Succeeding to the throne in 1952,at the tender age of 16 to a kingdom that was just 6 years old and following the abdication of his mentally unstable father,crisis and turmoil seemed to shadow him from the very start.Just a year earlier,he had narrowly escaped death when his grandfather Abdullah I was assassinated by a Muslim fanatic as they both paid a visit to Jerusalem.One of the main tenets of Abdullah's policy had been peace with the Zionist enemy,Israel for which he paid with his life.His grandson nevertheless endeavoured to follow this policy although he was forced to ride the tiger of rising Arab nationalism in the 1950s and 60s in order to survive which propelled him into joining in a war against Israel in 1967 which resulted in a catastrophic defeat and the loss of half of his kingdom (the West Bank) which forms the crux of the dispute between Israel and the Arabs to this day.Following this defeat,Jordan had to absorb millions of displaced Palestinian refugees who then staged a revolt against his rule in 1971 which was only suppressed after a bloody civil war.The King had then to accomplish the virtually impossible task of balancing the needs and feelings of his Palestinian subjects against the need for a lasting peace with Israel.This he finally achieved,in the teeth of almost insurmountable odds in 1993 and he remained at the forefront of any international attempts to establish a lasting Middle-Eastern settlement.
Criticized as being a tool of the West by Arab nationalists and as being a tool of Arab nationalists by the West,the image of a tight-rope walker fitted King Hussein better than almost any other contemporary politician.His colourful and turbulent private life added spice and interest to his international profile.He was 4 times married although,unlike his more conservative Saudi and Gulf peers,he followed the Western practice of having only one wife at a time.Two of these wives were Western women as befitted his lifelong attachment to Western culture and ideas.Despite the profusion of male heirs provided to him by these various wives,the King had long nominated his younger brother,the popular Prince Hassan to succeed him in order to appease the sensitivities of Arab nationalists.But as death approached,the call of his own blood-line apparently proved too strong and,within days of his death,he suddenly accused his brother of disloyalty and restored his eldest son,of part Western blood,to the succession in a move that sent shock-waves throughout Jordanian society.Even in death,controversy shadowed his actions as it had done virtually throughout his entire life.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of his actions,the King's courage,tenacity,boldness,craftiness,sheer charisma and staying power created stability for his small,fragile kingdom and raised its profile on the international scene.Jordan continues to bask to this day in the legacy he bequeathed it.
King Hussein of Jordan 1935 - 1999
307
Message Thread
« Back to index