Amin Mahmoud (politician)

Early life and education

Amin Mahmoud was born in Bethlehem, West Bank, in 1940. His family was of modest means, but his father placed great value on education, making sure that young Amin attended Bethlehem High School despite a three kilometre walking commute each day. At the age of 18 he finished high school and left the West Bank to study history at the Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962. On completion of his history degree, he taught briefly at Aroub, Jordan, then from 1963 to 1966 at the Rashidiya school in Jerusalem.

After winning a scholarship grant under the Fulbright Program Amin Mahmoud left the Middle East in 1966, to study in the United States at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. where he was awarded a Master's degree in Modern history and International relations in 1968. A further grant was awarded to continue studies at the same university, this time for a doctorate, which he gained in Modern history in 1972.

During his time in the United States, the events of the Six-Day War in 1967 and the subsequent Palestinian Exodus had dramatically changed Amin Mahmoud's homeland, with the displacement of around 300,000 of his countrymen to Jordan, and it was to Jordan, not the West Bank, that he would return in 1972.

Early career and teaching

Dr Mahmoud further developed his initial career in education while studying in the United States in the late 1960s, taking the position of research and teaching assistant at the Department of History, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. in 1969 and continuing in that role until 1972 when he returned to the Middle East after receiving his doctorate. He then began a lengthy tenure as a teacher of history and political science at the University of Jordan, in Amman, from 1972 until 1984. During this time, he served as President of the Jordan University Club in 1977, with remit for the university's social and external events. Upon receiving his professorship in 1986 at the University of Kuwait, he remained there as Professor of History and Political Science until 1990. Throughout his later career as an educator, he has also worked as a visiting professor at several universities across the Arab region.

University presidencies and other notable appointments

Dr Mahmoud has held several senior positions in academia, including the presidencies of four universities in Jordan. After more than a decade in teaching, he founded the Center for Hebrew Studies in 1984 in collaboration with Yarmouk University, Jordan – this was the country's first educational establishment to focus on Israeli affairs, and was uncommon at that time in the Arab region as a whole. He also served as director of the Center from 1984 to 1986 before returning to Kuwait University to become a professor.

In 1990, he returned to a founding role in Jordan, establishing the Jordan University for Women where he spent the next three years as director until 1993. The university eventually became part of Petra University in Amman, as the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. He would return to Petra University ten years later, serving as president from 2003 to 2005. During that ten-year period, in addition to beginning his political career, he also held two other university presidencies; firstly at Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan from 1994 to 1995, and then at Al-Ahliyya Amman University between 1995–2002.

Other notable appointments held by Dr Mahmoud include Secretary General of the Association of Arab Universities, President of the Board of Trustees of the German Jordanian University from 2009 to 2013 and Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation.

Political career

Dr Mahmoud began his senior political career in 1993 with his appointment as Minister of Culture, serving under Prime Minister Abdelsalam al-Majali until 1994. After a period working in presidential roles at several universities, he returned to the Jordanian Cabinet in 2005, again as Minister of Culture, this time serving under Prime Minister Adnan Badran and he took up his third and current ministerial appointment, as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, under the current Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour.

In addition to his ministerial posts, he has also served as a member of the Jordanian Senate, elected by the King of Jordan and responsible for legislative functions and political oversight, and has previously served as acting Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Consultancy and advisory work

Dr Mahmoud has been employed as a consultant and adviser for many academic and governmental institutions, both in Jordan and overseas. He has previously performed the role of academic adviser for several Middle East universities and colleges, including the Ajman University of Science and Technology in the United Arab Emirates from 2000–02, Al-Zahra College for Women in Oman from 2002–05, and at the Aqaba University of Technology in Jordan between 2008 and 2010. In addition to these roles, between 2006 and 2007 he worked as an adviser for the Arab Academy for Banking and Financial Sciences and also was the Head of the Education Working Group for the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization, – a global professional services provider headquartered in Amman.

Authoring and publishing

Throughout his career, Dr Mahmoud has been an active author and publisher, with over 70 academic research papers and other articles to his credit in both Arabic and English, addressing a variety of public and educational matters. Many of these published works have been presented at local and international forums and workshops. He has also written and published several books, on topics such as the position and role of the Soviet Union in the creation of the State of Israel and on the history of Jewish settlement projects from the time of the French Revolution until the end of the First World War.

Minister of Higher Education role

Since taking up his current position as Deputy prime minister and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Jordan, Dr Mahmoud has been forging international relations with a number of countries (such as Oman, Qatar and Kuwait) focusing on bilateral cooperation on educational projects. In particular, with Turkey, China, Armenia and Saudi Arabia, he has held discussions about the potential founding of joint-venture universities, similar in nature to that of the German Jordanian University in Amman, Jordan. He has also shown support for pan-Arabian educational and scientific networks such as the Arab Innovation Network – founded at the University of Cambridge as a not-for-profit organisation for the encouragement of Arab students in entrepreneurship and problem-solving.

In addition to fostering international relationships, Dr Mahmoud's remit extends to the interests of Jordanian overseas students: after political upheaval in Ukraine in early 2014, in order to address potential concerns for the welfare of Jordanian nationals studying in that country (who number in the thousands, and of whom approximately 250 reside in the Crimea), Dr Mahmoud visited the Ukraine in March of that year. During that trip, he met with Ukrainian Higher Education officials, to seek assurances about the safety of the students and to further assess the situation. As well as these humanitarian efforts, he has been actively promoting further opportunities for overseas studies, such as the creation of 50 medical scholarships in Egyptian universities for Jordanian students. As well as these humanitarian efforts, he has been actively promoting further opportunities for overseas studies, such as the creation of 50 medical scholarships in Egyptian universities for Jordanian students.

Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research, Amin Mahmoud, was quoted saying, The establishment of the university is in line with the ministry's efforts to bridge the gap between the educational system output in Jordan in its comprehensive concept with the knowledge economy requirements and align it with the job market." This came as an MOU was signed with China's University of Geosciences.

Dr. Mahmoud chaired multiple cabinet meetings as acting prime minister as well as attending Jordan's 68th independence day and other national celebrations on 10 June 2014 deputizing for prime minister Abdullah Ensour during his visit to Switzerland.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Higher Education quit his cabinet post on 2 March 2015 with the latest Royal decree approving a cabinet reshuffle.

Ukrainian unrest

Dr. Serhiy Pasko, the ambassador of Ukraine, met on 27 April 2014 with Dr. Mahmoud. They held talks about the latest developments in the south-eastern regions of Ukraine and about the security of Jordanian students who study there.

In recent developments the Ukrainian Ambassador to Jordan Sergi Basco said his country has proposed to Jordan to transfer around 3,500 Jordanian students from unstable regions in his country to safer and more secure areas towards the country’s west and to the capital Kiev.

The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Amin Mahmoud "It's a result of the conditions experienced by Ukraine currently allows for Jordanian students studying at universities in eastern Ukraine transfer to universities recognized by the ministry and installed on the Ministry's website in the west of Ukraine, or to any of the states that formed the Union the former Soviet regardless of the time spent student at the University of graduation (and so for the academic year 2015/2014 only)."

Current role and latest news

A royal decree was issued 3 March 2015 appointing Mahmoud as a member of the XXVI Senate of Jordan. Alongside his senate role Amin Mahmoud was appointed on 15 June 2015 as Senior adviser on Education to Abu-Ghazaleh.

Bahrain education minister receives Jordanian Senate member Amin Mahmoud, currently on a visit to the kingdom

Selected works