King Abdullah I remembered

AMMAN — Jordan on Monday marks the 69th anniversary of the death of His Majesty King Abdullah I (1882-1951), the founder of the Kingdom, who was assassinated as he was entering Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem for Friday prayers on July 20, 1951.

King Abdullah I led the Arab forces of the Great Arab Revolt with his brothers Ali, Feisal and Zeid against the Ottoman Empire.

By the end of World War I, he assumed the Throne of Transjordan, which was formed in 1921, establishing the first centralised government out of a mostly tribal and nomadic society.

Over the next 30 years, he focused on nation building and developing the institutional foundations of modern Jordan.

During these three decades, King Abdullah I presided over a series of Anglo-Transjordanian treaties, culminating in the 1946 Anglo-Transjordanian Treaty, ending the British mandate and granting the new Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan full independence.

He is also remembered for promulgating Jordan’s first Constitution in 1928 and holding the country’s first parliamentary elections in 1929.

He laid down the basis for democracy in the Kingdom and called for political pluralism. The first political party was formed during his reign.

A poet himself, he used to meet with poets, writers and scholars and discuss the country’s affairs.