Jordan

المملكة الأردنية الهاشمية‎
Al-Mamlakah al-Urdunniyyah al-Hāšimiyyah
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

History

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

At the end of World War I, with the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Nations created French Mandate Syria and British Mandate Palestine. 80% of the British Mandate of Palestine was East of the Jordan river, or 'Transjordan' (as opposed to Cisjordan). When the request was approved by the UN, the Parliament proclaimed King Abdullah the first ruler of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Unlike Saudi Arabia, however, only Jordan's formal name includes the family name.

Following the formation of the United Arab Republic by Egypt and Syria, and the Iraqi Revolution in 1958, Jordanian trade routes and Iraqi oil supply were cut. Consequently, Jordan had to request aid from the United States and the United Kingdom, which prevented escalations between Jordan and the UAR. (See the Conflict between the United Arab Republic and Jordan.)

In 1965 there was an exchange of land between Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

Jordan signed a mutual defense pact in May 1967 with Egypt, and it participated in the June 1967 war against Israel along with Syria, Egypt, and Iraq. During the war, Jordan lost the West Bank and East Jerusalem to Israel (the western sector having been under Israeli control). In 1988, Jordan renounced all claims to the West Bank but retained an administrative role pending a final settlement, and its 1994 treaty with Israel allowed for a continuing Jordanian role in Muslim and Christian holy places in Jerusalem.

Refugees and Black September

The 1967 war led to a dramatic increase in the number of Palestinians, especially from the West Bank, living in Jordan. The period following the 1967 war saw an upsurge in the power and importance of Palestinian resistance elements (fedayeen) in Jordan. The battle in which Palestinian fighters from various Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) groups were expelled from Jordan is commonly known as Black September, and this was from Palestinians point of view.

Other Arab governments attempted to work out a peaceful solution, but by September, continuing fedayeen actions in Jordan – including the destruction of three international airliners hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and held in the desert east of Amman – prompted the government to take action to regain control over its territory and population. It is said by some people, such as Ahmad Jubreel, that King Hussein has asked the help from Israel, then Israel threatened that it will invade Jordan if Syria internvenes . Sporadic violence continued, however, until Jordanian forces led by Habis Al-Majali and with the help of the Iraqi forces (which had basis in Jordan after the war of 1967) won a decisive victory over the fedayeen in July 1971, expelling them from the country.

At the Rabat summit conference in 1974, Jordan agreed, along with the rest of the Arab League, that the PLO was the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people", thereby relinquishing to that organization its role as representative of the West Bank Palestinians.

Post Black September and Peace Treaty

No fighting occurred along the 1967 Jordan River cease-fire line during the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war, but Jordan sent a brigade to Syria to fight Israeli units on Syrian territory. Jordan did not participate in the Gulf War of 1990-91. In 1991, Jordan agreed, along with Syria, Lebanon, and Palestinian fedayeen representatives, to participate in direct peace negotiations with Israel at the Madrid Conference, sponsored by the U.S. and Russia. Following the outbreak of Israel-Palestinian Authority fighting in September 2000, the Jordanian government offered its good offices to both parties. Jordan has since sought to remain at peace with all of its neighbors.

Recent Events

On November 9, 2005, Jordan experienced three simultaneous bombings at hotels in Amman. Al-Qaeda in Iraq, a group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi a native Jordanian claimed responsibility. One British man was killed and five others tourists wounded, including a Jordanian tourist security guard.

Politics

Constitution

Jordan is a constitutional monarchy based on the constitution promulgated on January 8, 1952. Administratively, Jordan is divided into twelve governorates, each headed by a governor appointed by the king.

The Royal Armed Forces and General Intelligence Department of Jordan are under the control of the king.

Legal System and Legislation

The Legal System of Jordan is based on Islamic law and French codes;

Kings of Jordan and Political Events

King Abdullah I ruled Jordan after independence from Britain. King Talal's major accomplishment was the Jordanian constitution. At that time his son, Hussein, was too young to rule, and hence a committee ruled over Jordan.

After Hussein reached 18, he ruled Jordan as king from 1953 to 1999, surviving a number of challenges to his rule, drawing on the loyalty of his military, and serving as a symbol of unity and stability for both the Bedouin deccended and Palestinian communities in Jordan. In 1989 and 1993, Jordan held free and fair parliamentary elections. Abdullah moved quickly to reaffirm Jordan's peace treaty with Israel and its relations with the United States.

Jordan's continuing structural economic difficulties, burgeoning population, and more open political environment led to the emergence of a variety of political parties. Moving toward greater independence, Jordan's parliament has investigated corruption charges against several regime figures and has become the major forum in which differing political views, including those of political Islamists, are expressed. While King Abdullah remains the ultimate authority in Jordan, the parliament plays an important role.

Administrative Divisions

Administratively, Jordan is divided into 12 governorates, each headed by a governor appointed by the king.

The governorates include:

Geography

Jordan is a Middle Eastern country, bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the northeast, Saudi Arabia to the east and south and both Israel and the West Bank to the west. The Gulf of Aqaba and the Dead Sea also touch the country, and thus Jordan has a coastline of 26 kilometers (16 mi).

Jordan consists mostly of arid desert plateau in the east, with Highland area in the west. The Great Rift Valley of the Jordan River separates Jordan and Israel.

The climate in Jordan is dry and hot, since the country is mainly desert.

Economy

Jordan is a small country with limited natural resources. Jordan exported €5.6 million ($6.9 million) in goods to the U.S. in 1997, when two-way trade was €321 million ($395 million); Similar growth in exports to the United States under the bilateral US-Jordan Free Trade Agreement that went into effect in December 2001, to the European Union under the bilateral Association Agreement, and to countries in the region, holds considerable promise for diversifying Jordan's economy away from its traditional reliance on exports of phosphates and potash, overseas remittances, and foreign aid. In 1996, Jordan and the United States signed a civil aviation agreement that provides for "open skies" between the two countries, and a U.S.-Jordan treaty for the protection and encouragement of bilateral investment entered into force in 2003. Jordan has been a member of the World Trade Organization since 2000.

Textile and apparel exports from Jordan to the United States shot up 2,000 percent from 2000 to 2005, following introduction of the FTA.

Jordan is classified by the World Bank as a "lower middle income country." Jordan's population growth rate is high, but has declined in recent years, to approximately 2.8% currently.

While pursuing economic reform and increased trade, Jordan's economy will continue to be vulnerable to external shocks and regional unrest.

Tourism

Influence of the Middle East conflict

The ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict, the Gulf War, and other conflicts in the Middle East have made huge impacts on the economy of Jordan. The fact that Jordan has peace with the surrounding countries, combined with its stability, has made it a preference for many Palestinians, Lebanese, and people from the Persian Gulf immigrants and refugees. Jordan has a law that states that any Palestinian may immigrate and obtain Jordanian citizenship 'unless he is a Jew'.

Foreign relations

Jordan has consistently followed a pro-Western foreign policy and traditionally has had close relations with the United States and the United Kingdom. These relations were damaged by Jordan's neutrality and maintaining relations with Iraq during the first Gulf War.

Following the Gulf war, Jordan largely restored its relations with Western countries through its participation in the Middle East peace process and enforcement of UN sanctions against Iraq. Relations between Jordan and the Gulf countries improved substantially after King Hussein's death. Following the fall of the Iraqi regime, Jordan has played a pivotal role in supporting the restoration of stability and security to Iraq. The Government of Jordan signed a memorandum of understanding with the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq to facilitate the training of up to 30,000 Iraqi police cadets at a Jordanian facility.

Jordan signed a nonbelligerency agreement with Israel (the Washington Declaration) in Washington, DC, on 25 July 1994. Jordan and Israel signed a historic peace treaty on 26 October 1994, witnessed by President Bill Clinton, accompanied by US Secretary, Warren Christopher. The U.S. has participated with Jordan and Israel in trilateral development discussions in which key issues have been water-sharing and security; Jordan belongs to the UN and several of its specialized and related agencies, including the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and World Health Organization (WHO). Jordan also is a member of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Nonaligned Movement (NAM), and Arab League.

Since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in September 2000, Jordan has worked hard, in a variety of forums, to maintain lines of communication between the Israelis and the Palestinians to counsel moderation and to return the parties to negotiations of outstanding permanent status issues.

Following the Al-Aqsa Intifada, though, Jordan along with Egypt withdrew its ambassadors from Israel.

Demographics

Jordan has a population of 5.8 million. Most of the Jordanian population descend from a bedouin or tribal origins and they account for around 40% of the population. However, 55% of Jordan’s population are from Palestinian origins who fled Palestine or came as refuges to Jordan and gained citizenship after the Arab Israeli war in the year 1948 and 1967.

The number of Lebanese permanently settling in Jordan since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict has not been established, and is estimated to be very little. Christians in Jordan are of many nationalities, as evinced, for example, by the Catholic mass being celebrated in Arabic, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Tagalog and Sinhala, as well as in Iraqi dialects of Arabic.

Since the Iraq War, many Christians from Iraq have settled permanently or temporarily in Jordan.

About 3 million people registered as Palestinian refugees and displaced persons reside in Jordan, most as citizens. Since 2003 many Iraqis fleeing the Iraq War have settled in Jordan;

Culture

Education

Jordan has given great attention to education in particular.

School education

School education in Jordan could be categorized into two sections:

Private schools in Jordan also used to offer GCSE examinations, but they have now been replaced by IGCSE examinations.

Higher education

Access to higher education is open to holders of the General Secondary Education Certificate who can then choose between private Community Colleges, public Community Colleges or universities (public and private). University level studies: University level first stage: Undergraduate level: The universities in Jordan follow the English-American education systems and associated with many American and English universities. Lifelong higher education

Lifelong education is offered at public and private universities, public and private community colleges, the Jordan Institute of Public Administration, The Jordan Geographic Center and The Royal Scientific Society, as well as in other institutions.

Universities and Schools

Miscellaneous topics

Government

General information

King and Queen

News

Other

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1 Transcontinental country.

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For dependent and other territories, see Dependent territory and List of unrecognized countries.

Afghanistan • Albania • Algeria • Azerbaijan • Bahrain • Bangladesh • Benin • Burkina Faso • Brunei • Cameroon • Chad • Comoros • Côte d'Ivoire • Djibouti • Egypt • Gabon • Gambia • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Guyana • Indonesia • Iran • Iraq • Jordan • Kuwait • Kazakhstan • Kyrgyzstan • Lebanon • Libya • Maldives • Malaysia • Mali • Mauritania • Morocco • Mozambique • Niger • Nigeria • Oman • Pakistan • Palestine • Qatar • Saudi Arabia • Senegal • Sierra Leone • Somalia • Sudan • Surinam • Syria • Tajikistan • Turkey • Tunisia • Togo • Turkmenistan • Uganda • Uzbekistan • United Arab Emirates • Yemen

Observer countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina • Central African Republic • Russia • Thailand • Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Observer Muslim organizations and communities: Moro National Liberation Front

Observer international organizations: Economic Cooperation Organization • Organization of African Unity • League of Arab States • Non-Aligned Movement • United Nations

 Djibouti •  Egypt •  Eritrea •  Israel •  Jordan •  Saudi Arabia •  Somalia •
 Sudan •  Yemen

African: Lesotho • Morocco (⁂) • Swaziland (*)

Asian: Bahrain (⁂) • Bhutan (*) • Brunei (*) • Cambodia (!) • Japan • Jordan (⁂) • Kuwait (⁂) • Malaysia (!) • Nepal • Oman (*) • Qatar (*) • Saudi Arabia (*) • Thailand • Tonga • United Arab Emirates (!)

Commonwealth Realms: Antigua and Barbuda • Australia • Bahamas • Barbados • Belize • Canada • Grenada • Jamaica • New Zealand • Papua New Guinea • Saint Kitts and Nevis • Saint Lucia • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines • Solomon Islands • Tuvalu • United Kingdom

Other European monarchies (including the EU): Andorra (!) • Belgium • Denmark • Liechtenstein (⁂) • Luxembourg • Monaco (⁂) • Netherlands • Norway • Spain • Sweden • Vatican City (Holy See) (*!)

* absolute monarchy, ⁂ semi-constitutional monarchy, ! electoral monarchy

Arabic and Maltese
 Algeria •  Bahrain •  Egypt •  Iraq •  Jordan •  Kuwait •  Lebanon •  Libya •  Malta •  Mauritania •  Morocco •  Oman •  Palestine •  Qatar •  Saudi Arabia •  Sudan •  Syria •  Tunisia •  United Arab Emirates •  Western Sahara •  Yemen

Northwest Semitic (Aramaic and Hebrew)
 Iraq •  Israel •  Syria

South Semitic
 Eritrea •  Ethiopia •  Oman •  Yemen