 
in political science in 1975 from the University of Jordan. 
Obtained a PhD in administration/human resources management 
from the University of Southern California.  Dr. Thuneibat 
was a professor at the University of Jordan for several 
years.  In 1992, he was a consultant at the Prime Ministry, 
and then became head of the Surveillance and Administrative 
Inspection Department until 1994.  Appointed Minister of 
State for Administrative Development in 1994-1995, and head 
of the Arab Association for Administrative Development.  He 
is a member of the Civil Service Council, and the Royal 
Commission for Administrative Reforms.  Appointed Minister 
of State for Administrative Development in Abu al RaghebQs 
first cabinet in June 2000.  In addition to this portfolio, 
he also served as Minister of Culture in the second 
reshuffle of Abu al Ragheb's cabinet in October 27, 2001. 
Appointed Minister of Administrative Development in Abu al 
Ragheb's second cabinet in January 2002.  In addition to 
this portfolio, he also served as Minister of Environment 
after the second reshuffle of the second Abu al Ragheb's 
cabinet in January 12, 2003.   ThuneibatQs brother, Abdul 
Majeed Al-Thuneibat, is a former Controller General of the 
Muslim Brotherhood. 
 
--  Mustafa Qurunfleh, Minister of Agriculture. 
Muslim, West Banker.  Born in Jaffa in 1944.  Obtained a BA 
in horticulture from the University of Cairo in 1969, an MA 
in horticulture from University of California-Davis in 
1979, and a PhD in horticulture from Kansas State 
University in 1982.  Served as Vice Dean of the University 
of JordanQs faculty of agriculture and was appointed Dean 
of the Faculty in 2003.  Qurunfleh, who has been a 
professor since 1993, also served as chairman of the 
Department of Plant Production.  Until his appointment as a 
minister, he was Vice President for Administrative Affairs 
at the University of Jordan. 
 
--  Mohammad al Oran, Minister of Political Development. 
Muslim, East Banker.  Born in Tafileh, 1945.  BS in 
medicine from St. GeorgeQs Hospital in London.  Served in 
the Royal Medical Services until 1974, after which he 
returned to England to earn membership of the Royal College 
of Physicians and went into private practice.  Former 
council member of the Greater Amman Municipality.  Oran, 
who was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1997, also 
served as president of the Jordanian DoctorsQ Association 
for two terms from 2001 to 2005.  Oran became Secretary 
General in 1997 of the Arab Land party, a leftist movement 
founded in 1996, which is a member of the National 
Coalition of Opposition Political Parties.  As party leader 
and as head of the DoctorsQ Association, he was a frequent 
critic of U.S. policy in the Middle East.  He stepped down 
from both posts after joining the cabinet. 
 
--  Osama Dabbas, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities. 
Muslim, East Banker.  Born in 1954.  Obtained a Bachelors 
degree in Business Administration in Britain, and an 
advanced diploma in tourism in Germany.  Served as General 
 
Manager of the Aqaba Intercontinental Hotel until his 
appointment as minister.  He was also a member of the 
Jordan Tourism Board. 
 
--  Bassem Roussan, Minister of Telecommunications and 
Information Technology.  Muslim, East Banker.  Born in 
Amman in 1947.  Roussan holds a BA degree in electrical 
engineering from Ein Shams University in Egypt in 1970, and 
an MA degree in electrical engineering from Southern 
Methodist University in Texas.  He served in the Royal 
Jordanian Air Force communications department, and then 
joined FastLink telecom company in 1997, where he served as 
director of the engineering department until March 2002. 
He was Deputy Chief Executive Officer of FastLink prior to 
his appointment as minister. 
 
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