Hussein of Jordan

Hussein
King of Jordan
Reign 11 August 1952 – 7 February 1999 (&000000000000004600000046 years, &0000000000000180000000180 days)
Predecessor Talal
Successor Abdullah II
Spouse Dina bint 'Abdu'l-Hamid
Antoinette Avril Gardiner
Alia Baha ed din Toukan
Lisa Halaby
Issue
Princess Alia
Abdullah II of Jordan
Prince Faisal
Princess Aisha
Princess Zein
Princess Haya
Prince Ali
Prince Hamzah
Prince Hashim
Princess Iman
Princess Raiyah
House Hashemite
Father Talal of Jordan
Mother Zein al Sharaf Talal
Born 14 November 1935(1935-11-14)
Amman, Transjordan
Died 7 February 1999(1999-02-07) (aged 63)
Religion Sunni Muslim

Hussein bin Talal (Arabic: حسين بن طلال‎, Ḥusayn bin Ṭalāl; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was the King of Jordan from the abdication of his father, King Talal, in 1952, until his death. Hussein guided his country through the Cold War and four decades of Arab-Israeli conflict, balancing the pressures of Arab nationalism and the allure of Western-style development against the stark reality of Jordan's geographic location.[1] He worked throughout his life to advance the cause of peace between Jordan and Israel (which he successfully achieved in 1994), as well as between Palestinians and Israelis.

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]

Contents

Early life and accession

Hussein was born in Amman on 14 November 1935, to then Prince Talal bin Abdullah and Princess Zein al-Sharaf bint Jamil. After completing his elementary education in Amman, he 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.

In 1952, Hussein bin Talal was named King of Jordan, several weeks before his 17th birthday

On 20 July 1951, Prince Hussein traveled to Jerusalem to perform Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque 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]

In his autobiography, Uneasy Lies the Head, Hussein recalls how three days before that fateful day in Jerusalem, his grandfather turned to him and said:

“I hope you realize, my son, that one day you will have to assume responsibility. I look to you to do your very best to see that my work is not lost. I look to you to continue it in the service of our people.”[2]

He was appointed Crown Prince of Jordan on 9 September 1951. Abdullah's eldest son, King Talal, became King of Jordan, but within a year was forced to abdicate owing to his mental state (European and Arab doctors diagnosed schizophrenia).[3] King Talal's son, Crown Prince Hussein, was proclaimed King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on 11 August 1952, succeeding at the age of 16; because this was under the legal age, he was enthroned a year later, on 2 May 1953.[1]

Reign

King Hussein on a British Air Force base in 1955.

In March 1956 Hussein established his firm authority over Jordan, and burnished his own nationalist credentials by dismissing Glubb “Pasha” as the commander of the Jordanian Army, and replacing all the British officers with Jordanians. This now mainly Bedouin army was fiercely loyal to him, not just because the monarchy and the East Bank Bedouin tribes depended upon each other but also because, in personal style, Hussein was a classic Bedouin leader.

He navigated Jordan through turbulent years and maintained Jordan's reputation as an oasis of stability. After the Six Day War, Hussein opened Jordan's borders and welcomed well over a million Palestinian refugees and almost instantly gave them Jordanian citizenship giving them free access to healthcare and an education. He heavily invested in human capital in his 46 years as King. As a result, Jordan had the most advanced health and education systems in the Arab World. The King Hussein Medical City became the regional hub for treatment and surgery.

In 1991, together with an executive royal council, Hussein created the National Charter which reaffirmed democratic principles and lifted martial law. Opposition movements and political parties were legalized and freedom of the press was reaffirmed.

Throughout his reign Hussein was lenient in his treatment of political opponents, even those who had plotted against his person and his throne. While he understood that his country may have been a weak state in terms of its military and economic resources, he consistently exercised considerable political influence both through his moral authority and his subtle grasp of the hopes and fears of others. According to biographer Nigel Ashton: "Empathy was his most useful tool in regional politics."[4]

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.[5]

Black September

Main article: Black September

In September, 1970 Hussein ordered the forcible expulsion of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

The Gulf War

Jordanian Royalty
Hashemite Dynasty
Flag of Jordan.svg
Abdullah I
Children
   King Talal I
   Prince Naif
   Princess Haya
   Princess Munera
   Princess Maqbouleh
Grandchildren
   Prince Asem
Great Grandchildren
   Princess Yasmine
   Princess Sarah
   Princess Noor
   Princess Salha
   Princess Nejla
   Prince Nayef
Talal
Children
   King Hussein I
   Prince Muhammad
   Prince Hassan
   Princess Basma
Hussein
Children
   Princess Alia
   King Abdullah II
   Prince Faisal
   Princess Aisha
   Princess Zein
   Princess Haya
   Prince Ali
   Prince Hamzah
   Prince Hashim
   Princess Iman
   Princess Raiyah
Abdullah II
Children
   Prince Hussein
   Princess Iman
   Princess Salma
   Prince Hashem
Edit
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

In 1994, 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 1960s. Between 1963—1994 he had held at least 55 secret meetings with leading Israelis including at least seven prime and foreign ministers.[6] At the signing of the treaty at Wadi Araba on 26 October, Hussein described the event as the beginning of:

“Mutual respect between us all, tolerance, and the coming together of people, of generations to come beyond this time, to build and achieve what is worthy of them..."[7]

During the negotiations of the treaty Hussein developed strong ties of friendship with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. On 6 November 1995 Hussein gave a powerful speech at the funeral of his friend:

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... And as I stand here, I am obliged to you, to my people in Jordan and to the world, to keep on doing the utmost to guarantee that we leave behind a similar inheritance.“[8]

Summit of the Peacemakers

On 13 March 1996 the “Summit of the Peacemakers” was held at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt hosted by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Besides Hussein, those who attended included such dignitaries as Turkish President Suleiman Demirel, Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, US President Bill Clinton, and Russian President Boris Yeltsin. The summit was convened in order to put the Israeli-Palestinian peace process back on track after a spate of suicide bombings in Israel. In his address to the gathering, Hussein stressed that those who use religious justifications for terrorist acts have tarnished the image of Islam, which is a religion of peace, tolerance and dialogue. Hussein also said that a dual approach must be used in the fight against terrorism. Sources of funding, training and operations must be cut off, and media coverage must not encourage terrorism. He added that States in the Middle East and throughout the world must eliminate those sources of despair that drive persons to perform such horrible actions, stating:

“We must shoulder our responsibilities and work together to protect the dignity of human beings, whoever and wherever they may be.”

Hebron Agreement

While refusing to negotiate on behalf of either the Palestinians or the Israelis, Hussein would offer ideas to bridge the gaps between the two parties. For instance, his 11th-hour intervention in January 1997 brought Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to an agreement on the long-awaited withdrawal of Israeli troops from most of the West Bank town of Hebron.

The Wye accords

In 1997 when U.S. President Bill Clinton needed some prestigious heft to break the deadlock at the Wye Plantation talks, he invited Hussein, who was in the US undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer, to attend. Hussein received a standing ovation at the ceremony and praise from Clinton who said:

“The Jordanian Monarch was at the heart of the diplomatic breakthrough. His courage, commitment, wisdom and, frankly, stern instruction at certain times, were at the heart of this success. Every time he was in the room, he made us all become a little closer to the people we all would like to see ourselves as being.”

Though the agreement hashed out at Wye followed the usual, complex course of mid-eastern affairs, Hussein’s input at the conference helped to sway the participants to at least begin to agree.

Illness

At the end of July 1998 Hussein made public a letter to his brother, Crown Prince Hassan, divulging that his doctors at the Mayo Clinic thought he had lymphatic cancer. By the beginning of August they had confirmed it. Hussein's lymphoma was of a type that responded to chemotherapy, which the King had already begun and his physicians were optimistic he could be cured. Speaking on Jordanian television via satellite, Hussein told his people, "Rest assured, I am not over and done with." Nevertheless, he looked fragile and pale. It was the 62-year-old monarch's second bout with cancer; he lost a kidney to the disease in 1992.

On his way back to Jordan in January 1999, Hussein stopped in London.[9] Doctors advised him to rest and stay in England for a few weeks, as he was still too fragile to travel. The King declined. According to sources present, he stated that,

“I need very much to feel the warmth of my people around me, there is work to be done and I will get the strength from my people to finish the business.“[10]

Piloting his own aircraft[11][12] as he did hundreds of times, he touched down into Marka military airport, where he was greeted by Royal family members, ministers, parliament members, and Arab and foreign dignitaries. Upon landing, Hussein prayed on the tarmac and insisted, again against doctors advice, on riding in an open white limousine as his motorcade passed through downtown Amman, straight to his new home in Al Hummar.[9] It was a long journey in the pouring rain, and the king stood bravely greeting an estimated 2 million of his 4.6 million subjects who braved the elements and came out to greet their beloved monarch.[13]

Death

Just before his death, Hussein 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 on 25 January 1999 for further treatment. He underwent a bone marrow transplant earlier that week, but the transplant failed, and the king returned home to die.

On 7 February 1999 King Hussein died of complications related to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He was, at the time of his death, one of the longest-serving leaders in international politics.[1] He had been the King of Jordan for over 46 years and in that time was plagued by a single problem that overshadowed every other in his political life: Peace in the Middle East. He did not live to see its resolution even though he is remembered as one whose efforts helped his neighbors, the Israelis and the Palestinians, to live in the peace that eluded him most of his life. In an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour in January 1999, Hussein stated:

“I still feel that those of us who work for peace and believe in peace have a very, very loud voice, and hopefully, wisdom and common sense will prevail.“[14]

On 8 February the flag-draped coffin carrying the body of the King left his home which he called the "Door of Peace" Palace after the peace he forged with Israel. All five of his sons were in close attendance and an honor guard of Bedouin troops accompanied the casket of the monarch on a 90-minute procession through the streets of the capital city of Amman. An estimated 800,000 Jordanians (an estimated 20% of the country's population at the time), many of them weeping, braved icy winds to say farewell to their leader.[15] The funeral was attended by many dignitaries and statesmen from around the world.[16] That same day the UN General Assembly held an Emergency Special Session in "Tribute to the Memory of His Majesty the King of Jordan".[17]

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:

Hussein was an avid amateur radio operator and an Honorary Member of the Radio Society of Harrow[18] (callsign JY1) and throughout his reign could often be found talking directly to other people around the world. An accomplished aircraft pilot, he also loved to fly airplanes (propeller and jet), as well as helicopters.

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

Honours

[19]

Books

The king wrote three books:

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "King Hussein is dead". CNN. 1999-02-07. http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/meast/9902/07/king.hussein.obit/. 
  2. ↑ Hussein of Jordan, HM King. Uneasy Lies the Head. London: Heinemann, 1963
  3. ↑ "Royalty in Jordan - The Life of King Hussein". Royalty.nu. http://www.royalty.nu/MiddleEast/Jordan/Hussein.html. Retrieved 2010-07-01. 
  4. ↑ "King Hussein of Jordan: A Political Life" by Nigel Ashton. Yale University Press (2008)
  5. ↑ "CNN - Highlights of King Hussein's life". Edition.cnn.com. http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/meast/9902/07/king.hussein.obit/chrono/chrono.html. Retrieved 2010-07-01. 
  6. ↑ (The Economist, 11/24/07, p.88)
  7. ↑ Business Optimization Consultants B.O.C.. "The Library - Speeches and Letters". Kinghussein.gov.jo. http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/speeches_letters.html. Retrieved 2010-07-01. 
  8. ↑ "Transcript from CNN life coverage by Daniel Pipes". Danielpipes.org. 1995-11-06. http://www.danielpipes.org/article/4255. Retrieved 2010-07-01. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "King to address Jordanians tonight ahead of Tuesday return". Jordanembassyus.org. 1999-01-16. http://www.jordanembassyus.org/011699001.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-01. 
  10. ↑ Mideastnews.com; 8 February 1999
  11. ↑ "King returns today". Jordanembassyus.org. 1999-01-19. http://www.jordanembassyus.org/011999001.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-01. 
  12. ↑ "Hussein I of Jordan". New World Encyclopedia. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Hussein_I_of_Jordan. Retrieved 2010-07-01. 
  13. ↑ "Highlights of King Hussein's life". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/meast/9902/07/king.hussein.obit/chrono/chrono.html. Retrieved 4 May 2010. 
  14. ↑ CNN/Time “Newsstand” Interviewer: Christiane Amanpour. 24 January 2000
  15. ↑ PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, 1999 Online NewsHour
  16. ↑ Geocities.com
  17. ↑ "U.N. Tribute to the Memory of His Majesty King Hussein Ibn Talal of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. 8 February 1999". Unispal.un.org. http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/eed216406b50bf6485256ce10072f637/50fcab40648861c0852569430054859e?OpenDocument. Retrieved 2010-07-01. 
  18. ↑ "The Radio Society of Harrow". G3efx.org.uk. http://www.g3efx.org.uk/. Retrieved 2010-07-01. 
  19. ↑ http://www.royalark.net/Jordan/jordan3.htm

http://www.g3efx.org.uk/ Radio Society Of Harrow Special Thanks.

External links

Regnal titles
Preceded by
Talal		 Hashemite King of Jordan
1952–1999		 Succeeded by
Abdullah II
Awards
Preceded by
Yitzhak Rabin		 Ronald Reagan Freedom Award
1995		 Succeeded by
Bob Hope