Former Jordanian PM Mudar Badran Passes Away

Mudar Badran (Petra News Agency)
Mudar Badran (Petra News Agency)
TT

Former Jordanian PM Mudar Badran Passes Away

Mudar Badran (Petra News Agency)
Mudar Badran (Petra News Agency)

Mudar Badran, a retired former Jordanian intelligence director, head of the royal court, and prime minister, will be buried on Sunday. He withdrew from political work in the early 1990s and remained committed to a tradition of silence, staying out of the limelight and positions.

He was born in Jerash, Jordan, in 1934. Badran completed his secondary education in Karak in 1951, then he moved to Damascus University to study law.

After returning to Amman in 1956, he joined the Jordanian Armed Forces (Arab Army) as an officer in the Justice Consultative before moving to the General Investigation Department.

In 1964, he and his colleagues were chosen to establish the intelligence agency, where he drafted its laws and became the Assistant Director for External Affairs. He assumed the position of the agency’s head in 1968, shortly before the Battle of Karameh.

In the early 1970s, Badran was appointed as a security advisor to the late King Hussein and the Secretary-General of the Royal Court.

He was shot in the hand during the infamous events of Black September, also known as the Jordanian Civil War, and the effects of the injury remained with him until his death. He left the country for treatment in Beirut, then went to London at that time.

In 1973, during the formation of Zaid Al Rifai’s first government, the late King Hussein asked Badran to join the government as Minister of Education, and he accepted.

During his tenure, he prioritized building schools, increasing teachers' salaries, and sending high school students abroad to become teachers in remote areas.

At the beginning of 1976, the late King Hussein appointed Badran as the head of the Royal Court.

Months later, he was called upon to form the first government, and until 1979, Badran was able to establish strategic infrastructure projects, which he chose to be national projects in sustainable development fields.

After refusing to engage in direct negotiations with Israel, citing their unwillingness to grant the Palestinians land and statehood, Badran retired from political work in June of 1992.



UK PM Tells Netanyahu Peace Process ‘Should Lead’ to Palestinian State

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer holds a press conference on the Southport attacks in the Downing Street Briefing Room in London, Britain, 21 January 2025. (EPA)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer holds a press conference on the Southport attacks in the Downing Street Briefing Room in London, Britain, 21 January 2025. (EPA)
TT

UK PM Tells Netanyahu Peace Process ‘Should Lead’ to Palestinian State

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer holds a press conference on the Southport attacks in the Downing Street Briefing Room in London, Britain, 21 January 2025. (EPA)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer holds a press conference on the Southport attacks in the Downing Street Briefing Room in London, Britain, 21 January 2025. (EPA)

UK premier Keir Starmer told Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday that any peace process in the Middle East should pave the way for a Palestinian state, Downing Street said.

The two leaders held a call that focused on the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, a UK government spokesperson said.

During the conversation, "both agreed that we must work towards a permanent and peaceful solution that guarantees Israel's security and stability", the British readout of the call added.

"The prime minister added that the UK stands ready to do everything it can to support a political process, which should also lead to a viable and sovereign Palestinian state."

Starmer also "reiterated that it was vital to ensure humanitarian aid can now flow uninterrupted into Gaza, to support the Palestinians who desperately need it", the statement added.

Starmer "offered his personal thanks for the work done by the Israeli government to secure the release of the hostages, including British hostage Emily Damari", the statement added.

"To see the pictures of Emily finally back in her family's arms was a wonderful moment but a reminder of the human cost of the conflict," Starmer added, according to the statement.

A truce agreement between Israel and Hamas to end 15 months of war in Gaza came into effect on Sunday.

The first part of the three-phase deal should last six weeks and see 33 hostages returned from Gaza in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners.