Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the Senate (a 40-member body appointed by the monarch from designated categories of public figures; members serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives (80 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: House of Representatives - last held 4 November 1997 (next to be held NA November 2001) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - National Constitutional Party 2, Arab Land Party 1, independents 75, other 2 note: the House of Representatives has been convened and dissolved by the monarch several times since 1974; in November 1989 the first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held
Judicial branch: Court of Cassation; Supreme Court (court of final appeal)
Political parties and leaders: Al-Ahrar (Freedom) Party [Dr. Ahmad
ZO'BI, secretary general]; Arab Ba'th Progressive Party [Mahmoud
al-MA'AYTAH, secretary general]; Arab Islamic Democratic Party (Doa'a)
; Arab Jordanian Ansar Party
; Arab Land Party [Dr. Muhammad
al-'ORAN, secretary general]; Democratic Party of the Left [Musa
MA'AITAH, secretary general]; Islamic Action Front [Abd-al-Latif
ARABIYAT, secretary general]; Jordanian Arab Constitutional Front
Party ; Jordanian Arab New Dawn Party
; Jordanian Ba'th Arab Socialist Party [Tayseer al-HOMSI,
secretary general]; Jordanian Communist Party [Ya'acoub ZAYADIN,
secretary general]; Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party [Sa'eed
MUSTAPHA, secretary general]; Jordanian Labor Party [Muhammad
KHATAYIBAH, secretary general]; Jordanian Peace Party [Dr. Shaher
KHREIS, secretary general]; Jordanian People's Democratic Party or
HASHD ; Al-Mustaqbal (Future) Party
; National Action Party or Haqq
; National Constitutional Party
; National Democratic Public
Movement Party ; Progressive
Party ; Al-Umma (Nation) Party
; The Generations [Hamad al-KHALAYLA,
chairman]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Council of Professional
Association Presidents ; Jordanian Press
Association ; Muslim Brotherhood
International organization participation: ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF,
CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM
(observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner),
PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG,
UNRWA, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Marwan Jamil MUASHER chancery: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 966-2664 FAX: (202) 966-3110
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador William BURNS embassy: Abdoum, Amman mailing address: P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; APO AE 09892-0200 telephone: (6) 5920101 FAX: (6) 5927712
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), white, and green with a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a small white seven-pointed star; the seven points on the star represent the seven fundamental laws of the Koran
@Jordan:Economy
Economy - overview: Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil. The Persian Gulf crisis, which began in August 1990, aggravated Jordan's already serious economic problems, forcing the government to shelve the IMF program, stop most debt payments, and suspend rescheduling negotiations. Aid from Gulf Arab states, worker remittances, and trade contracted; and refugees flooded the country, producing serious balance-of-payments problems, stunting GDP growth, and straining government resources. The economy rebounded in 1992, largely due to the influx of capital repatriated by workers returning from the Gulf. After averaging 9% in 1992-95, GDP growth averaged only 2% during 1996-99. In an attempt to spur growth, King ABDALLAH has undertaken limited economic reform, including partial privatization of some state owned enterprises and Jordan's entry in January 2000 into the World Trade Organization (WTrO). Debt, poverty, and unemployment are fundamental ongoing economic problems.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $16 billion (1999 est.)