For nearly half a century, King Hussein played an important role on the Middle-Eastern political scene. During his long reign — which began when he was 17, he faced a seemingly endless string of coups, revolts, crises and wars which threatened not only his very rule but also the stability of the Hashemite monarchy. He was known to be a good judge of character and his survival is largely credited to his ability to place himself in the position of others “with the purpose of trying to understand their deeds from their vantage point” as he wrote in a letter to President Ronald Reagan in 1986.
In this remarkable biography, Nigel Ashton, provides us with an in depth look into the way Hussein governed his kingdom. Ashton was given free access to King Hussein’s correspondence files. “Until now, no biography of a contemporary Arab leader has been written with the benefit of full access to his papers” says the author who noticed that “Hussein’s files were richest for the late 1970s, 1980s and 1990s” unlike Western archives which “become fuller due to declassification the further back in recent history one goes.”
Thanks to this unprecedented right to the King’s private papers, the author helps us understand the king’s political strategy especially during the last two decades of his reign. Many still remember his handling of the Gulf crisis where, for once, his sharp political instinct completely forsook him. The king’s knowledge of his mismanagement of the Gulf crisis had a profound effect on his health. He suffered from an irregular heartbeat and was admitted to hospital. He also went through a severe depression which disappeared after a successful surgery in August 1992.
Queen Noor, Hussein’s fourth and last wife, gave him the love and stability he needed so much. Beautiful, intelligent and stylish, unlike her predecessors, she played a more visible role with the total backing of her husband. Like Hussein, she had the gift of empathy always making people feel not only at ease but also important. Graceful and charismatic, she was a good communicator and became a formidable diplomatic asset for her husband. Although, King Hussein’s private life is hardly mentioned in the book, the author acknowledges that a “restless search for happiness in his private life was in part the corollary of the stresses imposed by his public duties.” His first marriage to Queen Dina in 1955 and his second to Princess Muna in 1961 ended in divorce. Soon after he married his third wife, Alia Toukan, the daughter of a Jordanian diplomat, he wrote that “one needs a certain amount of comfort and peace of mind to be able to continue to cope with responsibilities of such magnitude.” But his happiness was short lived when his five year marriage to Queen Alia ended tragically when she died in a helicopter crash on February 9, 1977.
King Hussein saw it as a duty to resolve the Palestinian question, yet when the Palestinian fighters threatened his regime, he waged a decisive battle in 1970 against them. This action strengthened the monarchy but some Palestinians will never forgive him.
Another controversy concerns Hussein’s 30 years covert relationship with Israel which aimed at warding off the danger Israel posed to Jordan. He never intended to negotiate a bilateral deal but always hoped to pave the way for a comprehensive peace treaty between Israel and the Arab states.
At the beginning of the 1990s, the king was aware of two important factors which would affect the region: The first, about which he proved to have more foresight than many, was the challenge presented by a new wave of militant Islam. The second development of which the King warned was what he termed the imposition of a new Sykes-Picot agreement on the region. Here he had in mind an imperialist redrawing of Arab borders reminiscent of the secret deal between the French and British which had preceded the post-1919 carve-up of the Ottoman Empire. In his controversial Feb. 6, 1991 speech during the Gulf conflict, the King had warned that Washington and its allies sought “to destroy Iraq and to rearrange the regional state of affairs in a manner that would be far more serious for the present and future of our nation than what had been arranged by the Sykes-Picot treaty. Our homeland, nation, aspirations and resources will thus be placed under direct foreign hegemony.”
In the last months of his life, Hussein was waging a losing battle against cancer as well as thinking about the future of the Hashemite dynasty. He, alone, made the final decision to change the line of succession. He believed, he was in the right position to judge the best way to preserve the Hashemite throne.
This dense biography offers a wealth of previously classified information which will delight scholars, politicians and anyone who is genuinely interested in knowing more about the charismatic personality of one of the greatest Arab statesmen.
King Hussein once wrote that he hoped “that people, long after I am gone, will judge me kindly and cast their verdict for me and not against me.” Despite his controversial policies, he will be remembered for his far-sightedness, his humanity, his fight for Palestinian rights, a comprehensive peace with Israel and the well-being of his country.
