Atef Tarawneh

Atef Tarawneh (born 1954) is a Jordanian politician, he has been the Speaker of Jordan's House of Representatives since 3 November 2013. He has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2003.

Atef Tarawneh
Atef Tarawneh
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Assumed office
3 November 2013
Preceded bySaad Hayel Srour
Member of the House of Representatives for the National List
Assumed office
23 January 2013
Personal details
Born1954
Khalidiyah
NationalityJordanian
Political partyWatan/Homeland
Children4
ResidenceJordan

Early life

Tarawneh was born in Khalidiyah, Karak Governorate in 1954.[1] He went to primary school in Khalidiyah and Moab. He followed his secondary education in Al-Karak. He studied civil engineering in Greece. From 1981 to 1983 he worked as an engineer in Saudi Arabia. Tarawneh then returned to Jordan and worked as engineering director of the municipalities of Ma'an, Zarqa and Balqa before having that position in Amman from 1984 to 1994. Tarawneh then turned to private business.[2]

Political career

Tarawneh was first elected in the 2003 Jordanian general election.[2] He was subsequently part of the 14th, 15th, and 16th Parliaments, serving in the House of Representatives.[3] He also served as Deputy Speaker of the House at one point.[4] In February 2011, while he was Deputy Speaker, he criticized the government's decision to strip Jordanian citizenship from some Jordanians with Palestinian origin on claims that it supported the Palestinian people and their goal of a state. The idea behind the government policy was said to be to protect the Palestinian identity. Tarawneh revealed that several high-ranking Palestinian leaders and negotiators had received Jordanian citizenship during the same period. He claimed that the policy was contradictory and that it undermined national unity.[5]

Tarawneh led the party Nation List in the Jordanian general election in 2013. The list comprised native Jordanians and Jordanians of Palestinian descent.[6] The list, referred to as Watan or Homeland, received 94682 votes in the election and thereby earned two seats, which went to Tarawneh and Khamis Atiyeh.

Tarawneh ran in the November 2013 Speaker elections, which were held at the start of the regular session of the 17th parliament. On 20 October, out of a total of six candidates, his main competitor was seen as incumbent Speaker Saad Hayel Srour. Tarawneh had the support of his Homeland bloc in parliament, consisting of 20 Representatives, and he could count on another 39 votes by forming a coalition with two other blocs.[7] On 3 November the first round of voting started, with only three candidates remaining. Tarawneh gained 60 votes, Abdul Karim Dughmi gained 43 votes and Srour gained 37 votes. In the second round Tarawneh was to compete against Dughmi, Dughmi however withdrew his candidacy just before the start of the voting. Tarawneh was therefore declared winner.[8]

He was re-elected as Speaker on 2 November 2014.[9] And once more on 15 November 2015.[10] His fourth re-election took place on 7 November 2016.[11] On 14 October 2018 he was re-elected for a fifth term.[2]

In June 2020 two of his brothers were being investigated for abuse of power and corruption charges.[12] Tarawneh subsequently stated that the government was targeting him and his family. 85 members of the House condemned Tarawneh's statement.[13]

Personal life

He is married and has four children.[1]

References
  1. Who's who in the Jordanian Parliament. Al-Urdun al-Jadid Research Center. 2003. p. 153.
  2. "Atef Tarawneh wins presidency of Jordanian House of Representatives for the fifth time". Middle East Monitor. 15 October 2018. Archived from the original on 3 November 2018.
  3. "Former Deputies". Jordanpolitics.org. 29 May 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  4. Marwan Kardoosh (February 2013). "New Elections, Old Parliament". Jordan Business. Archived from the original on 16 September 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  5. "Jordan's deputy speaker criticises Abbas and Fateh leadership over their possession of Jordanian nationality". Middle East Monitor. 8 February 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  6. Khaled Neimat (20 December 2012). "Two new election tickets emerge ahead of official candidacy period". The Jordan Times. Archived from the original on 22 December 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  7. Khaled Neimat (20 October 2013). "'House speaker race expected to narrow down to Srour, Tarawneh'". Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  8. "Atif Tarawneh Wins House Speakership by Acclamation". Jordanpolitics.org. 3 November 2013. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  9. "Atef Tarawneh re-elected as Lower House speaker". The Jordan Times. 2 November 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  10. Raed Omari (15 November 2015). "Tarawneh elected House speaker for third term". The Jordan Times. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  11. "Tarawneh elected House speaker for fourth time". The Jordan Times. 7 November 2016. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019.
  12. "Cash-Strapped Jordan Targets Premium Tax Evaders". Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. 17 July 2020. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020.
  13. Raed Omari (19 July 2020). "MPs dismayed over speaker's 'misuse of position to serve family interests'". The Jordan Times. Archived from the original on 21 July 2020.
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