A Synopsis about Dr. Ahmad Mufleh Al-Hourani
Ahmad Mufleh Al-Hourani was born on December 27, 1942 in Baqa Al-Gharbiyeh, Tulkarem, Palestine where he finished the elementary stage and then moved to the city of Tulkarem to complete the preparatory stage.
When Ahmad completed his secondary education or the "Matrek", he joined and then completed his University education at Damascus University and obtained two Bachelor Degrees in History and Law in a four year period.
While he was working at Abha as a history teacher, one of his peers, an Iraqi teacher, advised him to complete his higher education. So, he traveled to Egypt to obtain a Diploma in Tax legislation and a PhD in Economics from the University of Cairo, Egypt.
As he returned to Jordan and worked in the Central Bank, he wrote a book on Tax legislation and at the same time worked as a lecturer. At that point, Dr. Ahmad said , 'Because of favoritism and nepotism, I was ousted from the Bank of Cities and Villages for Development, and thought to work in the same year in free business. At this juncture, I submitted my resignation from the Central Bank out of the feeling of injustice. This feeling motivated me to expand later and determine to achieve success in my work".
Al-Hourani's savings at the time were not enough to allow him to initiate his dream project by establishing an Institute of Banking Studies. Although his need for the money did not exceed three thousand dinars, he borrowed the fund and established the Institute of Banking Studies. He explains that "Jordan at that time was witnessing a financial renaissance which enhanced my idea to establish the institute".
Because Al-Hourani was attracted to the educational sector, he decided to establish the "University School, which later expanded to include three branches in Amman ,at Tabarbour, Jbaiha and the University''. Like any investor looking to diversify his investments, Al-Hourani thought of investing in the industrial sector. And he said "I bought 400 thousand shares in the Jordan Dairy Company, which was a joint venture between the public and private sectors". He remarked that the company was suffering from sagging due to the government bureaucracy. Al-Hourani then directed his efforts to the private sector instead of the public sector in the dairy company. By using the mentality of the private sector, in the late eighties and early nineties, Al-Hourani, who holds a Bachelor Degree in Law and History (Arts), a Master Degree in Finance and a PhD in Economic Development returned to the educational sector.
He says "the idea of founding a private University occurred to me just when Jordan, like most countries at the time, was devoid of any non-governmental University''. Al-Hourani says" It was a big challenge to me. The University I was talking about needs an adventurous capital. Fulfilling the idea can be difficult because it is the first private university in Jordan and because the idea of its existence has to be accepted by people". "I determined to proceed with the project". He added that "I bought a piece of land to establish the University, and convinced investors to be partners with me in capital partnership until the project saw the light and reality and Al-Ahliyya Amman University became the first private University in Jordan.
The success of Dr. Ahmad in the three industrial, tourism and agricultural sectors made him the only businessman in Jordan who worked in these sectors and succeeded. His permanent motto was " maintaining the quality,pursuing honesty and above all, trusting in Allah. The results are determined by Him."
