His Excellency Dr. Ahmad Khalaf Masa’deh is a distinguished international lawyer, arbitrator, academic, and former senior public official whose career spans law, diplomacy, and government at the highest levels. Admitted to the Jordanian Bar in 1993, he is the Managing Partner of Khalaf Masa’deh LLC, one of Jordan’s leading law firms founded in 1971 by his late father, the renowned jurist and Minister of Justice, Khalaf Masa’deh. Over the course of three decades, Dr. Masa’deh has become recognized as one of the most accomplished corporate and arbitration lawyers in Jordan, specializing in infrastructure, energy, investment, insurance, and cross-border dispute resolution, while also serving as counsel and arbitrator in major international proceedings under ICC, LCIA, PCA, ICSID and UNCITRAL rules. His long-standing clients include leading local entities and global corporations, who value not only his legal acumen but also his international business insight and far-reaching networks across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.
Alongside his legal career, Dr. Masa’deh has held some of the most senior positions in Jordanian public life. From 2004 to 2005, he was appointed Minister of Public Sector Reform, where he articulated and oversaw a national modernization program, restructured public institutions, advanced privatization efforts in strategic sectors such as energy and telecommunications, and, with Danish assistance, established Jordan’s Ombudsman Bureau as a central mechanism for accountability and reform. In 2006, he was named Jordan’s Ambassador to the European Union, NATO, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Norway, a post he held until 2010. In Brussels, he worked to deepen Jordan–EU relations, initiating the dialogue that granted Jordan “advanced status” within the Union, creating the first “Group of Friends of Jordan” at the European Parliament, and negotiating Jordan’s pioneering Individual Cooperation Program with NATO, which reinforced both political and practical ties with the Alliance. In recognition of his efforts, His Majesty King Abdullah II decorated him with the Order of Independence of the First Class, and King Albert II of Belgium honored him with the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown — making him the first Jordanian ambassador to receive that distinction.
In 2010, Dr. Masa’deh was unanimously elected as the first Secretary-General of the Union for the Mediterranean, a 43-member intergovernmental body uniting the European Union and southern Mediterranean states. There, he led the establishment of the Secretariat’s institutional, operational, and human foundations, set in motion initiatives on infrastructure, energy, environment, and education, and advanced a vision rooted in pluralism, democracy, and shared prosperity across both shores of the Mediterranean. His tours, speeches, and diplomatic outreach significantly enhanced the visibility of the Union and positioned its Secretariat firmly on the regional map.
Beyond government and diplomacy, Dr. Masa’deh has remained an active voice in academia and international affairs. Between 2000 and 2005 he served as Assistant Professor of International Business Law at the University of Jordan, and he has since been a visiting professor at the London Academy of Diplomacy. He has also authored and published extensively in the field of trade and investment law, including his book Investment and Competition in International Policy: Prospects for WTO Law (Cameron May, London, 2003). His expertise and leadership have been further recognized through service on the boards and advisory councils of distinguished institutions, including the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Panel of Arbitrators at the World Bank, the Council of the World Trade Law Association in London, Royal Jordanian Airlines, the NATO Defense College Foundation in Rome, the Livingston Group in Washington D.C., Securitas Jordan, and Domain Academy in Malta.
Born in 1969, Dr. Masa’deh is the son of the late Khalaf Masa’deh, one of Jordan’s foremost legal pioneers and a former Minister of Justice. He is married to Bana Sa’ed Hijazi, with whom he has three daughters. A committed advocate of liberal democratic values, pluralism, and regional cooperation, he continues to blend his professional practice with public service, scholarship, and thought leadership, standing as one of the most prominent Jordanian figures to bridge law, politics, and international diplomacy.