Jordan's king appoints Harvard-educated aide to serve as prime minister

AMMAN, Jordan -- Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Sunday tapped a longtime aide to serve as the kingdom’s new prime minister.

The Royal Court said the king has asked Jafar Hassan, a former planning minister and the current head of Abdullah’s office, to form a new government.

Hassan has a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Geneva and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University. He will replace the outgoing prime minister, Bisher Al-Khasawneh, whose Cabinet resigned on Sunday in the wake of a parliamentary election. Al-Khasawneh has served since October 2020.

Hassan must now cobble together a new Cabinet to confront a series of challenges, including a struggling economy and widespread public anger over the Israel-Hamas war. Although Jordan has a peace agreement with Israel, it's home to a large Palestinian population. In last week's parliamentary election, an Islamic party emerged as the largest faction, in part because of the anger over the war in Gaza.

In Jordan, a pro-Western monarchy, all power rests with the king. The prime minister and his Cabinet work with the king in setting and implementing policies.