Brian Marcus
Political Science 353

His Royal Majesty King Hussein ibn Talal
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
born November 14, 1935
R[The policy] has worked for the simple reason that I have never thought 
it was befitting to consider anyone a personal enemy, or to take any 
difference of opinion as a personal matter.S  Esquire, August 1, 1978 - 
in reference to King HusseinUs ability to turn political foes into 
political allies.
	I was born in Amman, Jordan on November 14, 1935.  My father, 
Talal, was the Crown Prince of Jordan at the time and my mother, Zein, 
was the Princess.  I am the oldest of four children, although my sister 
died from pneumonia as a baby.  At the time of my birth, my grandfather, 
Amir Abdullah, was the King of Jordan.  My family is the Hashemite 
family; that is, we are direct descendants of the prophet Mohammed.
	During my youth, my grandfather, King Abdullah, took me to work 
with him to show me the innerworkings of the government of Jordan.  He 
also sent me to school to learn Arabic and English.  I went to seven 
schools in all, including Moslem College of Amman, Victoria College in 
Alexandria, the Harrow School in England, and the Royal Military Academy 
in Sandhurst(England).  Even though I grew up in a royal family, we were 
not wealthy.  I had to sell my bicycle and sew my own ripped clothes 
together in order to balance the family budget.  
	My grandfather, Abdullah, was assassinated in Jerusalem on July 
20, 1951 while we entered El Aqsa Mosque by a Palestinian radical.  I was 
also shot when I tried to stop the assassin, but fortunately the bullet 
glanced off a medal on my uniform that my grandfather told me to wear 
that day.  My father was named King and I was named Crown Prince a few 
months later on September 6.  I, then went off to school at Harrow in 
England.  The following year on August 11, my father was declared 
mentally ill and the parliament forced him to resign his position.  Then, 
parliament appointed a council to govern Jordan until I turned 18 years 
old by the Moslem calendar.  I was then sent off to the Royal Military 
Academy for six months of rigorous study.  When I returned, I was crowned 
King of Jordan on May 2, 1953.  Jordan is a constitutional monarchy, 
which means that I am a leader who must rule within certain guidelines.
	Politically, I am interested in finding peace for the Middle 
East.  I have generally tried to accomplish this objective throughout my 
rule.  The only exceptions are my alignment with Egypt against Israel in 
1967(I felt that Israel would attack me, so I needed an ally) and my 
dispelling of the Palestinian Liberation Organization leadership in 
September 1970-August 1971.  I have been working for peace settlements 
with Israel and accomplished that goal with a peace treaty signed on 
October 26, 1994.
	I am on good relations with most of the countries that Jordan is 
involved with politically.  On occassion, however, I have had problems 
dealing with Hafez-al-Assad(Syria) and Muammar Qaddafi(Libya).   I have 
good relations with the West( I was the go between in the Gulf War 
between my friends Saddam Hussein and George Bush).  I supported Iraq in 
the Gulf War, but that has not hurt my relations with the United States.  
I am on good terms with Bill Clinton.   I am also on good terms with 
Yasir Arafat of the PLO.  Most of the participants in the Arab-Israeli 
conflict would consider me to be an even handed negotiator.  I feel this 
to be my greatest strength.  I take great pride in the strides that the 
Middle East has made towards a comprehensive peace.  I think that I 
helped accelerate this process and hope to continue this momentum.  Most 
of my power in alliances is based on my extended leadership of Jordan.  I 
have been King for so long that I have developed working relationships 
with all of the political leaders.  On the domestic side though, I have 
no real competition; fortunately, I am a popular leader.  Physically, I 
stand about five feet four inches tall with thin gray hair and with a 
muscular build.
Sources: Middle East and North Africa, Europa Pub. Limited, 1995
	Political Leaders of the Contemporary Middle East and North 
Africa: A Biographical Dictionary, Edited by Bernard Reich, Greenwood 
Press, 1990
	Current Biography Yearbook, Edited by Charles Moritz, H.W. Wilson 
Co., 1986
	Internet sources: 
http://www.israel.org/israel-info/rabin/eulogy-hussein.html
		              World Factbook 1995 homepage
		               JordanUs WWW sites homepage
		               arab.net-Jordan, Government, National 
homepage