Politics
Conventional Long Form Name: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Capital City: Amman
Type of Government: Constitutional Monarchy
Date of Independence: May 25, 1946
National Holiday: Independence Day May 25
Chief of State: King Abdullah II
Head of Government: Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour
Capital City: Amman
Type of Government: Constitutional Monarchy
Date of Independence: May 25, 1946
National Holiday: Independence Day May 25
Chief of State: King Abdullah II
Head of Government: Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour
Executive Branch: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the monarch
Legislative Branch: bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the Senate, also called the House of Notables or Majlis al-Ayan (60 seats; members appointed by the monarch to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies, also called the House of Representatives or Majlis al-Nuwaab (150 seats; 123 members elected using the single, non-transferable vote system in multi-member districts, and 27 seats elected using a closed national list system based on proportional representation; all legislators serve four-year terms); note - the new electoral law enacted in July 2012 allocated an additional 10 seats (6 seats added to the number reserved for women, bringing the total to 15; 2 additional seats for Amman; and 1 seat each for the cities of Zarqa and Irbid; unchanged are 9 seats reserved for Christian candidates, 9 for Bedouin candidates, and 3 for Jordanians of Chechen or Circassian descent
Judicial Branch: Court of Cassation or Supreme Court (consists of 7 judges including the chief justice; 7-judge panels for important cases and 5 judge panels for most appeals cases)
Suffrage: 18 years old,Universal
Ambassador to US: Alia Hatough Bouran
Embassy Location: Washington, D.C.
U.S. ambassador: Stuart E. Jones
U.S. Embassy Location: Abdoun, Amman
UN Representative: Dina Kawar
Legislative Branch: bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the Senate, also called the House of Notables or Majlis al-Ayan (60 seats; members appointed by the monarch to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies, also called the House of Representatives or Majlis al-Nuwaab (150 seats; 123 members elected using the single, non-transferable vote system in multi-member districts, and 27 seats elected using a closed national list system based on proportional representation; all legislators serve four-year terms); note - the new electoral law enacted in July 2012 allocated an additional 10 seats (6 seats added to the number reserved for women, bringing the total to 15; 2 additional seats for Amman; and 1 seat each for the cities of Zarqa and Irbid; unchanged are 9 seats reserved for Christian candidates, 9 for Bedouin candidates, and 3 for Jordanians of Chechen or Circassian descent
Judicial Branch: Court of Cassation or Supreme Court (consists of 7 judges including the chief justice; 7-judge panels for important cases and 5 judge panels for most appeals cases)
Suffrage: 18 years old,Universal
Ambassador to US: Alia Hatough Bouran
Embassy Location: Washington, D.C.
U.S. ambassador: Stuart E. Jones
U.S. Embassy Location: Abdoun, Amman
UN Representative: Dina Kawar
Symbolic Description of Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), representing the Abbassid Caliphate, white, representing the Ummayyad Caliphate, and green, representing the Fatimid Caliphate; a red isosceles triangle on the hoist side, representing the Great Arab Revolt of 1916, and bearing a small white seven-pointed star symbolizing the seven verses of the opening Sura (Al-Fatiha) of the Holy Koran; the seven points on the star represent faith in One God, humanity, national spirit, humility, social justice, virtue, and aspirations; design is based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I
National Symbol: Eagle
International Disputes: 2004 Agreement settles border dispute with Syria pending demarcation
Refugees: 55,509 (Iraq) (2013); 2,070,973 (Palestinian refugees (UNRWA)); 597,328 (Syria) (2014)
IDP/Stateless: n/a
Human/Drug Trafficking: n/a
International Disputes: 2004 Agreement settles border dispute with Syria pending demarcation
Refugees: 55,509 (Iraq) (2013); 2,070,973 (Palestinian refugees (UNRWA)); 597,328 (Syria) (2014)
IDP/Stateless: n/a
Human/Drug Trafficking: n/a