accessibility

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Ministry of Education

إمكانية وصول الأشخاص ذوي الإعاقة

تجاوز إلى المحتوى الرئيسي
تجاوز إلى القائمة الرئيسية
تغيير ألوان الموقع
Minister Of Education
Home/ About Us

OMAR M. RAZZAZ

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

 

Ministry of Education, Jordan

Minister, January 2017- date.

 

Jordan Ahli Bank, Jordan

Chair of Board of Directors, October 2014- 2017

Chair of Credit, Governance, and Compensation and Remuneration committees.  Overhauled the governance of the bank bringing it to international corporate standards and oversaw the cleaning up of its portfolio and expansion of its credit and deposit base for SMEs and retail.

 

King Abdallah II Development Fund (KAFD), Jordan

Chair of Board of Trustees, October 2012- October 2014

Responsible for restructuring KAFD’s portfolio, governance, and operations and developing three new pillars focused on youth employment, civic empowerment, and innovation and entrepreneurship funds.

 

Privatization Evaluation Commission, Jordan

Chair, March 2013-February 2014

Committee commissioned  through Royal Decree and composed  of IBRD, IDB, IFC, and Jordanian representatives, and charged with evaluating the track record of privatization in Jordan in terms of the process (legal and financial due process), as well as economic and social impact (macro, micro, labor, and customer impacts).

 

The World Bank, Middle East and North Africa Region,

Advisor, September 2010- September 2012

Prepared the National Employment Strategy for Jordan; and provided advisory work on economic policy, labor markets, social protection, and pension fund reform in the region.

 

Social Security Corporation (SSC), Jordan

Director General, 2006- 2010

Developed and implemented a three year strategy to reform SSC’s Law, regulations, HR, internal processes, IT systems, and customer service.  The new SSC Law was passed in April 2010 and achieved financial sustainability as well as new benefit schemes such as maternity, unemployment, and expanded coverage of uninsured segments of society (micro-enterprises, self employed, housewives). Regulations and internal processes were simplified and IT systems introduced to improve data management and speed up service delivery to beneficiaries. HR regulations were revised to reduce hierarchy; institutional balance score card and KPIs were introduced and reflected in organizational  and individual bonus schemes;

 

Investment Commission, SSC, Jordan

Deputy Chair, 2006- 2010

Commission responsible for SSC investment portfolio of around JD 5 billion (US$ 7.5billion). Responsibilities of Commission include developing investment strategies; deciding on strategic investments in stocks, private equity, bonds, credit, and real estate; approving the budget; contracting with investors, advisors, and service providers; and evaluating the Investment Unit's performance. Member of the Governance Committee, Executive Committee, and Procurement Committee.

 

International Social Security Association (ISSA), Geneva

Chair of the Technical Commission on Investment. 2008-2010

Elected Chair of Investment Commission responsible for developing guidelines and best practices on investment strategies and risk management of pension funds.

 

                               

 

The World Bank, Middle East and North Africa Region, Lebanon

Country Manager, 2003- 2006.  Led the preparation of the Country Assistance Strategy for Lebanon 2006-2009; managed the Lebanon portfolio of projects and sector work; managed an office of 35 international and local staff; conducted dialogue with the Lebanese Government on macro and sectoral policy; led the editorial team of the Lebanon Quarterly Update (a widely quoted publication by the Lebanese press); wrote articles in the national press and gave numerous lectures at professional and academic events.  

 

The World Bank, East and North Africa Region, Infrastructure and Finance Group, Middle, Washington D.C.

Lead Urban Sector Specialist.  2000- 2003.  Led the preparation of projects and sector work in Iran, Yemen, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon.  Areas covered include municipal finance, decentralization, private sector participation in infrastructure, and development of housing finance and land markets.

 

The World  Bank, Private Sector Development Department (PSD), Private Participation in Infrastructure Group, Washington, D.C. 

Senior Private Sector Development Specialist. 1997- 2000.  Private participation in infrastructure work, including water, electricity, and other municipal services.  Privatization programs of state owned enterprises.  South Africa, Russia, Estonia, and Uzbekistan.

 

The World Bank, Europe and Central Asia,  Housing and Municipal Services Division.

Young Professionals Program, Private Sector Development Specialist. 1994.  Participated in the preparation of Municipal finance projects, Estonia.

 

The World Bank, West and Central Africa, Department, Infrastructure Division.

Young Professionals Program, Infrastructure Specialist, 1993. Project preparation and supervision in the West Africa region.

 

BOARD MEMBERSHIP

 

Jordan Strategy Forum (JSF), Jordan

Chair, 2012- 2017

JSF is a private sector think tank focused on research, advocacy, and enhancing private sector corporate governance and CSR.

 

Jordan University for Science and Technology, Jordan

Acting Chair and Board member, 2013-2017

 

Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP)

Member, 2014- 2017.

PEP is an international non-profit organization which contributes directly to the capacity and analysis of key economic policy issues around the world.

 

World Economic Forum Global Action Committee on Anti-Corruption and Transparency, Member, 2013- 2015.

 

Arab Bank, Jordan

Board Member, 2012- date.

Member of the Board of Directors and the Governance Committee.

 

 

National Center for Human Rights (NCHR), Jordan

Board Member, 2011- date

NCHR is an independent organization which has considerable credibility in monitoring and reporting on human rights issues in Jordan.

 

Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Jordan

Member of Economic Committee, 2009- 2010.

(ECOSOC) is a consultative body to government composed of representatives of the private sector, labor unions, civil society, and the public sector.

 

Insurance Regulation Commission, Jordan

Board Member, 2008- 2010

Board aims to regulate the local insurance sector and supervise it to provide the environment suitable for its development and enhance its role through upgrading the efficiency of the insurance institutions operating in the market and improve their performance, hence enabling them to provide better services in a healthy competitive environment positively reflected on the individual as well as the institutional requirements for insurance and on the Kingdom economy as a whole.

 

Royal Jordanian Airlines, Jordan

Board Member, Member of the Audit Committee, 2006- 2008

Board has overseen the modernization of the RJ fleet, implementation of new systems, and the privatization of the airline.

 

Economic Zones Holding Company Board

Committee Member, 2007-2010

The Committee is in charge of overseeing the feasibility studies; registration and establishment of the private holding management companies; the planning and implementation of the economic zones; and the governance framework determining the role of government agencies and private investors.

 

Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists, Jordan

Board Member, 2009 – 2010

CDFJ is a non-government-organization, committed to defending the freedom and security of journalists through addressing the violations to which they are exposed and building sustainable professional capacities as well as enabling them to have free access to information, along with developing and changing restrictive media related legislations.

 

Abdul Hamid Shoman Foundation

Member of Board of Trustees,2007- 2010

Developing and overseeing the Foundation's agenda including research; philanthropic activities; and scholarships.

 

American University of Beirut (AUB) Advisory Board for the School of Engineering and Architecture.

Board Member, 2007-2010.

 

 

ACADEMIC  EXPERIENCE

 

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology (MIT), Department of Urban Studies and Planning, International Development and Regional Planning Program. Ford International Assistant Professor, 1991-93, 1995-97. Graduate courses taught: Housing Finance; Governance; Managing Resources; Advised doctoral and masters students.

 

EDUCATION

-  Post Doctorate, Harvard Law School, 1992-93 Concentration in Property and Islamic Law.

-  Ph.D., Urban Planning, Harvard University, 1991.  Concentration in Economics. 

-  Masters, International Development and Regional Planning, MIT, 1987.

 - Graduate coursework in Corporate Finance, Sloan School, MIT 1996

-  B.S., magna cum laude, Civil Engineering, Louisiana Tech University, 1985. Concentration in Transportation Planning and Environmental Design.

 

 

 

 

 

AWARDS AND HONORS:

                               

Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS), Arab Award for Social Science for the paper: “From Rentier to Productive State: The Difficult Road to a New Arab Social Contract,” Qatar. 2012

- World Bank, Excellence Team Award, 2004

Innovation Marketplace Award, World Bank, 1999

-  Ford Assistant Professor International Career Development Chair, MIT 1996

-  Macarthur Program on Transnational Security, Faculty Research Seed Funding Competition, 1996

-  The World Bank Young Professionals Program  1993.

-  The Excellence in Teaching Award by the MIT Graduate Student Council. 1992-1993.

-  Harvard Law School "Liberal Arts and the Law Fellowship." 1992- 1993.

-  Social Science Research Council Ibn Khaldoun Award for best student paper on the Middle East. 1989.

-  Aga Khan Fellowship for Doctoral Studies. September 1988.

-  Edward McClure Memorial Award for writing.  1987

-  Royal Endowment for Culture and Education  Scholarship, Amman, Jordan. 1985.

-  National Deans's List. 1984.

 

DATE OF BIRTH        

      May 17, 1961

 

SELECTED LECTURES

 

  • Keynote speech at the World Bank Innovation Conference, Turkey, 2014
  • Keynote speech at the Aspen Institute Conference, 2014
  • Keynote speech at the UNDP Millennium Development Goals for the Arab Region, 2013.
  • Keynote speech at the Annual Meeting of the Lebanese Economic Association: “Beyond the Rentier State: Options for Lebanon,” 2009.
  • Keynote speech at the ESCWA Regional Conference on Climate Change and Food Security, 2008.
  • Keynote speech at the MIT SPURS Program graduation ceremony, 2007

 

PUBLICATIONS, LECTURES, AND REFERENCES CAN BE PROVIDED UPON REQUEST

Print

files

اسم الملف تحميل نوع الملف الحجم
Minister Of Education