Personal Info
- Country of residence: Jordan
Information
Samir Zaid al-Rifai (born July 1, 1966) is a Jordanian politician of Palestinian descent, who was Prime Minister of Jordan from 14 December 2009 to 1 February 2011. He was replaced by Marouf al-Bakhit by the king Abdullah II, following weeks of protests in the country. He is the son of former Prime Minister Zaid al-Rifai and grandson of Samir al-Rifai.
Rifai was born in to a prominent Palestinian family hailing from Safed in Northern Palestine. He took admission in Harvard University in 1984 and received his bachelor's degree in Middle East Studies in 1988, Samir Rifai began his career working in the Royal Court in 1988, He obtained his master's degree in International Relations from Cambridge University in 1989. In 1999 he was appointed Secretary General of the Royal Hashemite Court where he oversaw the implementation of an integrated program for restructuring the administrative and financial affairs office, also took over the Information Office and the Public Relations Department of King Abdullah II. In 2003, he was appointed Minister of the Hashemite Royal Court to represent the fundamental link between the King and theGovernment. In April 2005, Rifai was appointed adviser to the King, and continued in that position until the end of 2005.
Achievements and Awards
Before assuming the position of Prime Minister, Samir Rifai worked since October 2005 as Chief Executive Officer CEO and founder of Jordan Dubai Capital, which began its work with registered capital of 300 million dinars. The company has grown and developed under the leadership of Al Rifai with assets exceeding 1.5 billion dinars . In the same period, Rifai held the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of Jordan Dubai Energy Investments and Infrastructure - the investment arm of Jordan Dubai Capital in the energy field, in addition to having founded Kingdom Electricity for Energy Investments (KEC), an addendum to the Arab Company for Energy (ENARA) The Central Electricity Generating Company (CEGCO). Rifai also chaired the Board of Directors of Jordan Dubai Capital, the investment arm of Jordan Dubai Capital, in the field of financial investments, and also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors 'Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank', which provides services and solutions compatible with the provisions of Islamic banking.. Rifai served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Jordan Dubai Properties Public Shareholding Co., Ltd., the investment arm of Jordan Dubai Capital, specializing in real estate development and tourism investment in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Rifai also took the membership of the Board of Directors of The Housing Bank for Trade and Finance, Saraya Aqaba and the company 'Amlak Finance - Jordan' to finance the mortgage. Rifai is also a member of a number of councils in academic institutions, most notably the Board of Directors 'King's Academy' and the Academy of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh. During the years of his career, Rifai held several positions in official and government councils including Chairman of the Investment Promotion Committee at the Royal Court, and Chairman of the Preparatory Committee of theAmman Message, and a member of a committee to pursue interfaith dialogue, And member of the Higher Steering Committee for the peace process, and the Vice-Chairman of the Jordanian Royal Automobile Museu, and board member of King Abdullah II Award for Excellence Performance and Transparency in the public sector.
He has been decorated with the Grand Cordon of the Order of Al-Kawkab Al Urduni and the Grand Cordon of the Order of Al-Istiqlal, also participated in several intensive training programs at Harvard University.
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