er, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Majlis al Umma)
consists of an upper house or House of Notables (Majlis al-Ayaan) and a
lower house or House of Representatives (Majlis al-Nuwwab); note--the House
of Representatives was dissolved by King Hussein on 30 July 1988 as part of
Jordanian disengagement from the West Bank and in November 1989 the
first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held, with no seats going
to Palestinians on the West Bank

Judicial branch: Court of Cassation

Leaders:
Chief of State--King HUSSEIN Ibn Talal I (since 11 August 1952);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Mudar BADRAN (since 4 December
1989)

Political parties and leaders: none; after 1989 parliamentary
elections, King Hussein promised to allow the formation of political
parties

Suffrage: universal at age 20

Elections:
House of Representatives--last held 8 November 1989 (next to be
held NA); results--percent of vote NA;
seats--(80 total) percent of vote NA

Communists: party actively repressed, membership less than 500 (est.)

Member of: ACC, Arab League, CCC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Hussein A. HAMMAMI;
Chancery at 3504 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 966-2664;
US--Ambassador Roscoe S. SUDDARTH; Embassy on Jebel Amman, Amman (mailing
address is P. O. Box 354, Amman, or APO New York 09892);
telephone p962o (6) 644371 through 644376

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), white, and green with a
red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a small white
seven-pointed star; the seven points on the star represent the seven fundamental
laws of the Koran

- Economy
Overview: Jordan was a secondary beneficiary of the oil boom of
the late 1970s and early 1980s, when its GNP growth averaged 10-12%. Recent
years, however, have witnessed a sharp reduction in cash aid from Arab
oil-producing countries and in worker remittances, with growth averaging
1-2%. Imports--mainly oil, capital goods, consumer durables, and
foodstuffs--have been outstripping exports by roughly $2 billion annually,
the difference being made up by aid, remittances, and borrowing. In 1989
the government pursued policies to encourage private investment, curb
imports of luxury goods, promote expor