Maha Ali (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

: مها علي ; born 17 May 1973) is a

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

ian politician and industrial engineer who served as Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply of Jordan from October 2020 to October 2021, in the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

of Prime Minister

Bisher Al-Khasawneh Bisher Al-Khasawneh ( ar, بشر الخصاونة; born 27 January 1969) is a Jordanian politician and diplomat who is serving as the 43rd Prime Minister of Jordan and Minister of Defence since 12 October 2020. Al-Khasawneh was an ambassador of ...

. Prior to her recent appointment, Ali previously also served as Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply in 2015-2016, assuming the position after a

cabinet reshuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parlia ...

in Prime Minister

Abdullah Ensour Abdullah Ensour ( ; ar, عبد الله النسور '; born 20 January 1939) is a Jordanian economist who served as the 40th Prime Minister of Jordan between October 2012 and May 2016. A veteran politician, he has held various cabinet positions ...

's government on 2 March 2015.

Early life and education

Maha Ali was born in

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, 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 a ...

in 1973. Her father is a Jordanian medical doctor and retired general in the

Jordanian Armed Forces The Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) ( ar, الْقُوَّاتُ الْمُسَلَّحَةُ الأرْدُنِية, romanized: ''Al-Quwwat Al-Musallaha Al-Urduniyya''), also referred to as the Arab Army ( ar, الْجَيْشُ الْعَرَبي ...

. She is

trilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

in Arabic, English and French. Ali has a B.Sc. in

industrial engineering Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex process (engineering), processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, kno ...

from the

University of Jordan The University of Jordan ( ar, الجامعة الأردنية), often abbreviated UJ, is a public university located in Amman, Jordan. Founded in 1962 by royal decree, it is the largest and oldest institution of higher education in Jordan. ...

, a trade policy diploma from the

WTO The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and an MBA from the

German Jordanian University German-Jordanian University (GJU) is a public university located near Madaba, Jordan. It offers more than 20 programs to over 6,000 students, primarily from Jordan and the Middle East. The curriculum differs from other Jordanian universities, wit ...

. According to

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

, Ali is pursuing a PhD in Business from the university's business school, with research interests in "Institutions and Outward FDIs from the MENA Region".

Political career

Ali began her public service career in 1998. From August 1998 until February 2001, she was a researcher at the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

. Ali was then assigned as the Head of Trade in the Services Section of the Foreign Trade Policy Department until April 2002. Between April 2002 and April 2003, she was assigned as a deputy economic counsellor at Jordan's permanent mission to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. In October 2003 she assumed the role of the director of the Foreign Trade Policy Department until 2010, when she became Secretary-General (deputy minister) of the ministry. During her incumbency as Secretary-General, she led negotiations on Jordan's accession to the

and was the head of the Jordanian delegation on the country's adherence to the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

. Ali also hosted the investments and trade pillar of the Deauville Partnership meeting in 2012 and has played a key role during joint committee meetings with Jordan's trade partners. She additionally led work on Jordan's historic

free trade agreements A free-trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occur ...

with the US,

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Ali was a board member of a number of government institutions including Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation, Jordan Investment Board, and Jordan Development Zones Company prior to her being appointed minister. On 2 March 2015, a cabinet reshuffle in the

Second Cabinet of Abdullah Ensour The prime minister of Jordan, Abdullah Ensour, formed his second cabinet in March 2013. The new cabinet was sworn in before King Abdullah II on 30 March 2013. On 23 April 2013, the parliament approved the cabinet with 83 votes in favor and 65 vote ...

saw Ali appointed as Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply. Abdullah Ensour's government resigned on 1 June 2016. On 12 October 2020, a Royal Decree was issued, approving the formation of a new Cabinet, headed by Bisher Al-Khasawneh. In addition, alongside other Cabinet members, the Decree approved the appointment of Ali as Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply.

Educational career

Ali worked as an industrial professor at the School of Management and Logistical Sciences at the

. Additionally, she was a professor of practice at the Al Hussein Technical University (HTU). Her research interests include international trade and international business.

Honours and awards

Ali was ranked as the 8th Most Powerful Arab Woman in Government by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' in 2015 and has been awarded several royal medals by Jordan's

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 ...

for her efficiency in civil service, including the

Order of Independence Order of Independence or Independence Order ( vi, Huân chương Độc lập) is a Vietnamese decoration. Criteria The Vietnamese government states that the decoration "shall be conferred or posthumously conferred on individuals who have re ...

of the third class. In 2016, she received the Governor General’s Medallion by the

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...

David Johnston David Lloyd Johnston (born June 28, 1941) is a Canadian academic, author, and statesman who served from 2010 to 2017 as Governor General of Canada, the 28th since Canadian Confederation. He is the commissioner of the Leaders' Debates Commis ...

, for efforts exerted in strengthening trade between Jordan and Canada.

References

External links