In the wake of Tunisia’s protests which toppled their government and sent their dictator/leader into exile, Jordan’s King Abdullah today dismissed his government and appointed a new prime minister, after weeks of demonstrations challenging Abdullah’s regime.
The royal palace announced that the Abdullah had dismissed Prime Minister Samir Rifai and replaced him with Marouf al-Bakhit, who has served before in the post and is a former general and a onetime ambassador to Israel and Turkey widely viewed in the West as ‘clean’ of corruption.
The palace statement said al-Bakhit would have the task of “taking practical, swift and tangible steps to launch a real political reform process, in line with the king’s version of comprehensive reform, modernization and development.”