King Abdullah of Jordan has altered the make-up of the upper chamber after replacing eight senior ministers.
King Abdullah of Jordan introduced significant reforms to the country’s upper legislative chamber on Sunday, boosting the chamber’s political and financial capacity.
In Jordan, the king holds all the significant power. The lower house, which is overwhelmingly pro-government, administrates his will.
The king’s decree, published in official media, announced the formation of a new senate, a 65-member upper house. Faisal Al Fayez, the son of a late tribal leader who had quarrelled with the regime after the Jordanian civil war in 1970, remains as senate chief.
According to pro-government media counts, over half of the new senate is comprised of new members and now consists of 26 former ministers, rather than 17 former ministers in the last senate.
Ziad Fariz, an ex-central bank governor, and Suhair Al Ali and Maha Bahou, both ex-bankers, have become members of the assembly.
King Abdullah recently dismissed eight ministers, marking the fifth change of administrative personnel in two years.
The authorities plan to jump-start economic growth and attract investment in the second half of the year and reform what is widely seen as a bloated bureaucracy.
Image Credit: Hannibal Hanschke/Pool via AP, File
