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
Government type:
constitutional monarchy
Capital:
name: Amman
geographic coordinates: 31 57 N, 35 56 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Thursday in March; ends last
Friday in September
Administrative divisions:
12 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Ajlun, Al
'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, '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:
1 January 1952; amended 1954, 1955, 1958, 1960, 1965, 1973, 1974,
1976, 1984
Legal system:
based on Islamic law and French codes; judicial review of
legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999); Prince
HUSSEIN (born 1994), eldest son of King ABDALLAH, is first in line
to inherit the throne
head of government: Prime Minister Marouf al-BAKHIT (since 24
November 2005); Deputy Prime Minister Ziad FARIZ (since 24 November
2005)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister in consultation
with the monarch
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed
by the monarch