Thouqan Hindawi - A Jordanian politician, educator, and parliamentary who was born in 1927 in The Hindawi Madafa or Court of his father Sheikh Salem Pasha Hindawi in the Northern Region of The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan which was

Emirate of Transjordan The Emirate of Transjordan ( ar, إمارة شرق الأردن, Imārat Sharq al-Urdun, Emirate of East Jordan), officially known as the Amirate of Trans-Jordan, was a British protectorate established on 11 April 1921,

at that time. During his life, Hindawi served for over 40 years in several key government positions from 1965 until 2005. Some of these positions include Chief of

The Royal Hashemite Court The Royal Hashemite Court (RHC) ( ar, الديوان الملكي الهاشمي, ''Al-Diwan Al-Malaki'' ''Al-Hāshimy''), which is historically known as Al-Maqar ( ar, المقر, ), is the administrative and political link between the King of Jor ...

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

, Minister of Education, Minister of Finance, Minister of Media, Minister of Social Affairs, Minister of Labor,

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

for Prime Ministry Affairs, Senator in Upper House of Parliament, Deputy in Lower House of Parliament, and Ambassador. Hindawi died on 2 July 2005 and was buried in

Cemetery near King

Hussein of Jordan Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of ...

tomb

Education

Hindawi started his early schooling years in the Northern Region of Jordan, until at a later stage he was selected to join the Arab College in Jerusalem in 1943 as well as the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in 1945 which made him earn his Palestinian Secondary School Certificate by 1946. After that he earned his

Bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...

Degree in History from

Cairo University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...

which was King Farouk I University at that time in 1950 and few years later he earned his

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Advanced Education from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

in 1956.

Occupation

After earning his

Degree, Hindawi started his career in the Public Sector in 1950 as a History Teacher in the Ministry of Education in Jordan. Soon after that he was promoted to become an Education Inspector and shortly after that the Director of the Teacher's Training Academy of Beit Hanina in the West Bank of Jordan. He moved in 1962 to become the Director of Social Affairs at the UNRWA

United Nations Relief and Works Agency The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians displaced by the 1948 ...

. He remained there couple of years until he was appointed as Educational Attaché in the Jordanian Embassy in Cairo in 1964 and then back to Jordan as the General Secretary of the Ministry of Media at that same year. Hindawi held his 1st Ministerial Position with Prime Minister

Wasfi al-Tal Wasfi Tal ( ar, وصفي التل; also known as Wasfi Tell; 19 January 1919 – 28 November 1971) was a Jordanian politician, statesman and general. He served as the 15th Prime Minister of Jordan for three separate terms, 1962–63, 1965–67 an ...

on 13 February 1965 as the Minister of Media. After that he held 20 more key Ministerial Cabinet Positions from 1965 until 1995 including

, Minister of Education, Minister of Finance, Minister of Media, Minister of Social Affairs, Minister of Labor,

for Prime Ministry Affairs. Hindawi certainly held the critical Position of Minister of Education more times and longer than any other in Jordan. It is a documented fact that he is genuinely considered by both educators and historians to be the master engineer and visionary driver of the educational transformational revolution of modern Jordan as well as a major contributor to the education development of the entire region. Hindawi was trusted by the late King

and was chosen to hold the important position of

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

in 1989. He was also appointed 2 times as an Ambassador for Jordan abroad and 4 times as a Senator in the Upper House of Parliament. He was elected by Jordanians in General Elections as a Deputy for the Eleventh Lower House of Parliament for a 4-year term. Most of his life, Hindawi was on the Board of Trustees of a number of public and private academic institutions including 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. ...

and the

Yarmouk University Yarmouk University ( ar, جامعة اليرموك), also abbreviated YU, is a comprehensive public and state supported university located near the city centre of Irbid in northern Jordan. Since its establishment in 1976, Yarmouk University (YU) ...

as well as the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Applied Science University and the Arab Community College. He received several prestigious State Medals and International Awards from a variety of countries and organizations. He wrote and published the Palestinian Case book which was consistently taught as a pillar of the Jordanian Secondary Curriculum from 1967 until 1994. It was announced that he also wrote his own autobiography which focused on his early days but it was not published until date. Hindawi remained publicly active in government positions until he suddenly died from a severe heart attack on 2 July 2005 and was buried in The Royal Cemetery inside

near the late King

tomb.

References

Gallery

File:Thouqan Hindawi (12).jpg, Hindawi as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education at his office in the Jordanian Prime Ministry on 5 December 1994 File:Thouqan Hindawi (8).jpg, Hindawi At King Hussein's funeral on 8 February 1999 File:Thouqan Hindawi (13).jpg, Elected in 1989 as Deputy in the 11th Jordanian Lower House Of Parliament File:Thouqan Hindawi (6).jpg, Hindawi with the King, 1967 File:Thouqan with king.jpg, Hindawi with King Hussein {{DEFAULTSORT:Hindawi, Thouqan 1927 births 2005 deaths Higher education ministers of Jordan Arab people of Indian descent India–Jordan relations