DUBAI: Jordan's King Abdullah II on Sunday accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh's government, ordering it to stay in a caretaker capacity until the formation of a new cabinet, the Royal Hashemite Court said on Sunday.
The Jordanian King has appointed Jaafar Hassan as prime minister.
Hassan, a widely respected technocrat, was Jordan's former planning minster. He recieved his education at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is also the head of King Abdullah's office.
He will replace veteran diplomat and former palace advisor Al-Khasawneh, who is considered the longest-serving prime minister during King Abdullah II's reign.
Khasawneh, 55, had headed the government since October 2020.
He submitted his resignation on Sunday to King Abdullah II after parliamentary elections saw some gains for the Islamist opposition.
In last week’s parliamentary election, an Islamic party emerged as the largest faction, in part because of the anger over the war in Gaza.
The country's leading Islamist party, the Islamic Action Front, came out top in Tuesday's poll, winning 31 out of the 138 seats in parliament.
The IAF is a political offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, and the result gives the Islamists their largest representation since 1989.
The cabinet usually quits after a parliamentary election in line with a constitutional custom.
Jordan's parliament is bicameral. In addition to the elected parliament there is also a senate with 69 members appointed by the monarch.
