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Hussein of Jordan

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Hussein
King of Jordan
ReignAugust 11, 1952 – February 7, 1999
(46 years)
PredecessorTalal I
SuccessorAbdullah II
SpouseDina bint 'Abdu'l-Hamid
Antoinette Avril Gardiner
Alia Baha ed din Toukan
Lisa Halaby
IssuePrincess Alia
Abdullah II of Jordan
Prince Faisal
Princess Aisha
Princess Zein
Princess Haya
Prince Ali
Prince Hamzah
Prince Hashim
Princess Iman
Princess Raiyah
HouseHashemite
FatherTalal of Jordan
MotherZein al Sharaf Talal
ReligionSunni Muslim

Hussein bin Talal (Arabic: حسين بن طلال, Ḥusayn bin Ṭalāl) (Amman, November 14, 1935 – Amman, February 7, 1999) was the King of Jordan from the abdication of his father, King Talal, in 1952, until his death. Hussein guided his country in the context of the Cold War, and through four decades of Arab-Israeli conflict, balancing the pressures of Arab nationalism, the burdens of sheltering a large Palestinian refugee population, and the allure of Western-style development against the stark reality of Jordan's geographic location.[1]

Hussein's family claims a line of descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad. "We are the family of the prophet and we are the oldest tribe in the Arab world", the king once said of his Hashemite ancestry.[1]

Early life and accession

Hussein was educated at Victoria College in Alexandria. He proceeded to Harrow School in England, where he befriended his cousin Faisal II of Iraq. He pursued further study at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

File:Young.king.jpg
In 1952, Hussein bin Talal was named King of Jordan

On July 20, 1951, Prince Hussein traveled to Jerusalem to perform Friday prayers with his grandfather, King Abdullah I. A Palestinian extremist, fearing the king might negotiate a peace with the newly-created state of Israel, opened fire on Abdullah and his grandson. Abdullah was killed, but the 15-year-old Hussein survived, and turned to pursue the gunman. The assailant turned his weapon on the young prince, who was saved when the bullet was deflected by a medal on his uniform given to him by his grandfather.[1]

He was appointed Crown Prince of Jordan on September 9, 1951. Abdullah's eldest son, King Talal, was crowned King of Jordan, but within a year was forced to abdicate owing to his mental state (European and Arab doctors diagnosed schizophrenia).[2] King Talal's son, Crown Prince Hussein, was proclaimed King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on August 11, 1952, succeeding at the age of 16; because this was under the legal age, he was enthroned a year later, on May 2, 1953.[1]

Six-Day War

Main article: Six-Day War

In mid-1967, Jordan joined Egypt and Syria to fight Israel in the Six Day War. Jordan lost control of the West Bank and east Jerusalem and saw its military shattered, but Hussein shored up his support among the country's growing Palestinian population.[3]

Black September

Main article: Black September

In September 1970, the king ordered the forcible expulsion of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which he considered to be attempting to foment a civil war, from the country.

The Gulf War

Template:Hashemite-Jordan

Main article: Gulf War

The country also defied the West and the other allied leaders by refusing to side against Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War — allegedly done for internal political reasons after the Ma'an uprising in 1988 that threatened the throne of the King — which alienated the kingdom from most of the Arab world.

Peace with Israel

Main article: Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace

In 1994 King Hussein concluded negotiations to end the official state of war with Israel resulting in the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace which he had begun negotiating in secret with the Israelis in the 1970s. King Hussein developed strong ties of friendship with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, with whom he had negotiated the peace treaty. King Hussein gave a powerful speech at the funeral of Yitzhak Rabin:

Full text: wikisource:Hussein of Jordan's Speech at Rabin's Funeral
My sister, Mrs. Leah Rabin, my friends, I had never thought that the moment would come like this when I would grieve the loss of a brother, a colleague and a friend - a man, a soldier who met us on the opposite side of a divide whom we respected as he respected us. A man I came to know because I realized, as he did, that we have to cross over the divide, establish a dialogue, get to know each other and strive to leave for those who follow us a legacy that is worthy of them. And so we did. And so we became brethren and friends.[4]

Books

The king wrote three books: Uneasy Lies the Head (1962), about his childhood and early years as king; My War With Israel (1969); and Mon Métier de Roi..

Death

He died of complications related to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma on February 7, 1999. The King had been suffering from the disease for many years and had been treated at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, United States on a fairly regular basis.

Just before his death, he made a constitutionally-allowable change to his will, disinheriting the heir-apparent of several decades, his brother Hassan, in favor of his eldest son Abdullah. Then, with a recurrent fever, he abruptly returned to the U.S. clinic January 25 for further treatment. He underwent a bone marrow transplant earlier that week, but the transplant failed, and the king returned home to die. The King was, at the time of his death, one of the longest-serving leaders in international politics.[1]

Personal life

King Hussein was married four times, although he was never married to more than one woman at the same time; his four wives were:

King Hussein was an avid amateur radio operator (callsign JY1). He also loved to fly airplanes (prop and jet) as well as helicopters.

King Hussein was succeeded as king by his eldest son Abdullah II of Jordan.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "King Hussein is dead". CNN. 1999-02-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Royalty.nu - Royalty in Jordan - The Life of King Hussein
  3. ^ CNN - Highlights of King Hussein's life
  4. ^ Transcript from CNN life coverage by Daniel Pipes

See also

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to King Hussein.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hussein I of Jordan.
Regnal titles
Preceded by Hashemite King of Jordan
1952–1999 		Succeeded by

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