Senator Nasser S. Judeh is a Jordanian politician who served as Jordan's longest serving Minister of Foreign Affairs, having served between 2009 and 2017 in eight consecutive governments. He also served as Deputy Prime Minister of Jordan from 2015 to 2017. He currently serves as a senator in the Jordanian Upper House of Parliament.
Early life and education
Judeh was born in Amman in 1961. His father, Sami Hassan Judeh, is the most senior minister and parliamentarian in Jordan having served in several cabinet and senior government positions, as well as the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament between 1957 and 2004. Judeh received primary education at College de La Salle in Amman from 1966 to 1975, and then attended Eastbourne College in Sussex in England from 1975 to 1979. He was educated in the United States at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and obtained a bachelor of arts degree in international politics, law and organization in 1982.
Career
Judeh served at the Royal Hashemite Court with the late King Hussein and then Crown Prince Hassan bin Talal from 1985 to 1992. He was appointed head of the Jordan Information Bureau in London in 1992 and served there until 1994. Then he was named as the director of Jordan Television in 1994. His tenure lasted until 1998, when he was appointed director general of the Jordan Radio and Television Corporation. He was appointed Minister of Information in August 1998 and also served as the official spokesman for the Government. He left the government in 1999 and worked in the private sector for a few years.
Spokesperson of the government, 2005–2009
Judeh returned to office in 2005 again as the official spokesman for the Government, and subsequently was appointed Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communication in 2007, serving in that post until 2009. During this period, he also acted as the government spokesperson.
Judeh was appointed by King Abdullah II as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime MinisterNader Dahabi. He continued to serve as Foreign Minister in all the cabinets formed between 2009 and 2017. He held the portfolio of Foreign Minister for the fifth time in the cabinet who assumed the post on 11 October 2012. Judeh retained his post in the second cabinet of Ensour formed on 30 March 2013. In 2015 he was made Deputy Prime Minister alongside his role as Foreign Minister. His tenure as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister ended on 15 January 2017 after a cabinet reshuffle. During his time in office as Foreign Minister, Judeh travelled the world to promote bilateral relations with Jordan and to participate in regional and international conferences. He presided over the United Nations Security Council several times during Jordan's two year membership on the Council in 2014 and 2015 Jordan also held the presidency of the 143rd Arab League ministerial council for six months in 2015 where Foreign Minister Judeh presided over several meetings of Arab Foreign Ministers.
On 13 September 2017, Judh was invited by the United Nations Secretary-GeneralAntonio Guterres to join the High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation comprising 18 internationally-recognized personalities who will bring experience and skills, deep knowledge and extensive contacts to this extremely important task. In 2019, Guterres appointed him as one of eight members of the High Level-Panel on Internal Displacement under the leadership of Federica Mogherini and Donald Kaberuka. He was recently announced as a centennial fellow at the School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University, his alma mater. Judeh is the honorary co-chair of the binational Fulbright commission in Jordan.
Decorations
The Grand Cordon of the Order of Al Kawkab – Jordan
The Grand Cordon of the Order of Al-Istiklal – Jordan
Commander of the Order of Al-Istiklal – Jordan
Order of Officer of the French Legion of Honour– France
