Abdul Karim al-Kabariti

Abdul Karim al-Kabariti ( ; ; 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.

Kabariti was granted an Honorary Doctorate degree in Business Administration for his significant contribution to the financial sector across the Middle East and for his commitment to education and the political process in Jordan from Coventry University in 2015.

Political career Kabariti was elected as a Deputy to Jordan's 11th Parliament in 1989 and was quickly promoted to the cabinet in where he served as Minister of Tourism and Antiquities until 1991 and Minister of Labor from 1991 to 1993 before his appointment as Foreign Minister in 1995. Kabariti had earlier resigned from his post as Minister of Tourism and Antiquities during the Gulf Crisis in protest of what he viewed as a pro-Iraqi drift in the government.

Kabariti was a member of the Twelfth Jordanian Parliament in 1993–1997, during which he was the Head of the Economics and Finance committee for the period 1993–1995.

Kabariti's post as Foreign Minister saw an evolving foreign policy of peace with Israel, distance from Iraq, and rapprochement with former benefactors Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Prime Minister of Jordan Kabariti was appointed in 1996 as Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and Minister of Defense by the late King Hussein bin Talal, an unusually powerful combination. The appointment of Kabariti as prime minister may have been partly motivated by his potential for developing a good working relationship with parliament as he had served in the lower house since 1989 and held close personal and business relationships with its leadership.

Working relations with his parliament would actually end up deteriorating due to strong opposition in the legislature to his foreign policy and economic reforms. Kabariti became known for his positive attitude toward reform, openness toward journalists and his support of closer relationships with both Syria and Gulf Countries and less close relations with Iraq.

Regime change in Iraq Though Kabariti spoke of his domestic platform as strengthening pluralism and democracy and fighting corruption in the Jordanian government, these promises became subservient to the real purpose of the Kabariti government, regime change in Iraq. Kabariti's personal ambition as prime minister was to secure the King's cooperation in covert operations to overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein. Kabariti's promise to King Hussein to deliver regime change in Iraq was probably what won Kabariti his premiership in the first place. Throughout his terms both as foreign minister in 1995 and as prime minister Kabariti would take steps toward a coup against Saddam. Kabariti and King Hussein would meet several times in the United States where they were briefed by the CIA about plans for a military coup in Iraq in cooperation with the Iraqi National Congress (INA) led by Iyad Allawi. King Hussein was initially skeptical about the CIA's plans which the King viewed as half-baked and lacking basic knowledge of the internal situation in Iraq. It would take the personal persuasion of President Bill Clinton to sway King Hussein to support the coup. Kabariti would also forge a strategic relationship between Jordan and Saudi Arabia toward coordinated action against Saddam. Just weeks into the new government Kabariti had also allowed the INA to open headquarters in Amman. Protests broke out in the southern town of Kerak on August 16 and eventually spread to other towns, the riots were met with heavy police and military response. Though touted as part of the economic reform process in the country, the mechanisms of this policy were direct considerations of policy in Iraq. It was obvious to others in the government this would provoke unrest in the country, especially pro-Iraqi Jordanians, but this was Kabariti's intention so as to have basis for the arrest of the Ba'athist element of the country and sympathizers of Saddam Hussein. In response to the unrest King Hussein, likely unaware of the real motive behind the lifted subsidies, in a press conference doubled down his support for Kabariti's policies and placed blamed external elements supportive of Iraq for fermenting unrest. He was dismissed less than a year later, owing to disagreements with King Abdullah and the then-prime minister over domestic and foreign policy issues.

Kabariti was also a member of the Jordanian Senate, First Deputy to the Speaker in 2000–2002, returning to the Senate, Head of the Economic & Finance Committee in 2005–2007.

Business career Kabariti serves on the boards of four banks and is the board president of Gulf Bank Algeria. He was board chair of Jordan Kuwait Bank until May 2021.