Taher Al-Masri, former Speaker of the Senate and two-time Prime Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan . He was born in the Palestinian city of Nablus in 1942 . His father named him; Al-Masry grew up as “Taher”, after the name of his father, Hajj Taher Al-Masry. The Al-Masry family is one of the ancient families that practiced trade in Nablus. Taher is married and has two children (a daughter and a son). Taher Al-Masry is nicknamed Abu Nashaat Al-Masry because he named his son after his father, Nashaat Al-Masry.

His upbringing

Taher Al-Masry grew up in Nablus. His mother was of Lebanese origin, from the Solh family . As a young man, he witnessed the 1948 war and witnessed the Jordanian-Palestinian unity in 1950 , which was followed by many events, including the July 23 Revolution in Egypt, President Gamal Abdel Nasser assuming the reins of power in Egypt, and all the events that followed, such as the nationalization of the canal , the coups in Iraq, and the Six-Day War in 1967 . All of these events grew in him convictions about the necessity of unity, and as he put it, he believed that the unity of the eastern and western banks in 1950 constituted a challenge to the Sykes-Picot Agreement . He believes in the necessity of continuing this concept.

From the gate of his city, Nablus (Mountain of Fire), the President of the Jordanian Senate and former Prime Minister Taher Al-Masri entered the dome of the House of Representatives in 1973, to begin his political career, after working for a period of time in the Central Bank. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 1965 from University of Texas in the United States of America.

Abu Nashat soon assumed the position of Minister of State for the Affairs of the Occupied Territories in the first government formed by Zaid Al-Rifai in 1973, when he was 31 years old at the time.

His personality is characterized by extreme humility, respect for everyone he meets and interacts with, and a smile never leaves his face. He is friendly, good at attracting friends, and those close to him describe him as “not losing his compass.”

The late Hussein bin Talal said about him, “I have never dealt with a more honorable person than you, O Taher.”

It is known that Al-Masry “maintains his ideas under pressure, and defends his convictions even if the adversities become severe.” He is characterized by his long breath and patience, making those far from him feel like he is taking a step back.

A Jordanian with all his inner beings, an open-hearted Jordanian, he considers that the positions he has taken since he entered public political work until now are “correct” and in their place, and he does not regret any position he has taken.

Al-Masri is accepted by the diverse spectrum of Jordanian society, from the north to the south and from east to west, and in a unique gesture, parties, unions, civil society institutions and politicians have gathered on him, as a national figure, and he considers his state of societal acceptance, which characterizes The political and social path of his life has several meanings, demonstrating the correctness of his approach, the soundness of his ideas, and the union of his vision with the sincere national vision.

Al-Masry formed his government on June 19, 1991, which included, in addition to him, 25 ministers, including nationalist, leftist, and patriotic figures, in addition to deputies from the eleventh Parliament. It also included two ministers who were later entrusted with forming the government: Abdel Karim Al-Kabariti. And Ali Abu Al-Ragheb.

After the Gulf War ended, talk of an international desire to end the Arab-Israeli conflict accelerated, and this led to both the United States of America and the Soviet Union inviting the countries concerned, including Jordan, to attend a peace conference to be held in the Spanish capital, Madrid. Accordingly, conservative and Islamic representatives hurried to do so. Until the signing of a memorandum of withdrawal from Al-Masry’s government, Al-Masry preferred to resign from the government rather than dissolve the House of Representatives and informed the late Hussein that the House was a “democratic choice” and that he was proud to work in any other position in order to serve Jordan, a matter that was written in his political history.

Al-Masry's move was considered by observers to have led to the preservation of the young democracy by not recommending the dissolution of the House of Representatives, and to pulling Jordan out of the bottleneck as a result of what was happening in the region.

The democratic position that Al-Masry took by not recommending the dissolution of the House of Representatives due to the opposition of the parliamentary majority to his government in 1991, impressed many people, and was reflected in the members of the new twelfth House, so he was chosen as Speaker of the House in its first session.

During the subsequent period from 1993 to 2010, Al-Masry was active in the House of Representatives and later in the Senate, and his relations with civil society institutions, including parties and unions, were strengthened.

His academic qualifications

He studied and graduated, like many Nablus men, at An- Najah National College, then traveled to the United States of America to study business administration at the University of Texas, from which he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1965 (Please clarify the academic degrees from each university?)

Positions he held

central bank

• July 1965 - March 1988 Central Bank of Jordan

The House of Representatives and the Senate

• May 1973 - November 1974 Member of the House of Representatives
• January 1984 - July 1988 Member of the House of Representatives
• November 1989 - September 1993 Member of the House of Representatives
  • November 1989 - January 1991 Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives
  • November 1992 - July 1993 Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives
• September 1993 - November 1997 Member of the House of Representatives
• September 1998 - October 2009 Member of the Senate
• January 2010 - October 2013 Chairman of the Senate

Ambassador and delegate

• January 1975 - January 1984 Ambassador to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• April 1975 - August 1978 Ambassador to Spain
• November 1978 - May 1983 Ambassador to France
• October 1978 - May 1983, Permanent Representative to UNESCO
• February 1979 - May 1980 , delegate to Belgium (non-resident)
• July 1978 - May 1980 , delegate to the European Common Market (non-resident)
• June 1983 - January 1984, delegate to the United Kingdom

Minister

• May 1973 - November 1974 Minister of State for the Affairs of the Occupied Territories
• January 1984 - December 1988 Minister of Foreign Affairs
• January 1991 - June 1991 Minister of Foreign Affairs
• April 1989 - September 1989 Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Economic Affairs

President

• June 1991 - November 1991 Prime Minister and Minister of Defense
• November 1993 - October 1994 Speaker of the House of Representatives
• December 2009 - October 2013, President of the Senate

Commissioner

• March 2002, Commissioner for Civil Society Affairs at the League of Arab States in Cairo

The honors he received

Other activities

• 1990 Member and Rapporteur of the Royal Committee for Drafting the National Charter
• 1998 Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Science and Technology and the University of Jordan
• 2004 Member of the Advisory Committee of the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for Dialogue of Civilizations
• 1992 Chairman of the Board of Directors of Haya Cultural Center
• 1993 - 1997 Chairman of the Administrative Board of the National Society for Freedom and Democratic Approach (Jund)
• 1996 - 2001 Chairman of the Administrative Board of the Society for the Protection of Al-Quds Al-Sharif
• 1998 Chairman of the Administrative Board of the Jordanian-Spanish Friendship Association