• the King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from 1952 to 1999
• حسين بن طلال (Ḥussayn bin Ṭalāl) in Arabic

Hussein as King

Hussein bin Talal studied in England at Harrow and Sandhurst.  He became the King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from 1952 to 1999 after his grandfather Abdullah I had been killed in 1951 by Palestinian extremist and after his father was declared mentally unfit to serve as king in 1952.

Only 17 years old then, the king treated his job seriously from the beginning. He mentioned this later in his autobiography, Uneasy Lies the Head, "I had seen enough of Europe even at 17 to know that its playgrounds were filled with ex-kings, some of whom lost their thrones because they did not understand the duties of a monarch. I was not going to become a permanent member of their swimming parties in the south of France."

Hussein generally supported the moderate pro-Western policy that make him as the target of many assassinations, and brought him into conflicts with leftist leader in other Arab countries and Palestinians in his country. With the support from the British-trained Arab Legion and the fierce loyalty of the Bedouins, the king maintained his throne successfully.

King Hussein led Jordan into the 1967 Arab-Israeli War when Israel occupied the west side of the Jordan River (the West Bank). That amplified the conflict between Hussein and the Palestinian guerilla movement, and finally civil war exploded in1970. Hussein won the war and his rule was strengthened. However, at an Arab summit meeting in 1974, he agreed not to claim to the West Bank to the Palestine Liberation Organization. During the Persian Gulf War, Hussein refused to join the forces to fight against Iraq, and therefore he was singled out by the world. Later on, however, he played a role in promoting peace negotiations between Arabs and Israelis, and in 1994 he signed a peace treaty with Israel.

King Hussein died of complications related to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, in 1999. Before then, he had been suffering from the disease for many years and had visited the U.S. for medical treatment. Just before his death, he designated his eldest son, Abdullah as heir.

The King was, at the time of his death, one of the longest serving leaders in international politics. At his death he was hailed as a peacemaker.

The Legacy of King Hussein and His Leadership Qualities

Hussein ruled with a firm hand but he has extraordinary capacity for forgiveness. Those who plotted to assassinate him were arrested but never put to death.

Leaving his sickbed twice to go to the Wye River meetings of 1998 to push its participants towards peace, Hussein never gave up for the peace in the Middle East. Two days before his death, King Hussein was greeted by Arafat with a kiss on his forehead. Far from a token of gesture, the greeting was a tribute to a man who worked determinedly for peace in the Middle East. Besides, Hussein was also credited by President Clinton with saving the groundbreaking Oslo Peace Accords.

King Hussein spent his whole life on building up Jordan as a symbol of peace. If his legacy were simply consolidating his authority while a teenager and building Jordan up to its current extremely influential role in the Middle East, that alone would be the story of an extraordinary leader. However, what transformed King Hussein into a leader for he ages was his ability to become a living symbol of hope for peace in the Middle East.