Kuwait Times

Published Date: October 05, 2008

AMMAN: King Abdullah II of Jordan yesterday named Nasser Lawzi, a former minister and current chairman of Royal Jordanian Airlines, as head of the royal court, the palace announced. The post of head of the royal court is considered the country's third most important, after the king and the prime minister. Lawzi, 51, replaces Bassem Awadallah, a controversial figure who resigned on Monday after facing accusations from politicians and journalists of meddling in the country's privatization plans. The new supr
emo has held several government roles, including information minister from 1998 in the reign of King Hussein.

King Abdullah chose the traditional business-minded politician to replace his closest reform adviser whose accelerated Western-style free market policies had challenged the conservative establishment. A royal decree was issued appointing Nasser Al-Lozi, 51, a former minister with liberal credentials from a prominent tribal family to replace Western-leaning Basem Awadallah, a 43-year-old technocrat of Palestinian origin drawn from outside the ranks of the traditional palace entourage.

Palace insiders say King Abdullah succumbed to pressure to dismiss US-educated Awadallah on Monday after months of public criticism, unprecedented against a top palace official, by a conservative establishment that accused him of promoting a liberal agenda that ignored tribal sensitivities. Opponents say the policies of Awadallah, who was a driving force behind economic reforms, deepened the divide between rich and poor in a country with high unemployment and poverty. The conservative establishment had ac
cused Awadallah, a long time confidant of the monarch, of seeking to give the monarchy wider powers by setting up a shadow administration that interfered with the day-to-day functioning of government.

Officials privately say his resignation may shift the balance in the court away from young liberal reformers towards the conservative establishment and a government reshuffle was expected soon that could further strengthen their influence. Palace insiders cite Awadallah's extensive influence on the monarch who sees the task of modernizing the country as his major challenge but has faced stiff resistance by an entrenched bureaucracy that flourished for years on government perks. Jordan's old guard, rooted i
n the powerful intelligence agency, fears reforms will allow their countrymen of Palestinian origin a bigger role and erode its grip on power and privileges. - Agencies