Hussein bin Talal

Hussein bin Talal (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was Jordan's King from 11 August 1952 to his death in 1999. Hussein was a 40th-generation direct descendant of Muhammad and a member of Jordan's Hashemite dynasty since 1921.

Jordan was a young nation that governed the West Bank at the time of Hussein's accession in 1953. As a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the country had few natural resources and a huge Palestinian refugee population. Hussein led Jordan through four stormy decades of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Cold War, skillfully managing challenges from Arab nationalists, Islamists, the Soviet Union, Western countries, and Israel, developing Jordan into a stable modern state by the end of his 46-year reign. Following 1967, he became involved in efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian issue. He became known as the region's peacemaker after serving as a conciliatory intermediary between numerous Middle Eastern enemies. He was admired for pardoning his opponents and granting them high positions in the government. Hussein was the region's longest-reigning leader, having survived dozens of assassination attempts and schemes to depose him. He died of cancer in 1999, at the age of 63, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Abdullah II.

Hussein, who was seen as a charismatic, bold, and humble leader during his 46-year reign, became well known among Jordanians as the "builder king." He transformed the Kingdom from a backwater divided polity to a rather stable, well-governed contemporary kingdom. By 1999, Hussein's reign had produced 90% of Jordanians. Hussein focused his efforts from the start on developing an economic and industrial infrastructure to stimulate the economy and increase the standard of living. Jordan's principal industries, including phosphate, potash, and cement, were established during the 1960s, and the kingdom's first highway network was built.