Bisher Khasawneh

Bisher Khasawneh
بشر الخصاونة
Khasawneh in 2020
Prime Minister of Jordan
In office 12 October 2020 – 15 September 2024
Monarch	Abdullah II
Preceded by	Omar Razzaz
Succeeded by	Jafar Hassan
Minister of Defence
In office 12 October 2020 – 15 September 2024
Prime Minister	Himself
Adviser for Policies to King Abdullah II
In office 18 August 2020 – 8 October 2020
Monarch	Abdullah II
Adviser for Communication and Coordination to King Abdullah II
In office 23 April 2019 – 17 August 2020
Monarch	Abdullah II
Minister of State for Legal Affairs
In office 15 January 2017 – 15 February 2018
Monarch	Abdullah II
Preceded by	Ibrahim Al Jazi
Succeeded by	Ahmad Ali Al Oaidi
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
In office 28 September 2016 – 15 January 2017
Monarch	Abdullah II
Personal details
Born	(1969-01-27) 27 January 1969 (age 55) Amman, Jordan
Spouse	Rana Sultan
Children	3
Alma mater	University of Jordan (LLB) SOAS University of London (MA) London School of Economics (LLM, PhD)
Awards	Order of the Star of Jordan Order of Independence

Bisher Khasawneh (Arabic: بشر الخصاونة; born 27 January 1969)[1] is a Jordanian politician and diplomat who served as the 43rd Prime Minister of Jordan and Minister of Defence from 12 October 2020 to 15 September 2024.

Khasawneh was an ambassador of Jordan to Egypt, France, Kenya, Ethiopia, African Union, League of Arab States,[2] and to UNESCO. He also served as Coordinator General and Director of the Peace Process and Negotiations Bureau in Jordan.[3] He served as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs between 2016 and 2017. He subsequently was Minister of State for Legal Affairs between 2017 and 2018. He served as the adviser to King Abdullah II for Communication and Coordination at The Royal Hashemite Court between April 2019 and August 2020. Until his appointment as Prime Minister Khasawneh served as the adviser to the King for Policies.[4][5]

Early life

Khasawneh was born on 27 January 1969, in Amman, which is the capital of Jordan.^[citation needed]

Education

• Bachelor degree in Law, University of Jordan
• Executive Diploma, counter-radicalization and counter-terrorism, National Defense University
• Executive Diploma, Public Policies, Harvard University Kennedy School
• Master of Arts, International Affairs, Diplomacy and Economics, SOAS, University of London[6]
• Master of Laws in International Law and Doctor of Philosophy in Law, London School of Economics.[7][8]

Life and career

Khasawneh's father Hani was a leader of the Ba'ath Party.[9] He studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies and then obtained a doctorate in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science.[7][10]

In October 2004, Khasawneh held a speech at the fifty-ninth session of the United Nations general assembly.[11] From June 2012 until September 2016, Khasawneh served as Jordanian ambassador to Egypt.[12][13]

On 28 September 2016, he was named Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in Hani Mulki's cabinet.[14] On 15 January 2017, he was named Minister of State for Legal Affairs in a cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Hani Mulki.[15] Khasawneh was sworn in as Jordan's Ambassador to France on 31 August 2018.[16]

On 23 April 2019, he was named adviser for Communication and Coordination to King Abdullah II in The Royal Hashemite Court.[17] On 18 August 2020, he was named as adviser to the king for policies.[18]

Upon his appointment as Prime Minister on 8 October 2020, King Abdullah II instructed him to improve the capabilities of the state in the COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan.[9] He was also tasked with overseeing the November 2020 parliamentary elections.[19] His cabinet, in which he also serves as Minister of Defence, was sworn in on 12 October 2020.[20] Al-Khasawneh stated he wanted to overhaul the Jordan economy, while focusing on developing a public safety net and planning a realistic government budget.[21] Al-Khasawneh declared in a speech to the Jordan parliament in January 2021 that Jordan would receive 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from BioNTech/Pfizer and 2 million doses from the COVAX initiative led by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).[22]

Positions

• President of the Legal Committee Council of Ministers of Jordan
• Member of Economic Development and Services and Social Affairs Committees Council of Ministers of Jordan
• Part time Lecturer at the Faculty of Law at the University of Jordan and Jordan Institute of Diplomacy
• Director General of Jordan Information Centre
• Advisor at the Prime Ministry of Jordan at the Bureau of Legislation at the Prime Ministry[23]
• Chairperson of the board of Jordan Center for Disease Control.

Awards

• Order of the Star of Jordan (Third Class)[24]
• Order of Independence (First and Second Class)[24]
• Supreme Order of the Renaissance (First class).[25]
• Royal Norwegian Order of Merit Category I- Grand cross.
• The Royal Order of polar star- Commander grand cross.
• Order of State Centennial (Jordan).

See also

• Bisher Al-Khasawneh's Cabinet
• Hani Al-Khasawneh

References

1. "من هو بشر هاني الخصاونة رئيس الوزراء الأردني الجديد؟". The New Arab. 8 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
2. "New ministers" (PDF). Jordan Times. 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
3. T. Balzacq (25 June 2009). The External Dimension of EU Justice and Home Affairs: Governance, Neighbours, Security. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-230-23391-1.
4. "Bisher Al-Khasawneh adviser for policies to King Abdullah II". Almamlaka news. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
5. "Bisher Al-Khasawneh adviser for Communication and Coordination to King Abdullah II". Petra official news agency. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
6. "SOAS alumnus becomes Prime Minister of Jordan". SOAS Blog. 9 October 2020. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
7. "Profiles of new ministers" (PDF). The Jordan Times. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
8. Bisher Al-Khasawneh thesis, "An appraisal of the right of return and compensation of Jordanian nationals of Palestinian refugee origin and Jordan’s right, under international law, to bring claims relating thereto, on their behalf to and against Israel and to seek compensation as a host state in light of the conclusion of the Jordan-Israel peace treaty of 1994", 2007,doctoral advisor:Christopher Greenwood
9. "Jordan's king appoints veteran diplomat Bisher Al-Khasawneh prime minister". Arab News. 8 October 2020. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
10. Khasawneh, Bisher Hani (2007). An appraisal of the right of return and compensation of Jordanian nationals of Palestinian refugee origin and Jordan's right, under international law, to bring claims relating thereto, on their behalf to and against Israel and to seek compensation as a host state in light of the conclusion of the Jordan-Israel peace treaty of 1994 (PhD). London School of Economics and Political Science. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
11. Al-Khasawneh, Bisher; Jordan (11 October 2004). "Record #551414". United Nations Digital Library System. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
12. "Jordan's king appoints veteran diplomat Bisher Al-Khasawneh prime minister". Arab News. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
13. "Proviles of new ministers" (PDF). Jordan Times. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
14. Omar Obeidat (29 September 2016). "Mulki's new government sworn in". The Jordan Times. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
15. "Cabinet reshuffle sees 5 new ministers in, 7 out". The Jordan Times. 15 January 2017. Archived from the original on 8 September 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
16. "New ambassadors sworn in before King". Petra. 31 October 2018. Archived from the original on 3 November 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
17. "Royal Decrees appoint advisers to His Majesty, approve Shobaki's resignation". Petra. 23 April 2019. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
18. "Royal Decrees appoint advisers to His Majesty, RHC". The Royal Hashemite Court. 18 August 2020. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
19. Mina Aldroubi (8 October 2020). "Jordan diplomat Bisher Al Khasawneh faces tough challenges as PM". The National news. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
20. "Royal Decree approves new Cabinet headed by Khasawneh". The Jordan Times. 13 October 2020. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
21. Neha Bhatia (14 October 2020). "Bisher al-Khasawneh forms new Jordan government". MEED. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
22. "PM: Jordan secures 3m doses of COVID-19 vaccine". Middle East Monitor. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
23. "New ministers" (PDF). Jordan Times. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
24. "Khasawneh comes with wealth of experience". Jordan Times. 8 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
25. Order of Renaissance awarded to Dr Bisher Al-Khasawneh.

External links

• Prime Ministry (in Arabic)
• A Conversation with Bisher Hani Al Khasawneh, Prime Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, world economic forum

Political offices
Preceded by Omar Razzaz	Prime Minister of Jordan 2020–2024	Succeeded by Jafar Hassan