Ahmad Lozi (also spelled Ahmad al-Lawzi) (1925 – 18 November 2014) was a Jordanian politician. He served as the 21st Prime Minister of Jordan from 29 November 1971 to 26 May 1973. He succeeded

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 a ...

who had been assassinated by the

Black September Organization The Black September Organization (BSO) ( ar, منظمة أيلول الأسود, translit=Munaẓẓamat Aylūl al-Aswad) was a Palestinian militant organization founded in 1970. Besides other actions, the group was responsible for the assass ...

. In the 1960s he had already served as member of the House of Representatives and the Senate. He also had terms as Minister for Prime ministry affairs, Municipal Affairs and Finance. He served as Chief of the Royal Court from 1979 to 1984. This was followed by the presidency of the Senate for thirteen years, from 1984 to 1997. In 2011 he headed a committee to oversee changes to the

Constitution of Jordan The Constitution of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was adopted on 11 January 1952 and has been amended many times. It defines the hereditary monarchic rule with a parliamentary system of representation. It stipulates the separated powers of t ...

Early life

Lozi was born in Jubaiha, near Amman in 1925. Lozi studied at the Teachers Training College in Baghdad, Iraq, receiving a degree in literature in 1950. From 1950 to 1953 he worked at two schools as a teacher, the

Salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

Secondary School and Al Hussein Secondary School in Amman. He then started working as a civil servant, first for the Royal Court and later the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Political career

In 1956 he was appointed as the head of Royal Protocol. Five years later, in 1961, he was elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

for the district of Amman. During his term in office he was supportive of the government positions on the issue of Palestine and the Syrian revolt. He was subsequently re-elected the year after. In 1964 he was Minister for Prime ministry affairs. The same year he was also Minister without portfolio. Lozi was a member of the Senate of Jordan between 1965 and 1967. In 1967 he was named Minister for Municipal Affairs. An appointment to

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

followed in 1970. He started serving as Prime Minister of Jordan from 29 November 1971. He succeeded

who had been assassinated the day before by the

. He stayed on as Prime Minister until 1973, he became ill in May and resigned on 26 May 1973. From 1978 to 1979 he was President of the National Consultative Council. Lozi served as Chief of the Royal Court between 1979 and 1984. On 11 January 1984 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 ...

dissolved the senate and replaced it the next day. Lozi was made President of the Senate, he would serve from 1984 to 1997. He resigned on 7 June 1997 and was succeeded the next day by

Zaid al-Rifai Zaid al-Rifai ( ar, زيد الرفاعي) (born 27 November 1936 in Amman, Jordan) is a Jordanian politician that served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Jordan from April 1984 to April 1989. Biography He served as Prime Minister of Jordan and ...

. Concerning the democratization of Jordan in the 1990s he said that: "on the whole, I don't think that even the Prophets Jesus or Muhammed could bring about a faster movement toward democracy".

Later life

After having resigned from the Senate in 1997 Lozi became chairman of the board of trustees of 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. ...

in 2000. In his later years he was still involved in politics, albeit not in an official government position. In 2011 King Abdullah II of Jordan asked Lozi to head a committee to oversee possible changes to the

. Lozi said the intended goal of the committee was to make it "more responsive to change and to the development of the democratic process". The committee argued to transfer some of the powers of the King to parliament and to enhance some civil liberties. Critics said the ideas of the committee were not far-enough reaching yet. In June 2014 Lozi opened the Habes Al Majali Museum on Army Day. In August 2014 public figures, including King Abdullah II of Jordan met at Lozi's Amman house to talk about challenges to the Jordanian state.

Personal life

Abdul Karim al-Kabariti Abdul Karim al-Kabariti ( ; ar, عبد الكريم الكباريتي; born 15 December 1949) is a Jordanian politician and businessman who was the 30th Prime Minister of Jordan from 4 February 1996 to 9 March 1997. Early life and education Ka ...

, who served as Prime Minister of Jordan from February 1996 to March 1997 is the son-in-law of Lozi.

Death

Lozi died on Tuesday 18 November 2014, aged 89. He was buried in the Royal Cemetery the day after. The ceremony was attended by Prince Feisal bin Al Hussein in his capacity as regent.

Honours and awards

Jordan

Supreme Order of the Renaissance The Supreme Order of the Renaissance (, "Medal of the Nahda") is the second knighthood order of the Kingdom of Jordan. History The order was instituted in 1917 by Emir Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca. According to correspondence between the ...

, ''Wisam al-Nahda''. *

Order of the Star of Jordan The Order of the Star of Jordan (Wisam al-Kawkab al-Urduni) or The Order of Hussein ibn Ali (Wisam al-Hussein ibn Ali) is an award and military decoration of the sovereign state of Jordan and is awarded for military or civil merit. It was founde ...

, ''Wisam al-Kawkab al-Urdani'', first order. *

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 Posthumous may refer to: * Posthum ...

, ''Wisam al-Istiqial'', first order.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lozi, Ahmad 1925 births 2014 deaths Prime Ministers of Jordan Members of the House of Representatives (Jordan) Prime ministry affairs ministers of Jordan Members of the Senate of Jordan Municipal affairs ministers of Jordan Finance ministers of Jordan Presidents of the Senate of Jordan Recipients of the Order of Independence (Jordan)