Khaldoun Qteishat

Position: Energy & Mineral Resources Minister, Jordan

Biography: As Energy & Mineral Resources Minister, Khaldoun Qteishat has one of the toughest government portfolios. While the Finance Ministry has to deal with the country’s high energy import bill, the onus is on the energy ministry to come up with the solutions.

Currently, the country’s oil and gas production is negligible, power has to be imported from Egypt to supplement local generation, and electricity demand is outstripping capacity increases. Qteishat, born in 1959 and educated in Jordan, where he studied electrical engineering, is leading a multi-pronged approach to address the issue.

Based on an energy strategy drawn up in 2007 at the instigation of King Abdullah, the kingdom is seeking to broaden its use of nuclear and renewable energy, reduce demand and develop its resources, particularly oil shale. The ministry is also the client for two independent power projects, the second of which is under negotiation.

Contact: (+9626) 5811 338