Jordan King names new Prime Minister

JORDAN: Jordan's King Abdullah II named former royal court Minister Samir Rifai as new Prime Minister in a royal decree on Wednesday following the resignation of Nader Dahabi's Government, around two weeks after the Monarch dissolved Parliament.

Rifai, 43, replaces Dahabi, 63, who had headed the government since November 2007.

He belongs to a family of politicians close to the regime. His father, Zeid Rifai, the current Senate President, was prime minister several times in the 1970s and 1980s.

He was minister of the royal court from 2003 to 2005, when he accepted the position of CEO of the financial group Dubai Capital. The appointment came after the king dissolved parliament on November 23 and ordered a general election two years early, after months of press criticism of the ineffectiveness and in some cases alleged corruption of members of the outgoing legislature.

On Tuesday, he postponed the polls indefinitely.

The constitution allows four months for an election to be held after a dissolution of Parliament, but the King has the power to delay the election, which is normally held every four years. AFP