Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh announced on Monday a fourth government reshuffle that included nine ministerial portfolios.
According to a royal decree, Dr. Wajih Awais was appointed as Minister of Education, Dr. Saleh Al-Kharabsheh was named Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, while Yousef Mahmoud Al-Shamali became the new Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply.
Faisal Yousef Awad Shboul was appointed as Minister of State for Information Affairs, Haifa Yousef Fadel Hajjar Al-Najjar, Minister of Culture, and Wafaa Saeed Yaqoub Bani Mustafa, Minister of State for Legal Affairs.
The Jordanian prime minister also named Dr. Muawiya Khaled Muhammad Al-Radaydah as Minister of Environment, Eng. Khairy Yasser Abdel Moneim Amr, Minister of Investment and Nayef Istitieh, Minister of Labor.
Al-Khasawneh had asked his ministers on Sunday to submit their resignations ahead of the cabinet reshuffle, in parallel with the government’s preparations to face the Parliament with the launching of its upcoming regular session in mid-November.
Shboul, the new minister of State for Information Affairs, succeeded to Sakhr Dodin, whose statements over the past few months sparked local controversy, and wide comments.
Shboul has extensive experience in the local and Arab press and had assumed senior positions in the Jordan News Agency (Petra) and the Radio Television Corporation over the past twenty years. He was also a media spokesperson at a number of summits hosted by Amman.
Bisher Al-Khasawneh was designated to form the government around a year ago. He previously assumed a position at the office of Jordan’s King Abdullah II, following a diplomatic experience as the kingdom’s ambassador to Cairo and Paris.