Aqel Biltaji ( ar, عقل بلتاجي; 10 February 1941 – 28 February 2021) was a Jordanian,Palestinian politician, who served as the mayor of Amman.

Career

Biltaji was appointed by the government mayor of the

Greater Amman Municipality Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 as of 2021, Amman is ...

in September 2013, from that date until August 2017. He occupied several positions over the course of his life, in

Royal Jordanian Airlines Royal Jordanian Airlines ( ar, ; transliterated: ''Al-Malakiyyah al-'Urduniyyah''), formerly known as Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Jordan with its head office in the capital, Amman. The airline operates schedul ...

and most famously as Minister of Tourism and tourism adviser to

King Abdullah II Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein ( ar, عبدالله الثاني بن الحسين , translit=ʿAbd Allāh aṯ-ṯānī ibn al-Ḥusayn; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of t ...

and as chief of

Aqaba Aqaba (, also ; ar, العقبة, al-ʿAqaba, al-ʿAgaba, ) is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba. Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative centre of the Aqaba Govern ...

's city council. From 2002 to 2004, he was the first Chief Commissioner of the newly created Aqaba Special Economic Zone.

Death

On 28 February 2021, Biltaji died from complications related to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan The COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). On 2 March 2020, the Ministry of Health confirmed the first case in Jordan. As so ...

Awards

* Highest Jordanian Orders * Austrian Grand Gold Merit *

Royal Norwegian Order of Merit The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (Norwegian: ''Den Kongelige Norske Fortjenstorden'' (Bokmål) or ''Den Kongelege Norske Fortenesteordenen'' (Nynorsk)) was instituted by King Olav V in 1985. It is awarded to foreigners, Norwegian citizens livi ...

* Gran Cruz * French Commandeur de la

Legion d'Honeur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

* French Grand Maitre de la Legion d'Honeur *

Ordre National du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's estab ...

source:

References

1941 births 2021 deaths Government ministers of Jordan Mayors of Amman Jordanian people of Palestinian descent Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit Commanders of the Legion of Honour Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan {{Jordan-politician-stub