Ihsan Barakat
Attorney General
Assumed office
December 2010

Ihsan Zuhdi Barakat (born 1964) is a Jordanian jurist who was the country's first female Attorney General and the first woman appointed to the country's Supreme Court in 2017.

Early life and education

Barakat's mother was a teacher.[1] She graduated from the University of Jordan in 1986.[2]

Career

Barakat set up her own law firm in 1988, attracting high profile clients including the Central Bank of Jordan.[3] She was appointed as a judge in 2002 at the Court of First Instance in Amman and transferred to the Appeals Court in 2004.[3] She also served as director of the Directorate of International Relations at the Ministry of Justice for nine months in 2004-2005.[3][2]

Barakat was a judicial inspector and a judge at the Amman Court of Appeal.[1] In May 2007, she was appointed to the position of Chief of Court of the Court of First Instance in West Amman, the first woman to hold such a position.[4][5] Barakat was a founding member and president of the Arab Women's Legal Network, which was formed in 2005 with the backing of Queen Rania.[1] She is a member of the Executive Board of the Jordanian National Commission for Women and the Higher Council of the Jordanian National Forum for Women.[2]

In December 2010, Barakat was appointed as the country's first female Attorney General, supervising sixty district attorneys, including only one other woman,[6][7] and representing the government in the court of appeals.[8] At the time she said, "The position will put to a test women's capabilities ... Some of my peers were angered by my appointment."[8]

Barakat was appointed to the Supreme Court in September 2017, making her the first woman to reach the highest position in the country's judiciary.[9] In January 2018, she was appointed as a judge in the Cassation Court, the judicial authority over all Jordanian courts.[10] At the same time, Prime Minister Hani Mulki issued a circular to all ministries and institutions to ensure gender equality in vacant positions.[10]

Personal life

Barakat has two daughters,[8] both have graduated law in London.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Pudney, Harriet (17 September 2017). "Jordan now has its first female Supreme Court judge". Emirates Woman. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "Judge Ihssan Barakat". Archived from the original on 2015-09-08. Retrieved 2018-07-14.
  3. 1 2 3 Hindi, Linda (29 May 2007). "First Woman Appointed as Chief of Court in Jordan". The Jordan Times. American Bar Association. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  4. ↑ "First woman chief of court for Jordan". IOL. 29 May 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  5. ↑ Smail Salhi, Zahia (2013). Gender and Violence in Islamic Societies: Patriarchy, Islamism and Politics in the Middle East and North Africa. I. B. Tauris. p. 118. ISBN 9780857733689.
  6. ↑ "Jordan names first woman chief district attorney". The Jerusalem Post. 9 December 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  7. ↑ "Jordan Names First Woman Chief District Attorney". Fox News. 9 December 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 Pretorius, Richard (28 December 2010). "Jordan's female attorney general challenges tradition". The National UAE. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  9. ↑ "Barakat promoted to highest Judicial Council rank". The Jordan Times. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Barakat becomes first female Cassation Court judge". The Jordan Times. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
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