Jordan 2021 Cabinet reshuffle: Who are the kingdom's new ministers?

King Abdullah appointed ten new ministers after a high-level breach of virus rules

Jordan's King Abdullah II gives a speech during the inauguration of parliament in Amman on December 10, 2020. AP

Jordan’s King Abdullah this week appointed new ministers of interior and justice in a Cabinet reshuffle after their predecessors stepped down for breaching emergency Covid-19 containment rules.

Eight other new ministers were appointed to the 28-minister Cabinet.

Bisher Al Khasawneh, a former diplomat, is still prime minister. The king appointed Mr Al Khasawneh in October amid a surge of coronavirus deaths and infections.

Labour Minister Maen Qatamin resigned after the reshuffle because the additional role he played to promote investment had been taken away.

The main roles to change hands were interior and justice.

It came after ministers were caught two weeks ago attending a banquet at a restaurant without observing coronavirus restrictions, in  breach of the country's emergency law.

The two ministers, Samir Mubaidin and Bassam Al Talhouni, were among the highest-ranking officials in charge of enforcing virus rules.

Here are the new names in Jordan’s Government:

Interior Minister Mazen Al Faraya

Mr Al Faraya is an army officer and headed the coronavirus response team.

Justice Minister Ahmad Al Ziadat

Mr Al Ziadat was dean of law at the University of Jordan and has a PhD from Britain.

Minister of State for Media Affairs Sakhr Dodin

The position is the same as the government’s spokesman. Mr Dodin is an engineer-businessman. He sits on the board of several charities.

Culture Minister Ali Al Ayed

Mr Al Ayed was Mr Dodin’s predecessor. He was Jordan’s ambassador to Israel in the late 2000s.

Transport Minister Wajih Azaizeh

Mr Azaizeh was minister of social affairs twice in the last decade. He is a member of a government committee entrusted with maintaining the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Irrigation Minister Mohammed Al Najjar

Mr Al Najjar has held the same ministerial position multiple times in the last decade. He headed several departments in the government’s water sector in the 1980s and 1990s and was in charge of a sewage master plan for Amman and the adjacent city of Zarqa.

Agriculture Minister Khaled Al Huneifat

Mr Al Huneifat held the same position three years ago. Before that he headed the municipality of Tafileh in southern Jordan.

Education Minister Mohammad Abu Qudeis

Mr Qudeis taught mechanical engineering in the United States and headed the University of Yarmouk in north Jordan.

Legal affairs minister Mahmoud Kharabsheh

Mr Al Kharabsheh was a lawyer and an intelligence officer.