Jordan Government - 2024

Country name

conventional long form: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

conventional short form: Jordan

local long form: Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah

local short form: Al Urdun

former: Transjordan

etymology: named for the Jordan River, which makes up part of Jordan's northwest border

Government type

parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Capital

name: Amman

geographic coordinates: 31 57 N, 35 56 E

time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology: in the 13th century B.C., the Ammonites named their main city "Rabbath Ammon"; "rabbath" designated "capital," so the name meant "The Capital of [the] Ammon[ites]"; over time, the "Rabbath" came to be dropped and the city became known simply as "Ammon" and then "Amman"

Administrative divisions

12 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); 'Ajlun, Al 'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, Al ‘Asimah (Amman), At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Jarash, Ma'an, Madaba

Independence

25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)

National holiday

Independence Day, 25 May (1946)

Constitution

history: previous 1928 (preindependence); latest initially adopted 28 November 1947, revised and ratified 1 January 1952

amendments: constitutional amendments require at least a two-thirds majority vote of both the Senate and the House and ratification by the king; amended several times, last in 2022

Legal system

mixed system developed from codes instituted by the Ottoman Empire (based on French law), British common law, and Islamic law

International law organization participation

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship

citizenship by birth: no

citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Jordan

dual citizenship recognized: yes

residency requirement for naturalization: 15 years

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state: King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999); Heir Apparent Crown Prince HUSSEIN (eldest son of the monarch, born 28 June 1994); the monarchy is hereditary

head of government: Prime Minister Bisher AL-KHASAWNEH (since 7 October 2020)

cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch in consultation with the prime minister

elections/appointments: prime minister appointed by the monarch

Legislative branch

description: bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of:
Senate or the House of Notables or Majlis al-Ayan (65 seats; members appointed by the monarch to serve 4-year terms)
Chamber of Deputies or House of Representatives or Majlis al-Nuwaab (130 seats; 115 members directly elected in 23 multi-seat constituencies by open-list proportional representation vote and 15 seats for women; 12 of the 115 seats reserved for Christian, Chechen, and Circassian candidates; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:
Senate - last appointments on 27 Sep 2020 (next to be held in 2024)
Chamber of Deputies - last held on 10 November 2020 (next anticipated in November 2024)

election results:
2020: Senate - composition men 58, women 7, percent of women 10.8%
2020: Chamber of Deputies; note - tribal, centrist, and pro-government candidates dominated the election; the Islamic Action Front, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, garnered only 10 seats, down from 15 in the previous election; women, who are guaranteed 15 seats by Jordan’s legislative quota system, won 16 seats, down from 20 seats won in the previous election; composition - men 114, women 16, percent of women 12.3%; note - total National Assembly percent of women 11.8%

note: in 2022, a new electoral law - effective for the anticipated 2024 election - will increase the total number of Chamber of Deputies' seats to 138 from 130; 97 members to be directly elected from multi-seat geographic districts by open list proportional representation vote, with over 7 percent of total votes needed to gain a seat, and 41 members to be directly elected from a single national district by closed party-list proportional representation vote, with over a 2.5 percent of total votes needed to gain a seat

Judicial branch

highest court(s): Court of Cassation or Supreme Court (consists of 15 members, including the chief justice); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members)

judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the king; other judges nominated by the Judicial Council, an 11-member judicial policymaking body consisting of high-level judicial officials and judges, and approved by the king; judge tenure not limited; Constitutional Court members appointed by the king for 6-year non-renewable terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 2 years

subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; Great Felonies Court; religious courts; military courts; juvenile courts; Land Settlement Courts; Income Tax Court; Higher Administrative Court; Customs Court; special courts including the State Security Court

Political parties and leaders

political reforms required all existing parties to re-register by May 2023, which resulted in changes to the number of registered parties and the number of seats held by those parties for the anticipated 2024 election

International organization participation

ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, CD, CICA, EBRD, FAO, G-11, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAM, NATO (partner), OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Dina Khalil Tawfiq KAWAR (since 27 June 2016)

chancery: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone: [1] (202) 966-2664

FAX: [1] (202) 966-3110

email address and website:
hkjconsular@jordanembassyus.org

http://www.jordanembassyus.org/

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Yael LEMPERT (since 3 September 2023)

embassy: Abdoun, Al-Umawyeen St., Amman

mailing address: 6050 Amman Place, Washington DC  20521-6050

telephone: [962] (6) 590-6000

FAX: [962] (6) 592-0163

email address and website:
Amman-ACS@state.gov

https://jo.usembassy.gov/

Flag description

three equal horizontal bands of black (top), representing the Abbassid Caliphate, white, representing the Ummayyad Caliphate, and green, representing the Fatimid Caliphate; a red isosceles triangle on the hoist side, representing the Great Arab Revolt of 1916, and bearing a small white seven-pointed star symbolizing the seven verses of the opening Sura (Al-Fatiha) of the Holy Koran; the seven points on the star represent faith in One God, humanity, national spirit, humility, social justice, virtue, and aspirations; design is based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I

National symbol(s)

eagle; national colors: black, white, green, red

National anthem

name: "As-salam al-malaki al-urdoni" (Long Live the King of Jordan)

lyrics/music: Abdul-Mone'm al-RIFAI'/Abdul-Qader al-TANEER

note: adopted 1946; the shortened version of the anthem is used most commonly, while the full version is reserved for special occasions

National heritage

total World Heritage Sites: 6 (5 cultural, 1 mixed)

selected World Heritage Site locales:(c); Quseir Amra (c); Um er-Rasas (Kastrom Mefa'a) (c); (m); Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” (Al-Maghtas) (c); As-Salt - The Place of Tolerance and Urban Hospitality (c)