Spotlight
Kawar Group
Information last updated on 20 October 2023
About the Founder
Amin Kamel Kawar was born in 1894 in the city of Nazareth, Palestine. His family lineage traces back to the Al Qa’awerah tribe, which originated in the Arabian Peninsula, in the area of present-day Yemen. Over the centuries, Al Qa’awerah descendants settled in various locations outside their tribal homeland, including around the Levant.[7]
Amin’s ancestors moved to Nazareth as early as the 18th century, where they rose to local prominence and held a variety of political posts during the Ottoman era. His grandfather served as the mayor of Nazareth from 1875 until his death in 1888.[8] Amin’s formative years were characterized by the volatile political environment erupting around the onset of the First World War and the subsequent League of Nations Mandate that put his homeland under British control.[9]
Amin studied pharmacy in Beirut and served in the Ottoman army after graduating.[10] He then started his career as an English language teacher in the Russian Teacher’s Training Seminary in Nazareth, which closed down in 1914.[11] Amin moved to Amman during the establishment of the Jordanian state in the early 1920s, where he opened a pharmacy on Al-Rida Street in 1926.[12] There, he married Kalthum, with whom he had three children: Raneen, Tawfiq, and Kamel.[13]
Pursuing an interest in geology, Amin worked in scientific research for years before he identified phosphate deposits in Russeifa, Jordan, in the 1930s.[14] In 1935, he embarked on his first industrial venture beyond the field of medicine, establishing the Jordan Phosphate Mines Co. (JPMC).[15]
JPMC went public in 1953; around the same time, Tawfiq Amin Kawar, the founder’s son, founded Amin Kawar & Sons (AKS) as a shipping agency and logistics company.[16] Kawar & Sons expanded its operations in 1963, establishing a travel and tourism division. Two years later, Amin Kawar passed away at the age of 71.[17] Kawar Travel and Tourism, quickly becoming the largest inbound tour operator in Jordan, soon opened offices in Beirut.[18] Amin Kawar & Sons went on to form partnerships with several global shipping companies, including PIL in 1972, MSC and Höegh in 1976, COSCO in 1980, Maersk in 1982, and GAC in 1985.[19]
In 1987, Karim and Rudain Kawar, representing the family’s third generation, founded a technology division that would eventually diversify into multiple sectors.[20] In the following decade, Kawar International was established to represent international companies in diverse fields both in Jordan and the region.[21]
Continuing its expansion, the Kawar Group established Kawar Transport & Transit Co (KARGO) in 2004 as a logistics service provider for its clients and agents in Jordan and neighboring countries.[22] Four years later, in 2008, Kawar Energy was launched as a member of the Kawar Group, specializing in clean energy technologies.[23] Among its notable achievements was the development of Shams Ma’an Power Generation PSC, the largest solar plant in Jordan and the largest privately owned photovoltaic (PV) plant in the region at the time of its commissioning.[24] The project, which commenced in 2009, was completed in 2014.
Today
Today, Tawfiq Kawar from the family’s second generation is chairman emeritus of the group.[25] Tawfiq’s eldest son, Rudain Kawar, holds the position of CEO in the group, with his younger son, Karim Kawar, serving as group president.[26] Raneen Kawar serves as marketing manager.[27]
Under the leadership of the third generation, the Kawar Group is today headquartered in Amman and operates across the MENA region.[28] The group has grown into a diversified conglomerate with business lines in shipping, logistics, energy, healthcare, technology, travel and tourism, and investments.[29]
Notes
Image credit: Kawar Group. Source: Kawar Group
[1] Kawar Group | Group of Companies, https://www.kawar.com/. Accessed 8 May 2023.
[2] “Our History.” Kawar Group, https://www.kawar.com/about-us/our-history. Accessed 9 May 2023.
[3] Ibid.
[4] “Kawar Group.” LinkedIn, 23 February 2022, https://www.linkedin.com/company/kawargroup/about/. Accessed 9 May 2023.
[5] “Our Sectors.” Kawar Group, https://www.kawar.com/our-sectors. Accessed 9 May 2023.
[6] Kawar Group | Group of Companies.
[7] For Kawar’s birth date see “Amin Kawar Computer Laboratory renovated.” The University of Jordan News, https://ujnews2.ju.edu.jo/en/english/Lists/News/Disp_FormNews1.aspx?ID=4556.
For the Kawar family lineage, see “القعاورة / آل قعوار (السلط ـ الفحيص).” المدينة نيوز, https://www.almadenahnews.com/article/26291-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A2%D9%84-%D9%82%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%B7-%D9%80-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%AD%D9%8A%D8%B5. Accessed 31 May 2023.
See “فقرة الكتاب – هذا الرجل هو مكتشف مادة الفوسفات في الأردن، أمين كامل قعوار.” YouTube, 27 November 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xsFWz04bTw. Accessed 31 May 2023.
[8] “«أمين كامل قعوار.. مكتشف الفوسفات» كتاب جديد لرؤوف أبو جابر.” رصين, 9 January 2014, http://rasseen.com/art.php?id=165bc863be2dad3f86c99ddf0382502bbfab9774. Accessed 9 May 2023.
[9] “The British Army in Palestine.” National Army Museum, https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/conflict-Palestine. Accessed 31 May 2023.
[10] “فقرة الكتاب – هذا الرجل هو مكتشف مادة الفوسفات في الأردن، أمين كامل قعوار.” YouTube.
[11] “أمين كامل قعوار.. مكتشف الفوسفات .. نذر من حياته ربع قرن للتعدين.” عروبة الاخباري June 2014, https://l1nq.com/hSLDK. Accessed 9 May 2023.
Abu Hannah, Hannah. طلائع النهضة في فلسطين. Institute for Palestine Studies, 2012, https://web.archive.org/web/20220724222938/https://alghad.com/%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%87%D8%B6%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%81%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%86/amp/. Accessed 31 May 2023.
[12] For the establishment of Jordan see “History of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan | Jordan History.” Memphis Tours, https://www.memphistours.com/Jordan/Jordan-Travel-Guide/Jordan-General-Information/wiki/Jordan-History. Accessed 7 June 2023.
For Kawar’s biography see “«أمين كامل قعوار.. مكتشف الفوسفات» كتاب جديد لرؤوف أبو جابر.” Addustour الدستور, https://l1nq.com/fNZef. Accessed 9 May 2023.
For the Kawar’s Group history see “Our History.” Kawar Group.
[13] “أمين كامل قعوار.. مكتشف الفوسفات .. نذر من حياته ربع قرن للتعدين.” عروبة الاخباري.
“Amin Kawar Computer Laboratory renovated.” The University of Jordan News, https://ujnews2.ju.edu.jo/en/english/Lists/News/Disp_FormNews1.aspx?ID=4556.
[14] “Our History.” Kawar Canada, https://kawar.ca/our-history/. Accessed 9 May 2023.
“«أمين كامل قعوار.. مكتشف الفوسفات» كتاب جديد لرؤوف أبو جابر.” Addustour الدستور.
[15] “Our History.” Kawar Group.
“KAWAR HISTORY AT A GLANCE.” Kawar Group | Group of Companies, https://www.kawar.com/. Accessed 9 May 2023.
[16] For the Kawar’s Group see “Our History.” Kawar Group, https://www.kawar.com/about-us/our-history. Accessed 9 May 2023.
See “Amin Kawar Computer Laboratory renovated.” The University of Jordan News.
[17] “Amin Kawar Computer Laboratory renovated.” The University of Jordan News.
[18] “Our History.” Kawar Group.
“Travel and Tourism.” Kawar Group, https://www.kawar.com/our-sectors/travel-and-tourism. Accessed 9 May 2023.
[19] “Our History.” Kawar Group.
[20] “Our Company.” Kawar Group, https://www.kawar.com/our-company. Accessed 9 May 2023.
[21] “Trade and Project Development – Kawar International.” Kawar Group, https://www.kawar.com/our-sectors/trade-and-project-development. Accessed 9 May 2023.
[22] “(KARGO) Kawar Transport & Transit Co.” LinkedIn, 23 February 2022, https://www.linkedin.com/company/kargo-kawar-transport-transit-co/about/. Accessed 9 May 2023.
[23] “Our History.” Kawar Group.
“Kawar Energy.” Kawar Energy, http://www.kawarenergy.com/?url=en/Why%20Kawar%20Energy. Accessed 9 May 2023.
[24] “Our History.” Kawar Group.
[25] “Leadership.” Kawar Group, https://www.kawar.com/about-us/leadership. Accessed 9 May 2023.
[26] “Annual Financial Report Year 2017.” Jordan Ahli Bank, https://ahli.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/annual-financial-report-2017-EN.pdf. Accessed 20 September 2023.
“مجلس الأدارة.” NatHealth, https://nathealth.net/ar/Pages/95/AboutNathealth?category=45. Accessed 20 September 2023.
[27] See “أمين كامل قعوار.. مكتشف الفوسفات .. نذر من حياته ربع قرن للتعدين.” عروبة الاخباري, 16
For the Kawar group leadership, see “Leadership.” Kawar Group.
See “Remarks After Signing the Book of Condolence at the Jordanian …” The American Presidency Project, 10 November 2005, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-after-signing-the-book-condolence-the-jordanian-embassy. Accessed 9 May 2023.
Refenitiv
[28] “Kawar Group.” LinkedIn.
[29] “Our Sectors.” Kawar Group.
To cite this article please use:
“Kawar Group” Family Business Histories Research Project, New York University Abu Dhabi and Tharawat Family Business Forum, 29 Jan. 2024, familybusinesshistories.org/spotlights/kawar-group