Mary Kawar

Former Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Jordan

Dr. Mary Kawar is a former Minister of Planning and International Cooperation in Jordan, and ex-Board Member of the Jordan Central Bank. She has been Director for the Regional Hub in Amman, at the Bureau for Arab States of the United Nations Development. She was also the Director for East Africa office of the International Labour Organization in Dar Es Salaam, where she served for over 20 years, including in its headquarters in Geneva, as well as in Beirut. She has more than 30 years experience in government and international development across the globe, especially in the Arab region. Her expertise is in the areas of labour, youth, gender, social protection, refugees and livelihoods. She is actively engaged in civil society, focusing on education and cultural initiatives, including as founder of Tiraz museum in Amman, which is the home of the most complete collection of Palestinian, Jordanian and other Arab costumes. She had authored several publications and led many operational projects. She holds a PhD from the London School of Economics.

Education

Ph.D. (Development Studies), London School of Economics (LSE), UK, 1997
M.Sc. (Social Policy and Planning for Developing Countries), LSE, UK, 1989
B.A. (Anthropology and Economics), Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA, 1988

Fellowships

The Foreign Commonwealth Office Scholarship, British Council 1991-1993
The Population Council Middle East Research Award 1993 - 1995

Experience

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, 2018 -2019
Country Director in East Africa (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi), International Labour Organization, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, and before Senior Regional Specialist for Employment Policy, Beirut, and for Skills, Employability, Women Workers and Gender, Geneva 1997 - 2017
Advisor to the Minister of Labour, Ministry of Labour, Jordan (on leave from ILO)
Consultant, Training and Employment Support Project World Bank, Jordan
Researcher, Iraq Study Team, Harvard University

Publications

“Decent Work for Sustainable Development in Tanzania”. Dar Es Salaam: International Labour Organisation, Dar Es Salaam, 2017
“Young People Need Jobs, and So Do Their Parents”. Venture, September 2017 (with Zafiris Tzannatos)
“Towards Decent Work in Lebanon: Issues and Challenges in Light of the Syrian Refugee Crisis”. Beirut: International Labour Organization Regional Office for Arab States, 2015 (with Salem Ajluni)
“Impact of the Syrian Refugee Crisis on the Labour Market in Jordan”. Beirut: International Labour Organization Regional Office for Arab States, 2015 (with Salem Ajluni)
“Young Arabs and Evolving Realities” in Jacqueline Bhabha (ed.) Human Rights and Adolescence, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014 (with Jocelyn DeJong)