name	Abdullah I
imgw	225
Succession	Emir of Transjordan
Reign	1 April 1921 – 25 May 1946()
Successor	Self as King of Jordan
Predecessor	None
Succession1	King of Jordan
Reign1	25 May 1946 – 20 July 1951()
Successor1	Talal I
Predecessor1	None
spouse	Musbah bint NasserSuzdil KhanumNahda bint Uman
spouse-type	ConsortJunior wives
issue	Princess Haya Talal I Prince Naif Princess Munira Princess Maqbula
royal house	Hashemite
religion	Islam
father	Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca
mother	Abdiya bint Abdullah
birth date	February 1882
birth place	Mecca, Ottoman Empire
death date	20 July 1951 (aged 69)
death place	Al Aqsa Mosque Jerusalem
place of burial	Raghadan Palace }}

Abdullah I bin al-Hussein, King of Jordan [‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Husayn] (February 1882 – 20 July 1951) (Arabic) عبد الله الأول بن الحسين born in Mecca, Ottoman Empire, (in modern-day Saudi Arabia) was the second of three sons of Sherif Hussein bin Ali, Sharif and Emir of Mecca and his first wife Abdiyya bint Abdullah (d. 1886). He was educated in Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey and Hijaz. From 1909 to 1914, Abdullah sat in the Ottoman legislature, as deputy for Mecca, but allied with Britain during World War I. Between 1916 to 1918, working with the British guerrilla leader T. E. Lawrence, he played a key role as architect and planner of the Great Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule, leading guerrilla raids on garrisons. He was the ruler of Transjordan and its successor state, Jordan, from 1921 to 1951—first as Emir under a British Mandate from 1921 to 1946, then as King of an independent nation from 1946 until his assassination.

Early political career

In 1910 Abdullah persuaded his father to stand, successfully, for Grand Sharif of Mecca, a post for which Hussein acquired British support. In the following year he became deputy for Mecca in the parliament established by the Young Turks, acting as an intermediary between his father and the Ottoman government. In 1914, Abdullah paid a secret visit to Cairo to meet Lord Kitchener in a bid to drum up British support for his father's ambitions in Arabia.

Abdullah maintained contact with the British throughout the First World War and in 1915 encouraged his father to enter into correspondence with Sir Henry McMahon, British high commissioner in Egypt, about Arab independence from Turkish rule. (see McMahon-Hussein Correspondence). During the Arab Revolt of 1916-18, Abdullah commanded the Arab Eastern Army. Abdullah began his role in the Revolt by attacking the Ottoman garrison at Ta’if on June 10, 1916. Abdullah was defeated in his attempt to storm Taif, and instead laid siege to Taif, which finally fell on September 22, 1916. In early 1917, Abdullah ambushed an Ottoman convoy in the desert, and captured £20,000 worth of gold coins that were intended to bribe the Bedouin into loyalty to the Sultan. In August 1917, Abdullah worked closely with the French Captain Muhammand Ould Ali Raho in sabotaging the Hejaz Railway. Abdullah's relations with the British Captain T. E. Lawrence were not good, and as a result, Lawrence spent most of his time in the Hejaz serving with Abdullah's brother Faisal who commanded the Arab Northern Army.

Founding of the Emirate of Transjordan

When French forces captured Damascus at the Battle of Maysalun and expelled his brother Faisal, Abdullah moved his forces from Hejaz into Transjordan with a view to liberating Damascus, where his brother had been proclaimed King in 1918. Having heard of Abdullah's plans, Winston Churchill invited Abdullah to a famous "tea party" where he convinced Abdullah to stay put and not attack Britain's allies, the French. Churchill told Abdullah that French forces were superior to his and that the British did not want any trouble with the French. Abdullah acquiesced and was rewarded when the British created a protectorate for him, which later became a state; Transjordan. He embarked on negotiations with the British to gain independence, resulting in the announcement of the Emirate of Transjordan’s independence on 25 May 1946 as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan (renamed simply Jordan in 1949). This date is Jordan’s official independence day. His brother Faisal became King of Iraq.

Abdullah set about the task of building Transjordan with the help of a reserve force headed by Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Peake, who was seconded from the Palestine police in 1921. The force, renamed the Arab Legion, in 1923 was led by Glubb Pasha (Sir John Bagot Glubb) between 1930 and 1956.

Although Abdullah established a legislative council in 1928 its role remained advisory leaving him to rule as an autocrat.

During the Second World War Abdullah was a faithful ally of the British, maintaining strict order within Transjordan, and helping to suppress a pro-Axis uprising in Iraq.

Prime Ministers under Abdullah formed 18 governments during the 23 years of the Emirate.

Expansionist aspirations

Abdullah, alone among the Arab leaders of his generation, was considered a moderate by the West. It is possible that he might have been willing to sign a separate peace agreement with Israel, but for the Arab League's militant opposition. Because of his dream for a Greater Syria comprising the borders of what was then Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, and the British Mandate for Palestine under a Hashemite dynasty with "a throne in Damascus," many Arab countries distrusted Abdullah and saw him as both "a threat to the independence of their countries and they also suspected him of being in cahoots with the enemy" and in return, Abdullah distrusted the leaders of other Arab countries.

Abdullah supported the Peel Commission in 1937, which proposed that Palestine be split up into a small Jewish state (20 percent of the British Mandate for Palestine) and the remaining land be annexed into Transjordan. The Arabs within Palestine and the surrounding Arab countries objected to the Peel Commission while the Jews accepted it reluctantly. Ultimately, the Peel Commission was not adopted.

In 1946–1948, Abdullah actually supported partition in order that the Arab allocated areas of the British Mandate for Palestine could be annexed into Transjordan. Abdullah went so far as to have secret meetings with the Jewish Agency (future Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir was among the delegates to these meetings) that came to a mutually agreed upon partition plan independently of the United Nations in November 1947. On November 17, 1948 in a secret meeting with Meir, Abdullah stated that he wished to annex all of the Arab parts as a minimum, and would preferred to annex all of Palestine. This idea of secret Zionist-Hashemite negotiations in 1947 was expanded upon by New Historian Avi Shlaim in his book ''Collusion Across The Jordan: King Abdullah, the Zionist Movement, and the Partition of Palestine''. This partition plan was supported by British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin who preferred to see Abdullah's territory increased at the expense of the Palestinians rather than risk the creation of a Palestinian state headed by the Mufti of Jerusalem Mohammad Amin al-Husayni.

The claim has, however, been strongly disputed by Israeli historian Efraim Karsh. In an article in ''Middle East Quarterly'', he alleged that "extensive quotations from the reports of all three Jewish participants [at the meetings] do not support Shlaim's account...the report of Ezra Danin and Eliahu Sasson on the Golda Meir meeting (the most important Israeli participant and the person who allegedly clinched the deal with Abdullah) is conspicuously missing from Shlaim's book, despite his awareness of its existence". According to Karsh, the meetings in question concerned "an agreement based on the imminent U.N. Partition Resolution, [in Meir's words] "to maintain law and order until the UN could establish a government in that area"; namely, a short-lived law enforcement operation to implement the UN Partition Resolution, not obstruct it".

On May 4, 1948 Adbullah as a part of the effort to seize as much as Palestine as possible send in the Arab Legion to attack the Isreali settlements in the Etzion Bloc Less than a week before the outbreak of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Abdullah met with Meir for one last time on May 11, 1948. Abdallah told Meir "Why are you in such a hurry to proclaim your state? Why don't you wait a few years? I will take over the whole country and you will be represented in my parliament. I will treat you very well and there will be no war". Abdullah proposed to Meir the creation "of an autonomous Jewish canton within a Hashemite kingdom," but "Meir countered back that in November, they had agreed on a partition with Jewish statehood." Depressed by the unavoidable war that would come between Jordan and the Yishuv, one Jewish Agency representative wrote, "[Abdullah] will not remain faithful to the 29 November [UN Partition] borders, but [he] will not attempt to conquer all of our state [either]." Abdullah too found the coming war to be unfortunate, in part because he "preferred a Jewish state [as Transjordan's neighbor] to a Palestinian Arab state run by the mufti."

The Palestinian Arabs, the neighboring Arab states, the promise of the expansion of territory, and the goal to conquer Jerusalem finally pressured Abdullah into joining them in an "all-Arab military intervention" against the newly created State of Israel on 15 May 1948, which he used to restore his prestige in the Arab world, which had grown suspicious of his relatively good relationship with Western and Jewish leaders. Abdullah was especially anxious to take Jerusalem as compensation for the loss of the guardianship of Mecca, which had traditionally held by the Hashemites until Ibn Saud had seized the Hejaz in 1925. Abdullah's role in this war became substantial. He distrusted the leaders of the other Arab nations and thought they had weak military forces; the other Arabs distrusted Abdullah in return. He saw himself as the "supreme commander of the Arab forces" and "persuaded the Arab League to appoint him" to this position. His forces under their British commander Glubb Pasha did not approach the area set aside for the new Israel, though they clashed with the Yishuv forces around Jerusalem, intended to be an international zone. According to Abdullah el Tell it was the King's personal intervention that led to the Arab Legion entering the Old City against Glubb's wishes.

After conquering the West Bank and East Jerusalem at the end of the war, King Abdullah tried to suppress any trace of a Palestinian Arab national identity. Abdullah annexed the conquered Palestinian territory and granted the Palestinian Arab residents in Jordan Jordanian citizenship. In 1949, Abdullah entered secret peace talks with Israel, including at least five with Moshe Dayan, the Military Governor of West Jerusalem and other senior Israelis. News of the negotiations provoked a strong reaction from other Arab States and Abdullah agreed to discontinue the meetings in return for Arab acceptance of the West Bank's annexation into Jordan.

Assassination

On 20 July 1951, Abdullah, while visiting Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, was shot dead by "a Palestinian from the Husseini clan." On 16 July, Riad Bey al-Solh, a former Prime Minister of Lebanon, had been assassinated in Amman, where rumors were circulating that Lebanon and Jordan were discussing a joint separate peace with Israel. The assassin passed through apparently heavy security. Abdullah was in Jerusalem to give a eulogy at the funeral and for a prearranged meeting with Reuven Shiloah and Moshe Sasson. Abdullah was shot while attending Friday prayers at the Dome of the Rock in the company of his grandson, Prince Hussein. The Palestinian gunman, motivated by fears that the old king would make a separate peace with Israel, fired three fatal bullets into the King's head and chest. Abdullah's grandson, Prince Hussein, was at his side and was hit too. A medal that had been pinned to Hussein's chest at his grandfather's insistence deflected the bullet and saved his life. Once Hussein became king, the assassination of Abdullah was said to have influenced Hussein not to enter peace talks with Israel in the aftermath of the Six-Day War in order to avoid a similar fate.

The assassin was a 21-year-old tailor's apprentice, Mustafa Ashu, who according to Alec Kirkbride, the British Resident in Amman, was a "former terrorist", Zakariya Okkeh a livestock dealer and butcher. Ten conspirators were accused of plotting the assassination and were brought to trial in Amman. The prosecution named Colonel Abdullah el Tell, ex-Military Governor of Jerusalem, and Dr. Musa Abdullah Husseini as the chief plotters of "the most dastardly crime Jordan ever witnessed." The Jordanian prosecutor asserted that Col. Tell, who had been living in Cairo since January 1950, had given instructions that the killer, made to act alone, be slain at once thereafter to shield the instigators of the crime. Jerusalem sources added that Col. Tell had been in close contact with the former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husayni, and his adherents in Arab Palestine. Tell and Dr. Husseini, and three co-conspirators from Jerusalem were sentenced to death. On 6 September 1951 Dr Musa Ali Husseini, 'Abid and Zakariyya Ukah, and Abd-el-Qadir Farhat were executed by hanging.

Abdullah was succeeded by his son Talal; however, since Talal was mentally ill, Talal's son Prince Hussein became the effective ruler as King Hussein at the age of seventeen. In 1967 Abdullah el Tell received a full pardon from King Hussein.

Marriages and children

Abdullah had married three times.

In 1904, Abdullah married his first wife Musbah bint Nasser (1884 – 15 March 1961) at Stinia Palace, Istanbul, Turkey. She was a daughter of Emir Nasser Pasha and his wife Dilber Khanum. They had three children:

HRH Princess Haya (1907–1990). Married Abdul-Karim Ja'afar Zeid Dhaoui.

HM Talal I (26 February 1909 – 7 July 1972).

HRH Princess Munira (1915–1987). Never married.

In 1913, Abdullah married his second wife Suzdil Khanum (d. 16 August 1968), at Istanbul, Turkey. They had two children:

HE Damat HRH Prince Nayef bin Abdullah Beyefendi (Ta’if, 14 November 1914 – Amman, 12 October 1983). A Colonel of the Royal Jordanian Land Force. Regent for his older half-brother Talal from 20 July to 3 September 1951). Married in Cairo or Amman on 7 October 1940 HIH Princess Mihrimâh Selcuk Sultan (11 November 1922 – Amman, March 2000 and buried Istanbul, 2 April 2000), daughter of HIH Prince Şehzade Mehmed Ziyaeddin Efendi (Ortaköy, Ortaköy Palace, 26 August 1873 – Alexandria, 30 January 1938) and fifth wife (m. 10 February 1923) HH Neshemend Hanım Efendi (1905 – Alexandria, 1 February 1934 and buried in Cairo), and paternal granddaughter of Mehmed V by first wife. Father of:

*HRH Prince and HH Prince Sultanzade Asem bin Al Nayef Beyefendi (b. 27 April 1948), married firstly Firouzeh Vokhshouri and had three daughters. married secondly Princess Sana Asem and they have two daughters and a son.

HRH Princess Maqbula (6 February 1921 – 1 January 2001). Married Hussein bin Nasser, Prime Minister of Jordan (terms 1963–1964, 1967).

In 1949, Abdullah married his third wife Nahda bint Uman, a lady from Sudan, in Amman. They had no children.

Honours

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE), 1920

Grand Cordon of the Order of the Two Rivers of the Kingdom of Iraq, 1922

Grand Order of the Hashemites, 1932

Order of Faisal I, 1st Class, 1932

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG), 1935 (KCMG-1927)

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal, 1935

King George VI Coronation Medal, 1937

Collar of the Order of Muhammad Ali of the Kingdom of Egypt, 1948

Grand Collar of the Order of Pahlavi of the Empire of Iran, 1949

Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit of Francoist Spain, 1949

Grand Cordon of the Order of Oumayyad of Syria, 1950

Gallery

Footnotes

Bibliography

Bickerton, Ian J., and Carla L. Klausner. ''A Concise History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict''. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2002.

Hiro, Dilip. "Abdullah ibn Hussein al Hashem." ''Dictionary of the Middle East''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996. pp. 3–4.

Karsh, Efraim. ''Arafat's War: The Man and His Battle for Israeli Conquest''. New York: Grove Press, 2003.

Landis, Joshua. "Syria and the Palestine War: fighting King 'Abdullah's 'Greater Syria plan.'" Rogan and Shlaim. ''The War for Palestine''. 178–205.

Morris, Benny. ''1948: The History of the First Arab-Israeli War''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008

Michael Oren , ISBN 0-345-45912-4 pp. 5, 7.

Rogan, Eugene L., ed., and Avi Shlaim, ed. ''The War for Palestine: Rewriting the History of 1948''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Rogan, Eugene L. "Jordan and 1948: the persistence of an official history." Rogan and Shlaim. ''The War for Palestine''. 104–124.

Sela, Avraham, ed. ''The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East''. New York: Continuum, 2002.

Sela, Avraham. "Abdallah Ibn Hussein." Sela. ''The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East''. 13–14.

Shlaim, Avi (1990). ''The Politics of Partition; King Abdullah, the Zionists and Palestine 1921–1951 ''. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-07365-8.

Shlaim, Avi. "Israel and the Arab coalition in 1948." Rogan and Shlaim. ''The War for Palestine''. 79–103.

Shlaim, Avi (2007) ''Lion of Jordan; The life of King Hussein in War and Peace'' Allen Lane ISBN 9780713997774

Tripp, Charles. "Iraq and the 1948 War: mirror of Iraq's disorder." Rogan and Shlaim. ''The War for Palestine''. 125–150.

Wilson, Mary Chrstina (1990). ''King Abdullah, Britain and the Making of Jordan''. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-39987-4.

External links

A genealogical profile of him

A genealogy of the royal family of Jordan

Category:Kings of Jordan Category:House of Hashim Category:Field marshals of Egypt Category:World War II political leaders Category:Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Category:Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Category:Murdered monarchs Category:Assassinated Jordanian people Category:1882 births Category:1951 deaths

ar:عبد الله الأول بن الحسين bg:Абдула I ca:Abdallah I de Jordània cs:Abdalláh I. da:Abdullah ibn Hussein de:Abdallah ibn Husain I. et:‘Abd Allāh I es:Abd Allah ibn Husayn fa:عبدالله اول fr:Abdallah Ier de Jordanie id:Abdullah I dari Yordania it:Abd Allah I di Giordania he:עבדאללה הראשון, מלך ירדן jv:Abdullah I saka Yordania ms:Abdullah I dari Jordan nl:Abdoellah I van Jordanië ja:アブドゥッラー1世 no:Abdullah I av Jordan nn:Abdullah I av Jordan pl:Abd Allah I ibn Husajn pt:Abdullah I da Jordânia ro:Abdullah I al Iordaniei ru:Абдаллах ибн Хусейн sl:Abdulah Ibn Husein fi:Abdullah ibn Husain sv:Abdullah I av Jordanien ta:ஜோர்தானின் முதலாம் அப்துல்லா tr:I. Abdullah uk:Абдулла ібн Хуссейн yi:אבדאללא קעניג פון יארדאניע zh:阿卜杜拉一世

{{infobox royalty|type	monarch
Name	Abdullah II
succession	King of Jordan
reign	– ''present''('''')
predecessor	Hussein
successor	Crown Prince Hussein
suc-type	Heir apparent
coronation	9 June 1999
cor-type	Intronization
spouse	Rania Al-Yassin
issue	Hussein, Crown Prince of JordanPrincess ImanPrincess SalmaPrince Hashem
styles	''HM'' The King of Jordan''HRH'' The Crown Prince of Jordan''HRH'' Prince Abdullah of Jordan
house	Hashemite
religion	Sunni Islam
father	Hussein of Jordan
mother	Princess Muna al-Hussein
birth date	January 30, 1962
birth place	Amman, Jordan }}

Abdullah II bin al-Hussein OIH (, ''al-Malik ʿAbdullāh aṯ-ṯānī bin al-Ḥusayn''; born 30 January 1962) is the reigning King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. He ascended the throne on 7 February 1999 after the death of his father King Hussein. King Abdullah, whose mother is Princess Muna al-Hussein, is a member of the Hashemite family. Since 1993, Abdullah has been married to Queen Rania of Jordan.

Early life

Abdullah was born in Amman to King Hussein of Jordan during his marriage to Princess Muna al-Hussein. He was the king's eldest son and as such he was automatically heir apparent to the throne of Jordan under 1952 constitution. However, due to unstable times in the 1960s, King Hussein decided to appoint his brother, Prince Hassan bin Talal, as his heir.

King Abdullah II attended Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts. He joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1980, was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, and served as a platoon leader in the 13th/18th Royal Hussars. In 1982, King Abdullah II attended Pembroke College at Oxford University where he completed a one-year Special Studies course in Middle Eastern Affairs. In 1987, he attended the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Abdullah would later serve in the Jordanian forces and became Major General in May 1998.

In the 1980s, the King considered arranging the throne to pass to his brother and then to his son Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, but changed his mind by 1992. He seriously considered appointing one of his nephews as heir, but on his deathbed, on 25 January 1999, he appointed Abdullah as his heir.

King of Jordan

Royal name	King Abdullah II of Jordan
Dipstyle	His Royal Majesty
Offstyle	Your Royal Majesty
Altstyle	''Sir''}}

Abdullah became king on 7 February 1999, upon the death of his father King Hussein. Hussein had recently named him Crown Prince on 24 January, replacing Hussein's brother Hassan, who had served many years in the position.

Politics as King

King Abdullah II is the head of a constitutional monarchy in which the King retains substantial power. In 2010, he was chosen as the 4th most influential Muslim in the world.

Jordan's economy has improved greatly since Abdullah ascended to the throne in 1999, and he has been credited with increasing foreign investment, attending meetings between public and private sectors, and providing the foundation for Aqaba's free trade zone. He also set up five other special economic zones: Irbid, Ajloun, Mafraq, Ma'an and the Dead Sea. As a result of these reforms, Jordan's economic growth has doubled to 6% annually under King Abdullah's rule compared to the latter half of the 1990s. Foreign direct investment from the West as well as the countries of the Persian Gulf has continued to increase. He also negotiated a free trade agreement with the United States, which was the third free trade agreement for the U.S. and the first with an Arab country.

In 2008, King Abdullah began his Decent Housing for Decent Living campaign in which all Jordanian citizens, and even Palestinian refugees, will be guaranteed high quality residential housing with easy access to community needs such as health, education, and community activities.

Abdullah's speech at The Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law in September 2005 was entitled "Traditional Islam: The Path to Peace." While en route to the United States, King Abdullah met with Pope Benedict XVI to build on the relations that Jordan had established with Pope John Paul II to discuss ways in which Muslims and Christians can continue to work together for peace, tolerance, and coexistence.

The King announced on 2 March 2007 municipal elections in Jordan and in 25 November 2006 in his parliament address, told the parliament to work on reforms of the press and publication law.

King Abdullah II has worked for the Middle East Peace Process, attending the Arab Summit in 2002, OIC conferences and having several summits with US, Israeli and Palestinian delegations to find a solution for the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.

Jordan received criticism when Toujan al-Faisal, Jordan's first female member of Parliament and an outspoken advocate for freedom of expression and human rights, was jailed for slandering the government after she charged it with corruption in a letter to Abdullah. She was pardoned and released by King Abdullah. Despite these events, King Abdullah has continued his aggressive liberalization of Jordan's media. He recently issued a declaration forbidding detention of journalists in Jordan.

Major General Yair Naveh, GOC of the Israel Defense Forces Homefront Command and former GOC of Israeli Central Command, said in a gathering with reporters that King Abdullah might fall and that he could be Jordan's last king. The statement created tension between the two countries, and afterwards Naveh retracted his statement and apologized. Later, the Israeli prime minister expressed the disagreement of Israel with Naveh's statement, and referred to it as a personal and irrelevant view.

In March 2007, Ehud Olmert commented on any American withdrawal from Iraq by saying that, "Israel is worried a hasty American withdrawal from Iraq could have negative impact on the Hashemite regime in Jordan..." Jordan's spokesman Nasser Jawdeh replied by saying, "The Israeli prime minister should worry about his political future before worrying about us."

King Abdullah has a strong belief in a powerful military and has led Jordan into adopting a "quality over quantity" policy. This policy has led Jordan to acquire advanced weaponry and greatly increase and enhance its F-16 fighter jet fleet. The ground forces have acquired the Challenger 1 main battle tank, a vehicle far superior to the T-72/55 tanks that have traditionally dominated Arab armies.

Successor

:''See Line of succession to the Jordanian throne.'' On 28 November 2004, Abdullah removed the title of Crown Prince from his half-brother, Hamzah, whom he had appointed on 7 February 1999, in accordance with their late father's wishes. In a letter from Abdullah to Hamzah, read on Jordanian state television, he said, "Your holding this symbolic position has restrained your freedom and hindered our entrusting you with certain responsibilities that you are fully qualified to undertake." No successor to the title was named at that time, but it was anticipated that Abdullah intended to appoint formally his own son, Prince Hussein as crown prince. On 2 July 2009, Abdullah indeed named Prince Hussein as heir.

Democracy in Jordan

In 2005 BBC international published an article titled "Jordan edging towards democracy", where King Abdullah expressed his intentions of making Jordan a democratic country. According to the article, president George W. Bush "urged King Abdullah, a U.S. ally, to take steps towards democracy." Thus far, however, democratic development has been limited, with the monarchy maintaining most power and its allies dominating parliament.

Elections were held in November 2010, and following the Arab Spring 2011, a new prime minister was appointed. In June 2011 the King has annonced a move to a British style of Cabinet Government.

Economic liberalization

Jordan has embarked on an aggressive economic liberalization program under King Abdullah II in an effort to stimulate the economy and raise the standard of living. Therefore, Jordan's economic growth peaked at 8 percent in 2004 and has been averaging at 7 percent. King Abdullah II has liberalized the telecommunications sector and has implemented an ICT curriculum into Jordan's education system. This has made Jordan's telecommunications sector the most competitive in the region. King Abdullah called on the government to lower internet prices in an effort to increase internet penetration to 50% by 2010. He is also very involved in promoting Jordan's tourism sector, especially with the establishment of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone.

Under King Abdullah II, the air transport sector was liberalized. Also, King Abdullah II established six special economic zones: Aqaba, Ma'an, Mafraq, Irbid, the Dead Sea, and Ajloun. Each SEZ has its own niche which will carve a unique identity for that region of Jordan. The Aqaba SEZ is primarily devoted to tourism and industry. The Ma'an SEZ is industrial primarily with a focus on renewable energy resources especially solar energy. The world's largest solar power plant will be constructed in Ma'an. The Mafraq SEZ will become a regional hub in transport and logistics with planned air, road, and rail connections to neighboring countries. The Irbid SEZ is adjacent to the Jordan University of Science and Technology and it will focus on scientific and medical facilities. The recently launched Dead Sea zone will focus on tourism and entertainment. The Ajloun SEZ includes a 24 proposed tourism projects, including a 2,000 dunum tourism city that will comprise 900 hotel rooms, restaurants, and other entertainment facilities with environmental considerations.

Nuclear plans for Jordan

On 20 January 2007, King Abdullah revealed to ''Haaretz'' that Jordan has plans to develop nuclear power for internal energy purposes because unlike other countries in the region Jordan has almost no oil. Jordan is one of the few non-petroleum producing nations in the region and is strategically dependent on oil from its neighbor, Iraq. Continuing civil unrest in Iraq puts Jordanian national and energy security at risk. Jordan's first nuclear power plant will be ready by 2015 and it will be located in Aqaba. There are more nuclear power plants planned in Karak and near the proposed Red Sea-Dead Sea project which will provide Jordan with all the much needed water resources it needs, it will also supply the shrinking Dead Sea and nuclear power plants with water. In turn, the nuclear power plants will desalinate the water and pump it to northern Jordan. (According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Jordan is one of the poorest countries in terms of access to drinking water.)

Marriage and children

King Abdullah is married to Rania al-Abdullah, a Palestinian. They have four children:

Crown Prince Hussein (born 28 June 1994)

Princess Iman (born 27 September 1996)

Princess Salma (born 26 September 2000)

Prince Hashem (born 30 January 2005)

Interests

King Abdullah has many interests. He has a love and passion for sky diving, rally racing, and scuba diving. He promotes tourism in Jordan, having acted as a tour guide for Discovery Channel travel host Peter Greenberg in order to produce a show called "Jordan: The Royal Tour". In the program the king notes that since assuming the throne, he is no longer permitted to sky dive. King Abdullah also likes motorcycles, and toured Northern California on a Harley-Davidson in July 2010.

King Abdullah attended Deerfield Academy in his youth, and in appreciation of the schooling he received, he has created a sister institution King's Academy in Jordan. He hired Deerfield Headmaster Eric Widmer to lead it, along with many other Deerfield staff. Prior to Deerfield, King Abdullah attended Eaglebrook School.

He is the of the Colonel-in-Chief of the UK Light Dragoons regiment; his previous connection to the unit includes his service as a platoon leader in the 13th/18th Royal Hussars.

The king is also an acknowledged fan of the science fiction saga ''Star Trek''. In 1996, while he was still a Prince, he appeared in the ''Star Trek: Voyager ''episode "Investigations". It was a non-speaking role as he was not a member of the Screen Actors Guild. A ''Star Trek'' theme park will open in 2014 as part of the $1.5-billion Red Sea Astrarium project in Aqaba, with the King being the majority local investor.

His interest in the film industry has also influenced his decision to create the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts in the Red Sea coastal town of Aqaba, in partnership with the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts on 20 September 2006. When the crew of ''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' decided that they were going to film in Jordan, he called on 38 military helicopters to help transport equipment into Petra.

King Abdullah II has a great interest in the internet and information technology. This is one of the reasons why he put ICT at the forefront of Jordan's economic development. In an unprecedented move, King Abdullah commented on two Jordanian blogs that discussed his interview with the Petra News Agency, the Black Iris and the newspaper daily Ad-Dustor, showing his support for dialogue and debate in the Kingdom. His comment on the blogs was as follows:

Thank you all for your feedback and comments. I am very happy and proud to see so many responsible citizens engaging in this dialogue. People must not be afraid to express their opinions without using aliases. We are a country of freedom, tolerance, diversity and openness, and everyone has the right to express their thoughts – no matter what they are – in an atmosphere of respect, so long as they are not personally offending others, attempting character assassination or undermining the nation’s interest. Your comments only indicate how deeply you care about Jordan and its future and I am happy that we are partners in the development process.

—King Abdullah II

Ancestry

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Published works

al-Hussein, Abdullah II bin. ''Our Last Best Chance: The Pursuit of Peace in a Time of Peril'', New York City: Viking Adult, 2011. ISBN 978-0670021710

See also

Hashemite

King Hussein

References

Further reading

* Robins, Philip. ''A History of Jordan'', Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-521-59895-8

External links

Official website of his majesty King Abdullah II

The Family Line of HIH King Abdullah

King's Academy

Ancestry of Antoinette Avril Gardiner (born 1941)

His Majesties official channel

King Abdullah II of Jordan coins

;Articles

King of Jordan meets troops in UK

''Middle East Quarterly'' interview with King Abdullah II: "Iraq is the Battleground – the West against Iran"

A letter from the Committee to Protect Journalists directed to King Abdullah

Amnesty International report on alleged violations of human rights in Jordan under King Abdullah

King sees shared Jerusalem

Jordan's King Abdullah Pushes for Moderation

|-

Category:13th/18th Royal Hussars officers Category:1962 births Category:Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford Category:Current national leaders Category:Deerfield Academy alumni Category:Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni Category:Field Marshals Category:House of Hashim Category:Jordanian Muslims Category:Jordanian people of English descent Category:Kings of Jordan Category:Honorary Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Category:Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav Category:Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Category:Sashes of the Order of the Star of Romania Category:Recipients of the Order of the Chrysanthemum Category:Recipients of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Category:Knights Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Category:Recipients of the Order of the Seraphim Category:Chevaliers of the Order of Merit Category:Living people Category:Marshals of the air force Category:People from Amman Category:Reigning monarchs Category:Sandhurst graduates

ar:عبد الله الثاني بن الحسين bs:Abdulah II, kralj Jordana bg:Абдула II (Йордания) ca:Abdallah II de Jordània cs:Abdalláh II. da:Abdullah 2. af Jordan de:Abdullah II. bin al-Hussein et:‘Abd Allāh II el:Αμπντάλα Β΄ es:Abdalá II de Jordania eo:Abdullah la 2-a (Jordanio) fa:ملک عبدالله دوم fr:Abdallah II de Jordanie gl:Abdullah II de Xordania ko:압둘라 2세 hy:Աբդալա II hr:Abdulah II. io:Abdullah 2ma di Jordania id:Abdullah II dari Yordania it:Abd Allah II di Giordania he:עבדאללה השני, מלך ירדן jv:Abdullah II saka Yordania ka:აბდულა II kk:Абдалла II la:Abdullah II (rex Iordaniae) lv:Abdulla II Hašimīts hu:II. Abdullah jordán király mr:अब्दुल्ला दुसरा, जॉर्डन ms:Abdullah II dari Jordan nl:Abdoellah II van Jordanië ja:アブドゥッラー2世 nap:Abd Allāh II no:Abdullah II av Jordan nn:Abdullah II av Jordan oc:Abdullah II de Jordania pms:Abdullah II ëd Giordania pl:Abd Allah II ibn Husajn pt:Abdullah II da Jordânia ro:Abdullah al II-lea al Iordaniei qu:Abdullah II ru:Абдалла II sl:Abdulah bin Al-Hussein sr:Абдулах II од Јордана fi:Abdullah II sv:Abdullah II av Jordanien th:สมเด็จพระราชาธิบดีอับดุลลาห์ที่ 2 tr:II. Abdullah uk:Абдалла II yi:אבדאללא דער צווייטער yo:Abdullah Kejì ilẹ̀ Jọ́rdánì zh:阿卜杜拉二世

King Abdullah may refer to:

Current monarchs

Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (born 1924), regent of Saudi Arabia since 1999 and king since 2005

Abdullah II of Jordan (born 1962), king of Jordan since 1999

Previous monarchs

Abdullah I of Jordan (1882–1951), king of Transjordan

Abdullah Khan II, ruler of the Khanate of Bukhara from 1577–1598

See also

Abdullah (disambiguation)

ar:الملك عبد الله (توضيح) fa:ملک عبدالله nl:Koning Abdoellah

Demetri Martin (born May 25, 1973) is an American comedian, actor, artist, musician, writer and humorist. Martin is best known for his work as a stand-up comedian, contributor on ''The Daily Show'' and for his Comedy Central show ''Important Things with Demetri Martin''.

Early life

Demetri Martin was born to a Greek American family in New York City, New York, and grew up in Toms River, New Jersey. He is the son of Lillian, a nutritionist, and Dean C. Martin, a Greek Orthodox priest. Martin graduated from Yale University in 1995. Although he was accepted into Harvard Law School, he went to New York University School of Law after he received a full scholarship. In 1996 Martin interned for the Domestic Policy Council at the Clinton White House, then after completing his second year of law school he dropped out.

Career

In 2001, Martin caught his first big break in stand-up comedy when he appeared on Comedy Central's stand-up showcase ''Premium Blend''. At the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe he won the Perrier award with his show ''If I...''. The show was turned into a British television special in 2004. From 2003 to 2004, Martin wrote for ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''. In 2004, Martin had his own ''Comedy Central Presents'' stand-up special. His special was divided into three parts. In the first, he performed in traditional stand-up comedy fashion. In the second segment, he used humorous drawings as visual aids, which would serve either as the punchline or a background. During the third segment, he played a guitar and put on a pseudo-play where he would strum his guitar while talking; some of his comedian friends dressed as fairies and dragons acted according to the story he was telling, detailing the magical land where his jokes came from. Martin's mother and grandmother also appeared.

Since late 2005, he has been credited as a contributor on ''The Daily Show'', on which he has appeared as the named "Senior Youth Correspondent" and on which he hosts a segment called "Trendspotting". He has used this segment to talk about so-called hip trends among youth such as hookahs, wine, guerilla marketing and Xbox 360. A piece about social networking featured his profile on MySpace. On March 22, 2007, Demetri made another appearance on ''The Daily Show'', talking about the Viacom lawsuit against Google and YouTube.

He has recorded a comedy CD/DVD titled ''These Are Jokes'', which was released on September 26, 2006. This album also features ''Saturday Night Live'' member Will Forte and stand-up comedian Leo Allen.

Martin returned to ''The Daily Show'' on March 22, 2006, as the new Youth Correspondent, calling his segment "Professional Important News with Demetri Martin". In 2007, he starred in a Fountains of Wayne music video for "Someone to Love" as Seth Shapiro, a character in the song. He also starred in the video for the new Travis single "Selfish Jean", in which he wears multiple t-shirts with lyrics written on them.

On September 2, 2007, Martin appeared on the season finale of the HBO series ''Flight of the Conchords''. He appeared as a keytar player named Demetri.

He also had a part in the movie ''The Rocker'' (2008) starring Rainn Wilson. Martin played the part of the videographer when the band in the movie was making their first music video.

In 2009, he hosted and starred in his own television show called ''Important Things With Demetri Martin'' on Comedy Central. Later in June, it was announced his show had been renewed for a second season. The second season premiered, again on Comedy Central, on February 4, 2010. Martin has stated that ''Important Things'' will not return for a third season.

Prior to completing work on his second season, Martin starred in the comedy-drama film ''Taking Woodstock'' (2009), directed by Ang Lee, which premiered at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. In the film Martin plays Elliot Tiber, a closeted gay artist who has given up his ambitions in the city to move upstate and help his old-world Jewish family run their Catskill Mountains motel. The film is based on the book written by Tiber.

On April 25, 2011, Martin released his first book, titled ''This Is a Book''.

Future plans

Martin sold his movie concept ''Will'' to DreamWorks; he is expected to play a key supporting role. He will play the lead in the film ''Moon People'', a pitch that he sold to Columbia Pictures.

Martin also signed a blind script deal with CBS in October 2010 to produce, write, and star in his own television series.

After CBS was shown the pilot for the series, they decided not to air it.

On August 11, 2011, Fox ordered a presentation of a new animated show they might air.

''If I''

''If I'' is a Perrier Comedy Award-winning comedy one-man show written and performed by Demetri Martin at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It was also aired on British television as a special. The show is an autobiographical examination of Martin's life, as seen through various definitions of the word "if."

The title of the special comes from a lengthy palindromic poem that Martin wrote; the words "if I" are at the center of the poem.

Comedic style

Martin is known for being an unconventional stand-up comic. He uses extensive wordplay (particularly paraprosdokians), one-liners, and drawings on a "large pad", as well as accompanying his jokes with music on either guitar, harmonica, piano, keyboard, glockenspiel, toy bells, ukulele, or tambourine, sometimes all at once. He has cited comedian Steven Wright as an important influence (both use deadpan one-liners in their acts) and he is also a fan of Bill Cosby.

Personal life

According to a July 2011 interview on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast , Demetri had a short-lived marriage to a girl he knew from high school. They began dating after high school and got married when he was in NYU Law School and she was attending NYU Medical School. He was aged 25 and in the end of his marriage/going through divorce when his stand-up career began .

Martin moved to Santa Monica, California in 2009.

Discography

''Invite Them Up'' (2005)

''These Are Jokes'' (2006)

''Demetri Martin. Person.'' (2007)

Filmography and television work

''If I'' ''12:21'' ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' "''Someone to Love (Fountains of Wayne song) ''Flight of the Conchords (TV series) ''The Rocker (film) ''Paper Heart'' ''Post Grad'' ''Moon People'' ''Taking Woodstock'' ''Important Things with Demetri Martin'' ''Take Me Home Tonight (film) ''Contagion (film) ''Conan''

Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2002	''Analyze That''	Personal Assistant
2003	|	Himself	British television special, also writer
2004	|	Himself	short film, also writer
2004	|	Himself	1 episode, series writer
2007	Someone to Love''" ||	Seth Shapiro	''Fountains of Wayne'' music video
2007	Flight of the Conchords'' ||	Demetri	Season 1, Episode 12
2008	The Rocker'' ||	Kip (a music video producer)
2009	|	Himself
2009	|	Ad Exec
2009	|		lead role and writer
2009	|	Elliot Tiber	lead role
2009–2010	|	Himself / Various	lead role, writer, series creator, executive producer, and composer
2011	Take Me Home Tonight'' ||	Goldman Sachs Employee	supporting role
2011	Contagion'' ||
2011	|	Himself	guest

Written works

''This Is a Book'', April 2011, .

Awards and nominations

AwardPerrier Comedy AwardEmmy Awards Shared with Mike Sweeney (writer)Writers Guild of America Award Shared with Mike Sweeney (writer)Barry Award (for comedy)

Year	|	For	Category	Result	Other notes
2003	|	''If I''		Won	At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
2004	|	''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''	Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program	Nominated	Mike Sweeney (head writer), Chris Albers, Jose Arroyo, Andy Blitz, Kevin Dorff, Daniel J. Goor, Michael Gordon, Brian Kiley, Michael Koman, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O'Brien, Allison Silverman, Robert Smigel, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg
2005	|	''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''	Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series	Won	Mike Sweeney (head writer), Chris Albers, Jose Arroyo, Andy Blitz, Kevin Dorff, Daniel J. Goor, Michael Gordon, Brian Kiley, Michael Koman, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O'Brien, Allison Silverman, Robert Smigel, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg
2006	Barry Award ||	''Dr. Earnest Parrot Presents Demetri Martin''		Won	Award for best show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival

References

External links

Interview from November, 2006, in Onion AV Club

Interview from October 2006, in The DePaulia

Article, in ''The Scotsman''

Article, in ''Gelf Magazine''

Interview by Brian M. Palmer

MP3 Audio Interview on ''The Sound of Young America'' public radio show and podcast

Interview Believer Mag

New Jersey Monthly Magazine

Fresh Air, NPR.org

Category:1973 births Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:Actors from New York City Category:American comedians Category:American comedy musicians Category:American comedy writers Category:American film actors Category:American humorists Category:American people of Greek descent Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American television writers Category:Living people Category:New York University alumni Category:Writers from New Jersey Category:Writers from New York City Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners Category:Yale University alumni

cs:Demetri Martin da:Demetri Martin de:Demetri Martin fr:Demetri Martin gl:Demetri Martin it:Demetri Martin simple:Demitri Martin fi:Demetri Martin sv:Demetri Martin

Name	Bashar al-Assad بشار الأسد
Office	President of Syria
Primeminister	Muhammad Mustafa MeroMuhammad Naji al-OtariAdel Safar
Vicepresident	Farouk al-SharaaNajah al-Attar
Term start	17 July 2000
Predecessor	Abdul Halim Khaddam (Acting)
Office2	Leader of the Ba'ath Party
Term start2	10 June 2000
Predecessor2	Hafez al-Assad
Birth date	September 11, 1965
Birth place	Damascus, Syria
Party	Ba'ath Party
Spouse	Asma al-Akhras
Alma mater	Damascus University
Profession	Ophthalmologist
Religion	Alawi
Website	The President }}

Bashar al-Assad (, ''''; born 11 September 1965) is the President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Ba'ath Party. His father Hafez al-Assad ruled Syria for 29 years until his death. Al-Assad was elected in 2000 and 2007, but was unopposed each time.

Early life, education and career

Bashar al-Assad was born in Damascus on 11 September 1965, the son of Aniseh (née Makhluf) and Hafez al-Assad. Initially Bashar had few political aspirations. His father had been grooming Bashar's older brother, Basil al-Assad, as a future president. Bashar studied ophthalmology at Damascus University 1988 and arrived in London in 1992 to continue his studies. He was recalled in 1994 to join the Syrian army after Basil's death in an automobile accident. Bashar entered the military academy at Homs, north of Damascus, following the death of Basil, and was propelled through the ranks to become a colonel in January 1999. The accident made Bashar his father's new heir-apparent.

When the elder Assad died in 2000, Bashar was appointed leader of the Baath-Party and the Army and was elected president unopposed with what the regime claimed to be a massive popular support (97.2% of the votes), after the Majlis Al Sha'ab (Parliament) swiftly voted to lower the minimum age for candidates from 40 to 34 (Assad's age when he was elected). On 27 May 2007 Bashar was approved as president for another seven-year term, with the official result of 97.6% of the votes in a referendum without another candidate.

Assad stands about 189 cm (6 ft 2 in). He speaks English fluently and also speaks casual conversational French, having studied at the Franco-Arab al-Hurriyah school in Damascus, before going on to medical school at the University of Damascus Faculty of Medicine. He completed his ophthalmology residency training in Tishreen Military Hospital of Damascus and subsequently went on to receive sub-specialty training in ophthalmology at the Western Eye Hospital in London. (He did not finish his formal training, due to the unexpected death of his brother.) Bashar was a staff colonel in the Syrian military.

In December 2000, Assad married Asma Assad, née Akhras, a Syrian from Acton (west London) whom he met in the United Kingdom, where she was born and raised. On 3 December 2001, they became the parents of their first-born child, named Hafez after his late grandfather. Zein was born on 5 November 2003, and Karim on 16 December 2004.

Presidency

In his domestic policy, he has been criticized for a disregard for human rights, economic lapses, and corruption. In his foreign policy, Al-Assad is an outspoken critic of the United States and Israel. The Ba'ath Party remains in control of the parliament, and is constitutionally the "leading party" of the state. Until he became president, Bashar al-Assad was not greatly involved in politics; his only public role was head of the Syrian Computer Society, which introduced the Internet to Syria in 2001. Al-Assad was confirmed as president by an unopposed referendum in 2000. He was expected to take a more liberal approach than his father. In an interview he stated that he saw democracy in Syria as 'a tool to a better life' but then argued that it would take time for democracy to come about and that it could not be rushed. Politically and economically, Syrian life has changed only slightly since 2000. Immediately after he took office a reform movement made cautious advances during the Damascus Spring, which led al-Assad to shut down Mezzeh prison and release hundreds of political prisoners. However, security crackdowns commenced again within the year.

Economy

Economic liberalization in Syria has been limited, with industry still heavily state-controlled. However some changes have occurred including the introduction of private banking and the encouragement of foreign involvement, most notably in the oil sector. The need for a diversification of the economy has been pressed for by some as it has been predicted that Syria will change from exporting to having to import oil by 2015. The reliance upon oil is reflected by manufacturing exports representing only 3.1 percent of Syria’s GDP. These issues are especially relevant as Syria’s population is predicted to more than double to over 34 million by 2050. There have been mild economic sanctions (the Syria Accountability Act) applied by the United States which further complicate the situation. Of major importance are the negotiations for a free trade association agreement with the European Union.

Human rights

A 2007 law required internet cafes to record all the comments users post on chat forums. Websites such as Wikipedia Arabic, YouTube and Facebook were blocked intermittently between 2008 and February 2011.

Human Rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have detailed how Bashar's regime and secret police routinely torture, imprison, and kill political opponents, and those who speak out against the regime.

Since 2006 it expanded the use of travel bans against dissidents, a practice that is illegal under international law. In that regard, Syria is the worst offender among Arab states.

In an interview with ABC News in 2007 he stated: "We don't have such [things as] political prisoners," yet the ''New York Times'' reported the arrest of 30 political prisoners in Syria in December 2007.

''Foreign Policy'' magazine analyzed his position in the wake of the 2011 protests:

Foreign relations

Assad's first official foreign trip was to meet Jacques Chirac in France, who had warm relations with him. The Middle Eastern Quarterly noted that "As in the case of Iraq, there are lingering questions of Syrian payments to French politicians. Many French politicians join associations and charitable boards both for financial and political gain. The board of the L'Association d'Amitié France-Syrie (France-Syria Friendship Association) boasts among its members former prime minister Raymond Barre, former secretary of state Claude Cheysson, and 2007 presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy".

The United States, European Union, the March 14 Alliance, Israel, and France accuse Assad of logistically supporting militant groups aimed at Israel and any opposing member to his government. These include most political parties other than Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad. According to MEMRI, Assad claimed the United States could benefit from the Syrian experience in fighting organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood at the Hama Massacre.

Assad opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq despite a long-standing animosity between the Syrian and Iraqi governments. Assad used Syria's seat in one of rotating positions on the United Nations Security Council to try to prevent the invasion of Iraq. Following the Iraq invasion by coalition forces, Assad was accused of supporting the Iraqi insurgency. A US general accused him of providing funding, logistics, and training to Iraqi and foreign Muslims to launch attacks against U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq.

The February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and the accusation of Syrian involvement and support for anti-Israeli groups, helped precipitate a crisis in relations with the United States. Assad was criticized for Syria's presence in Lebanon which ended in 2005, and the US put Syria under sanctions partly because of this. At Pope John Paul II's funeral in 2005, Assad shook hands with the Israeli president Moshe Katsav.

In the Arab world, Assad mended relations with the Palestine Liberation Organization but relations with many Arab states, in particular Saudi Arabia, have been deteriorating. This is in part due to Assad's continued intervention in Lebanon and his alliance with Iran. Around the time of the 2008 South Ossetia war, Assad made an official visit to Russia. In an interview with the Russian TV channel Vesti, he asserted that one cannot separate the events in the Caucasus from the US presence in Iraq, which he condemned as a direct threat to [Syria's] security."

After the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, many media outlets accused Syria of being involved. as Hariri was anti-Syrian. However, Assad argued that Syria's gradual withdrawal of troops from Lebanon, beginning in 2000, was precipitated as a result of the event and ended on may 2005.

In 2011, Assad told the Wall Street Journal that he considered himself "anti-Israel" and "anti-West", and that because of these policies he was not in danger of being overthrown.

Involvement in Lebanon

Despite gaining re-election in 2007, al-Assad’s position was considered by some to have been weakened by the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon following the "Cedar Revolution" in 2005. There has also been pressure from the US concerning claims that Syria is linked to terrorist networks, exacerbated by Syrian condemnation of the assassination of Imad Mughniyeh, Hezbollah military leader, in Damascus in 2008. Interior Minister Bassam Abdul-Majeed stated that, "Syria, which condemns this cowardly terrorist act, expresses condolences to the martyr family and to the Lebanese people.”

Arab-Israeli conflict

In a speech about the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict in August 2006, Bashar al-Assad said that Hezbollah had "hoisted the banner of victory," hailing its actions as a "successful resistance." He claimed that Arab resistance was growing stronger, and warned Israel that "your warplanes, rockets, and your atomic bomb will not protect you in the future." He called Israel an enemy with whom no peace could be achieved as long as they and their allies (especially the U.S.) support the practice of preemptive war. In the same speech, he also called Arab leaders that have criticized Hezbollah "half-men."

In April 2008, Assad told a Qatari newspaper that Syria and Israel had been discussing a peace treaty for a year, with Turkey as a go-between. This was confirmed in May 2008, by a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. As well as a peace treaty, the future of the Golan Heights is being discussed. Assad was quoted in ''The Guardian'' as telling the Qatari paper: :''. . . there would be no direct negotiations with Israel until a new US president takes office. The US was the only party qualified to sponsor any direct talks, [Assad] told the paper, but added that the Bush administration "does not have the vision or will for the peace process. It does not have anything."''

According to leaked American cables, Bashar al Assad called Hamas an "uninvited guest" and said "If you want me to be effective and active, I have to have a relationship with all parties. Hamas is Muslim Brotherhood, but we have to deal with the reality of their presence.", comparing Hamas to the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood which was crushed by his father Hafez al Assad. He then claimed Hamas would disappear if peace was brought to the Middle East.

Assad has indicated that the peace treaty that he envisions would not be the same kind of peace treaty Israel has with Egypt where there is a legal border crossing and open trade. In a 2006 interview with Charlie Rose, Assad said “There is a big difference between talking about a peace treaty and peace. A peace treaty is like a permanent ceasefire. There’s no war, maybe you have an embassy, but you actually won’t have trade, you won’t have normal relations because people will not be sympathetic to this relation as long as they are sympathetic with the Palestinians: half a million who live in Syria and half a million in Lebanon and another few millions in other Arab countries.”

During the visit of Pope John Paul II to Syria in 2001, Bashar al-Assad requested an apology to Muslims for the medieval Crusades and criticized Israeli treatment of Palestinians. Comparing their suffering to that believed to have been endured by Jesus Christ in Palestine, Assad claimed that the Jews "tried to kill the principles of all religions with the same mentality in which they betrayed Jesus Christ and the same way they tried to betray and kill the Prophet Muhammad." Responding to claims that his comment was antisemitic, Assad said that whereas Judaism is a racially heterogeneous religion, the Syrian people are the core of the Semitic race and therefore are opposed to the term ''antisemitism''. When offered to retract his comment implying that the Jews were responsible for Jesus' suffering, Assad replied, "As always, these are historical facts that we cannot deny," and stressed that his remarks were not anti-Jewish. On the other hand, in February 2011 Bashar backed an initiative to restore 10 synagogues in Syria, which had a Jewish community numbering 30,000 in 1947 but has only 200 Jews today.

2011 uprising

Protests in Syria started on 26 January and were influenced by other protests in the region. Protesters have been calling for political reforms and the reinstatement of civil rights, as well as an end to the state of emergency which has been in place since 1963. One attempt at a "day of rage" was set for 4–5 February, though it ended up uneventful. Protests on 18–19 March were the largest to take place in Syria for decades and Syrian authorities have responded with violence against its protesting citizens.

On 18 May 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama signed an Executive order putting into effect sanctions against Bashar Assad in an effort to pressure his regime "to end its use of violence against its people and begin transitioning to a democratic system that protects the rights of the Syrian people." The sanctions effectively freeze any of the Syrian President's assets either in the United States proper or within U.S. jurisdiction. On May 23, 2011 EU Foreign ministers agreed at a meeting in Brussels to add Mr Assad and nine other officials to a list affected by travel bans and asset freezes. On May 24, 2011 Canada imposed sanctions on Syrian leaders, one of which is Assad.

On 20 June 2011, in a speech lasting nearly an hour, in response to the demands of protesters and foreign pressure, al-Assad promised a "national dialogue" involving movement toward reform, new parliamentary elections, and greater freedoms. He also urged refugees to return home from Turkey, while assuring them amnesty and blaming all unrest on a small number of "saboteurs".

In August 2011, Syrian security forces attacked the country's best-known political cartoonist, Ali Farzat, a noted critic of Syria's government and its five-month crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators and dissent. Relatives of the severely beaten humorist told Western media the attackers threatened to break Farzat's bones as a warning for him to stop drawing cartoons of government officials, particularly Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Ferzat, who recently celebrated his 60th birthday, was hospitalized with fractures in both hands and blunt force trauma to the head.

See also

List of state leaders

Cabinet of Syria

Assad family

References

Further reading

''Bashar Al-Assad (Major World Leaders)'' by Susan Muaddi Darraj, (June 2005, Chelsea House Publications) ISBN 0-7910-8262-8 for young adults

''Syria Under Bashar Al-Asad: Modernisation and the Limits of Change'' by Volker Perthes, (2004, Oxford University Press) ISBN 0-19-856750-2 (''Adelphi Papers'' #366)

''Bashar's First Year: From Ophthalmology to a National Vision (Research Memorandum)'' by Yossi Baidatz, (2001, Washington Institute for Near East Policy) ISBN B0006RVLNM

''Syria: Revolution From Above'' by Raymond Hinnebusch (Routledge; 1st edition, August 2002) ISBN 0-415-28568-2

''Bashar al-Assad and John F. Kennedy,'' Forward Magazine (Syria) ''Assad: We too were not very happy with Annapolis,'' Forward Magazine (Syria)

''Seven years of Bashar al-Assad’s rule 2000-2007,'' Forward Magazine (Syria)

External links

Official website

*Biography, decrees, speeches, interviews, press releases

*Transcript of 2010 conversation

Profile at the LookLex Encyclopedia

Unofficial website

Unofficial website with CV, Speeches, Pictures and Mideast Just Peace

;Articles

Syria’s Proxy Forces in Iraq, Al-Hayat (London), 12 April 2003 at Middle East Intelligence Bulletin

Profile: Syria's Bashar al-Assad ''BBC News'', 10 March 2005

Bashar al-Assad's Lebanon Gamble, William Harris, ''Middle East Quarterly'', Summer 2005

Assad on the Brink, David Hirst, ''The Nation'', 21 November 2005

Syria's Leaders, Esther Pan, Council on Foreign Relations, 10 March 2006

Connecting the dots in Lebanon, Omar Raad, Ya Libnan Volunteer, 2 December 2006

The Assad Dynasty in Syria: From Father to Son, Kristin Helberg, ''Deutsche Welle'', 2009 at ''qantara.de''

Interview With Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, ''The Wall Street Journal'', 31 January 2011

Profile: Bashar al-Assad, ''Al Jazeera English'', 25 March 2011

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Category:1965 births Category:Arab nationalist heads of state Category:Arab politicians Category:Assad family Category:Ba'ath Party (Syria) politicians Category:Current national leaders Category:Living people Category:Ophthalmologists Category:People from Damascus Category:People of the 2011 Syrian protests Category:Presidents of Syria Category:Syrian Alawites Category:Damascus University alumni

ar:بشار الأسد arc:ܒܫܐܪ ܐܠܐܣܕ az:Bəşər Əsəd bn:বাশার আল-আসাদ bcl:Bashar al-Assad, bg:Башар ал-Асад ca:Bashar al-Assad cs:Bašár al-Asad cy:Bashar al-Assad da:Bashar al-Assad de:Baschar al-Assad et:Bashār al-Asad el:Μπασάρ αλ Άσαντ es:Bashar Al Assad eo:Baŝar al-Asad fa:بشار اسد fr:Bachar el-Assad ga:Bashar al-Assad gl:Bashar al-Assad ko:바샤르 알아사드 hy:Բաշար ալ-Ասադ io:Bashar al-Assad id:Bashar al-Assad it:Bashar al-Asad he:בשאר אל-אסד ku:Beşar el-Ased lv:Bašārs al Asads hu:Bassár el-Aszad mr:बशर अल-अस्साद arz:بشار الاسد ms:Bashar al-Assad nl:Bashar al-Assad ja:バッシャール・アル＝アサド no:Bashar al-Assad nn:Bashar al-Assad oc:Bashar al-Assad pl:Baszar al-Assad pt:Bashar al-Assad ru:Башар аль-Асад sq:Bashar Al Assad scn:Bashar al-Assad sl:Bašar al Asad ckb:بەشار ئەسەد sr:Башар ел Асад fi:Bašar al-Assad sv:Bashar al-Assad ta:பஷர் அல்-அசாத் tr:Beşşar Esed uk:Башар аль-Асад vi:Bashar al-Assad yo:Bashar al-Assad zh:巴沙尔·阿萨德