Jordan

 

The Rotary Club of Amman was chartered on 13 April 1956 with club number 13395.
The second club, the Rotary Club of Amman Philadelphia was formed 24 years later on 19 September 1980.
The Rotary Club of Amman holds its meetings in English.
The Spark of Rotary in Jordan ! 
The idea of Rotary in Jordan came from the late Baz Kamel Kawar” said PDG Mr. Raouf ABUJABER. PDG Raouf is the one of the most who can tell about this. It was a very interesting interview with him to find out “How did Rotary start in Jordan?” 
The late Baz came to Trans Jordan in 1923 on assignment from the Palestinian Government and he took the office of Post Master General when he was relieved from duty in 1940 he went back to Palestine. He got introduced to Rotary in Nazareth, Palestine after the 1948 Israeli occupation. He was a member and became a President of the club. He could not live with the occupation, and said once “our country is inhabitable” so he moved to Jordan in 1955 and started to gather prominent people to charter a new club in Amman. 
Amman was then a small city. In 1936 the population was 36000 and in 1946 it was almost 50,000. But, 25 members completed the charter and The Rotary Club of Amman was established in 1956. Some of the charter members are the late: 
  • توفيق قطانTwafiq Qattan, a prominent businessman
  • محمد علي بديرMohammed Ali Bdeir, Chairman of Chamber of Commerce & founder of Electric Company in Amman
  • وصفي بسيسوWasfi Bseiso, Phosphate Co.
  • سامي حبيبيSami Habibi. Saba & Co.
  • أمين قعوارAmin Kawar, Phosphate co.
  • حيدر شكريHaidar Shukri, Othoman Bank
  • سعد النمريSa’d Al Nemri, Finance  Ministry  Secretary  General امين عام وزارة الماليه
  • جمال حمادJamal Hammad, Minister of Agriculture وزير الزراعه
  • شكري المهتديShukri Al Muhtadi, Minister of Finance وزير المالية
  • أحمد الخليلAhmad Al Khalil, a prominent attorney محامي معروف
  • فؤاد عطا اللهFuad Attalla,  a prominent attorney محامي معروف
  • فريد السعدFarid Al Saad, Chairman of the Jordan Tobacco Company شركة الدخان الاردنية
  • زهير عصفورZuhair Asfour,          a prominent         businessman  رجل أعمال معروف
  • حاتم الزعبيHatem Al Zubi,     Minister   of    National   economy وزير الاقتصاد الوطني
  • محمد البرادعي العباسيMohammed Al Baradea’ Al Abbasi,    judge & President     of       the        Arabian     Orphan      Committee  . قاضي ورئيس لجنة اليتيم العربيه
  • إسحق هلاليIshaq Halali, a prominent businessman رجل أعمال معروف
  • حاتم الزعبيHatem   Al Zubi,       Minister   of      National           economy وزير الاقتصاد الوطني
Some charter members suggested Raouf ABUJABER who was 31 years old and Tawiq Kawar who was 29 years old at that time. But the dominant members refused to have these young members to be Chartered members. But in 1960, Rotary Club of Amman accepted the application of these two businessmen who became the pillars of Rotary in Jordan.
Palestine, was in the Rotary District 83 in 1929 with Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan & Cyprus. Then Jordan joined the district because these countries were neighbors in the Middle East.
In 1961 The Jerusalem Rotary Club was Chartered and late Anwar Nuseibeh was the first president. The late Antone Attallah, President of the Rotary Club of Jerusalem and then Governor for the district which became District 89. In 1966/1967 they had the District Conference in Jerusalem in the same year which had about 350 Rotarians attending the three day conference and the late Hatem Zubi was assigned as president for the conference.
The meetings of the Rotary Club of Amman were held at the famous Philadelphia Hotel, near the Roman Amphitheater. Unfortunately now it is just a playground and a parking lot! 
Rotarian Raouf ABUJABER became District Governor 73/74.  The late Jamal Hammad became District Governor in 80/81, but death prevented him to complete the governorship, so PDG  Raouf ABUJABER became governor to complete the term of the late Jamal Hammad.