Jordan’s King Abdullah on Wednesday swore in the new government led by the newly appointed Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki, naming some new key ministers in the cabinet, while several others are expected to remain in the same positions.
On May 29, King Abdullah dissolved the Jordanian parliament, naming al-Mulki to replace former Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour. Under the Jordanian constitution, new elections must be held within four months.
Among the new appointments to the cabinet are Salama Hammad as Interior Minister, who was previously dismissed from the same post 40 days ago. Yousef al-Shawrbeh, previously of political and parliamentary affairs, was dismissed.
Key ministers including Nasser Judeh as Foreign Minister and Mohammed al-Momani as Information Minister have remained in their posts.
According to reports by the Jordan Times, newcomers will likely include Musa Maaytah for political and parliamentary affairs, and Adel Tweisi for the ministry of culture.
Hani al-Mulki, 64, has held a series of diplomatic and ministerial posts, including that of foreign minister. Seen as a business-friendly politician, al-Mulki was previously chief commissioner of Jordan’s economic zone in Aqaba and is charged with strengthening Jordan’s slow-moving economy.
Al-Mulki also chaired the commission that negotiated Jordan’s peace treaty with Israel and is expected to improve economic ties between the two countries as prime minister.
The former Jordanian parliament's last meeting discussed allowing Israeli companies to invest in Jordan. The King endorsed the decision and issued a decree to end the exceptional session at the end of last week, before dissolving parliament on May 29.
King Abdullah II also dissolved parliament in 2012 in "a constitutional move to pave the way for elections" the following year, accourding to Reuters.
