MAJALI, ABD AL-SALAM (1925–)

Jordanian political figure, born in 1925 at al-Karak, Abd al-Salam Majali obtained a diploma in 1949 in general medicine.

Specializing in ENT, Majali was one of the first Jordanian doctors in the Jordanian army where he was director of a military hospital. After resigning from the army at the rank of general, he became personal physician to King Hussein in 1967. In 1969, he was named minister of health, and the following year, minister of the presidency of the Council. Between 1976 and 1979 Majali was minister of education, then counselor to the king. Several times a university president, he was also general director of the Jordan Health Institute in 1990 and 1991.

In October 1991 Majali was named head of the Jordanian delegation for bilateral negotiations with Israel, and on 29 May 1993 he became prime minister while simultaneously holding the portfolios of the defense and foreign ministries. On this authority he participated actively in Jordanian-Israeli peace negotiations and in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, serving as a signatory on 26 October 1994 to the peace accord between Jordan and Israel. On 8 January 1995 Majali resigned his post as head of government to retake his senator's seat and was again named prime minister on 19 March 1997. On 19 August of the following year, a few days after King Hussein had delegated his powers to his brother, Prince Hassan, Abd al-Salam Majali resigned his posts, yielding his place to Fayiz al-Tarawneh. Today Majali is the vice president of the senate and undertakes semiofficial travel.

SEE ALSO Hassan of Jordan;Hussein ibn Talal;Tarawneh, Fayiz al-.