Zayd al-Rifai

Zayd Samir al-Rifai was born in Amman, the son of six-time Prime Minister Samir al-Rifai and nephew of Abdul-Munim al-Rifai. Educated at Harvard University (BA 1957) and Columbia University (MA in international relations 1958), he served as Jordan's ambassador to the Court of St. James in London, surviving an assassination attempt by Black September gunmen in 1971.

Rifai served four terms as Prime Minister of Jordan (1973-1976 and 1985-1989), acting as King Hussein's closest diplomatic negotiator during the Cold War and Arab summitry. In 1997, he was appointed President of the Senate, a post he held with distinction for over two decades until 2009, standing as a pillar of Jordanian state continuity until his death in August 2024.